In obtaining your PhD you do not need help from outside except, perhaps, to suggest a problem. Once you have a possible problem at hand you must search the available literature to understand what has been done and the failings of past work that will define the scope of your project. But perhaps there is an obvious problem at hand, such as a nearby metamorphic terrain that has not previously been described or whose description is incomplete. You, of course, will need (1) a clear statement of your project's purpose and scope and (2) an assessment of the resources you will need, e.g. thin sections and a petrologic microscope. But, ulimately, the project is yours and, yes, it is nice to have a sounding board who can help you attain focus and avoid deteours down wrong paths. But you should take possession of the project as being yours and your contribution to the advancement of knowledge.

In obtaining your PhD you do not need help from outside except, perhaps, to suggest a problem. Once you have a possible problem at hand you must search the available literature to understand what has been done and the failings of past work that will define the scope of your project. But perhaps there is an obvious problem at hand, such as a nearby metamorphic terrain that has not previously been described or whose description is incomplete. You, of course, will need (1) a clear statement of your project's purpose and scope and (2) an assessment of the resources you will need, e.g. thin sections and a petrologic microscope. But, ulimately, the project is yours and, yes, it is nice to have a sounding board who can help you attain focus and avoid deteours down wrong paths. But you should take possession of the project as being yours and your contribution to the advancement of knowledge.

I can only agree with Dwight. I gather you have a Supervisor? It is he or she whom you describe in you request (consultant and collaborate). If you qualify as a student at this advanced level you are expected to work essentially alone, you don't normally collaborate with others until it comes to publishing your work. Your first level of assistance is your supervisor, it is they who can assess your need. As Dwight has indicated, you may seek some assistance with a specific problem, but I would add, only if your supervisor can't help and definitely not without their knowledge. I would be very careful about seeking outside assistance without your supervisor's knowledge.

Dear Dr. Dwight Hoxie and Dr. Stephen Craven , thank you for feedback.

I don't have a problems with supervisor. I have supervisor and he helps me in many issues. The only problem that I have is analytics, and I need person who can help with analytics, and someone who will be open to share knowledge and experience to each other in metamorphism. Who will be happy and willing to cooperate in comparing the processes of metamorphism in the Caucasus with other regions.

Best regards, Irakli

Dear Irakl Javakhishvill,

I totally agree with the others. What are the questions you want to answer with your study, what methods do you have available to answer your questions? You state that you work on contact and regional metamorphism. That is quite a ground to cover for one PhD. So it is better to concentrate on an interesting subject. Good luck!

At this level you have to be clear what your main objective (s) is/are and the specific objectives as well as the methods you will use to achieve them. What exactly do you intend to study about the contact and regional metamorphisms? I guess you may be interested in P-T-t paths, in which case microprobe analysis will be inevitable.Please liaise with your supervisor to decide on which minerals to analyse. Best of luck.

Dear Irakl,

I also agree with the others. I understand the struggles that one may face at the beginning of the PhD, especially if you have troubles with the analytical part of your work. In my opinion, you should read a lot of literature about your research topics and the methodologies you would like to use to address your research questions and look out for people sharing (1) your research interests or (2) working with methodologies you would like to use to address your problem. If you have just started a project, it is unlikely that people know what you are working on. You should, on the other hand, try to establish a connection with potential collaborators (and you have to read a lot to find them out) that are willing to work with you because your research complements theirs. Remember that the scope of co-operation is not simply to find someone to solve your issues but to bring together people with different expertise and a different approach to address a research question widely. Good luck!

Dear, Dr. Susanne Theodora Schmidt , Tiberindwa John Vianney , Samuele Papeschi thank you for feedback.

I studied the literature and already know exactly what research methods I need. But the problem is that of all the methods that is needed, I can only afford petrographic, XRF, XRD and maybe SEM. For dating I need ICP-MS and for describing P/T conditions of metamorphism I need MICROPROBE analysis. Which is impossible in my country.

Best regards, Irakli

Dear Irakli,

I perfectly understand your problem. In countries where such analytical devices are lacking, the only possibility to get funding is to apply for grants in research programs in your country (if any) or abroad. I had this problem in Romania too, where I had to apply for several grants to get funds for geochemical analyses and dating in several laboratories in western Europe and Canada. That’s why it took almost 8 years to get the necessary data for a complete petrological model of an igneous system. Hope that things will move faster for you. Good luck, persistence and tenacity !

Anca

Hello Irakli,

It will be necessary to proceed by herachising your questions.

What kind of analysis do you have, mineralogical, microprobe point analysis, global chemical analysis of rocks etc ...

Do you have the mineralogical compositions of your contact metamorphism?

Do you observe mineralogical zonations?

Have you defined crystallization temperatures and pressures from mineralogical assemblages?

etc ..

Well Irakli,

It looks like we are getting a better idea of what you needs are, and you appear to understand what you need to do get the data you require.

Broadly, you seem to be involved in the sort of research that I did for my PhD. My PhD is free on line (PhD2015SteveCraven2) and you may find it useful to have a look at it.

I will not go into a detailed description here but, for example, I dated the protolith using U/Pb geochronology using LA-ICPMS and the metamorphism using U-Th-Pb pooled monazite and Mikhail ages using an EMP technique. The LA-ICPMS was carried out by myself in our own facility at Macquarie and the monazite work was carried out at UTaz (University of Tasmania). It will be up to you, of course, to interpret the data.

There are many laboratories around the world where this sort work can be done, we may be able to help you at Macquarie, but it is expensive. Upon request, you may be able to come to Macquarie and carry out the work for yourself. These are just a couple of options.

Best of luck,

SteveCraven

Dear Stephen

We would like to date monazites. Is it possible to do some dating at Macquarie?

What are the conditions for doing this job at Macquarie?

Best regards

Essaid

Dear, Dr. Essaid Bilal thank you for feedback.

The mineralogical composition of intrusions, contact metamorphism and partly regional metamorphism are known. I have XRF analysis of Dizi series rocks, and I have old MICROPROBE analysis of some minerals.

Mineralogical zonations are observed and three zones of contact metamorphism are distinguished.

No, crystallization temperatures and pressures from mineralogical assemblages are not defined.

Best regards, Irakli

Dear, Dr. Stephen Craven thank you for information.

I discovered your PhD thesis here. I will study it carefully.

I plan to date some samples using U-Pb LA ICP-MS method. And to make more MICROPROBE analysis. Of course I understand that it will be expensive. But, I am interested in conditions for doing this job at Macquarie University and University of Tasmania.

Best regards, Irakli