Professor Mike Phillips, a geology teacher of 17 years at IVCC, attended the Ocean Sciences Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, Feb. 23-28.
Phillips was one of 28 faculty members who teach oceanography at a community college to receive
a grant to attend the conference.
Along with the grant winners, there were around 5,000 to 6,000 registered individuals at this conference, which people from all over the world came to enjoy.
At the event, Phillips presented a poster on an exercise he has his oceanography students work on during the semester.
Along with the conference, he got the chance to hike up the inactive Diamond Head volcano in Honolulu.
He also took a plane ride to the Big Island of Hawaii to visit the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which is where he looked into the crater of Kilauea, an active volcano.
When asked events that were among his most enjoyable on the trip, he mentions certain panels
offered to the registered guests, such as one discussion on Tsunamis, such as the hazards they bring and important predictors to know.
Phillips also mentioned another session led by an NPR reporter on communicating with the public on ocean issues that might affect communities.
Phillips applied for and received a grant to fund the conference trip.