Profile
Mary Gagen
My CV
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Education:
I went to high school in Manchester, in the north of England. Then I moved, with my family, to Wales when I was doing A’ Levels.
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Qualifications:
I got 10 GCSE’s, a couple of A grades, and the rest were B’s and C’s but I failed maths (twice). I still find maths really hard. I went on to study Geography, Geology, and Biology for A-Level and got two B’s and a D. It has never held me back and I went on to do a Bachelors degree in Geography and Geology and a Ph.D. in Physical Geography. I also have a postgraduate teaching degree, and I am now a Professor. have never been an ‘A’ student 😊
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Work History:
My first job was running the tuckshop at school when I was a teenager. I am afraid I took it a bit too seriously and we would turn over tens of thousands of pounds a year, for the school 😂. I worked in an ice cream parlour when I was a student, as a makeup demonstrator and in restaurants. I would occasionally work in a bar as well but I was terrible at it! I took a year out before university and worked at a theatre and as a paintball referee! After I finished my PhD I had a series of research, teaching and academic jobs. They have been in lots of different countries but I came ‘home’ to Wales about ten years ago, to my dream geography job!
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Current Job:
I am a Professor of Geography at Swansea University.
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About Me:
I am a Professor of Geography at Swansea University and a tree ring scientist. That means my research is all about the climate information stored in the annual rings of trees 🌳. I work in ancient forest all around the world, finding out the stories about our climate that are hidden in ancient tree trunks. 🌲🌴🌵 💚.
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I live in Swansea, in south Wales, right by the sea🌊💦 ! My favourite thing about Wales is living with beaches, mountains, moorlands and clifftops all around me 🌍🏔🗺 . We are also lucky enough to have lots of local wildlife, like these beautiful dolphins who regularly visit Swansea’s waters in the summer.
I spend as much time as I can outdoors, in any weather ⛈🌞🌈. I am a typical geographer and will slow down any hike by looking at the trees and rocks every five minutes 😁🌳💚 !
My pronouns are she/her.
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I am a climate change scientist and my research focuses on the past climate records stored in the rings of ancient trees, and on exploring how environmental change is impacting forests.
Most of us will, at some point, have seen the cut trunk of a tree and noticed the tree rings. They tell us how old the tree is, but the changes in the width of the ring, how dense the wood is, and the chemistry of the wood also hold fascinating information about the climate the tree experienced, in the year that ring formed.
Being a tree ring scientist means I get to work in forests all around the world. The pictures above are from the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in California’s White Mountains, where the oldest trees in the world grow. Some are nearly 5000 years old!
The professional name for my type of research is ‘dendroclimatology’ (‘dendro’ means tree and ‘climatology’ being the study of our Earth’s climate).
I also love teaching and running outreach workshops where we can explore science hands-on, get messy learning about how our planet work!
Being a geographer right now is more exciting than ever because geographers study change and difference. We study how our planet changes through time and the differences and variability in our societies.
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My Typical Day:
I love not having a typical day! I could be teaching in the morning, in our tree ring laboratory in the middle of the day, and out in the woods in the afternoon.
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Whilst my favorite kind of day is one where I get to teach, either inside or preferably out in the forest, sometimes I do have to spend time in our laboratory.
To sample tree rings we use a tool called an increment borer to remove a piece of wood about the size of a pencil from the tree trunk (getting the sample can involve a bit of tree climbing💚😃)
Back in the lab the core samples are sanded, polished and mounted in blocks to reveal the beautiful tree rings. This is a close up of oak tree rings.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Geographer, Tree Scientist, Climatologist.
What did you want to be after you left school?
I always wanted to carry on studying and to travel and to do anything that involved being outside. My family always thought I would become a farmer, that would have been fantastic as well, but I consider myself to have the best job in the world. I'm very lucky to get to do what I love, every day.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Oh yes! There's a bit of a myth about academics and scientists, that we were all perfect scholars and students and it is just not true. School can be really hard and childhood can be really difficult - scientists come from all sorts of backgrounds! If I was ever in trouble, it was usually for disagreeing with someone in authority. I have rather strong views, particularly when I believe an injustice has occurred!😊🐴 I also went to school a loooooong time ago, at a time when girls weren't allowed to wear trousers and silly things like that - I was always one of the ones yelling for change!.
Who is your favourite singer or band?
I am rubbish at music, I've never hear of anyone cool!
What's your favourite food?
Pizza!
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Touch-your-nose-travel, like teleportation, but less risky. The ability to stretch time. World Peace (seriously #sorrynotsorry).
Tell us a joke.
How many tickles does it take to tickle an octopus? 🐙🐙🐙 Tentacles!
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