My 2022 AGU Fall Meeting experience

We left New Haven on December 11 and made our way to Chicago for the 2022 AGU Fall Meeting, which was held there from December 12 to December 16, 2022.

The AGU Fall Meeting is the world's largest geoscience conference, with over 25,000 attendees from more than 100 countries,  covers the Earth Sciences and its derivatives, other related disciplines such as Bioecology and Planetary Science, and is not limited to geophysics. It is a great opportunity to meet scientific groups from all over the world, no matter how advanced, unusual, or specialized the researcher's topic is.  The information, suggestions, and inspiration we receive at these conferences are on par with what we learn in the classroom.

This year's AGU Fall Meeting was held at the McCormick Convention Centre in Chicago. The days of the meeting were either occupied by groups of earth scientists brandishing poster reels like swordsmen or a crowd of attendees traveling to and from the conference. One of the events I remember the most was the large poster session. Thousands of posters were rotated up in only a few short days. I was one of the individuals who had only half a day to prepare their own poster and set it up before having to deliver it to the audience. To my amazement, throughout the roughly three hours that I presented the posters, there was a sizable audience interested in my message. It was really gratifying to discuss my thoughts with numerous researchers from different fields and to receive so many insightful comments. What surprised me most was that Prof. Toshio Koike, who had just received the AGU Ambassador Award, came to listen to my presentation and was very kind in giving me lots of suggestions and encouragement!

Of course, after the conference, my new friends and I spent some time touring the energetic American city of Chicago! One of the biggest cities in the country, Chicago is a bustling metropolis full of possibilities. Chicago's famous Millennium Park and Cloud Gate were our first stop. This landmark building, affectionately referred to by locals as the Big Bean, is located in the middle of the park and offers a mirror-like reflection of the skyline where tourists from all over the world assemble to take precious souvenir photos.

We also traveled across Michigan Avenue, Chicago's principal thoroughfare connecting its north and south. Neon lights in golden hues illuminate the lake on each side of the Michigan Bridge at night, while the Trump Tower stands out boldly on the shore, looking opulent and contemporary. Heading south, we can reach the Art Institute of Chicago. As the city's top art museum, you could spend a whole day there and still not see everything. Finally, we also hit up the home of the Chicago Bulls, the United Center, to witness the Michael Jordan statue. Thanks to the fusion of cultures, we were able to eat Mexican, Italian, and a variety of new and eclectic dishes in Chicago. Prof. Kawasaki and I had the famous deep-dish pizza at Giordano's. Unlike the pizza in New Haven, the deep dish pizza here is very thick and covered in rich cheese, which gives it a unique flavor.

This AGU Fall Meeting experience has facilitated my understanding of the frontiers of my discipline and has given me a full appreciation of the multicultural beauty of Chicago.