Exclusive interview: Michael Heap

---

VIPS Team

Hello and welcome! We’re in a rented apartment in Höfn, Iceland, with Dr. Michael Heap. Could you give a short self introduction?

Mike Heap

My name is Michael John Heap. I am a lecturer, assistant professor, at University of Strasbourg in France. Principally, my training is in geology. I have an MSc in geology from the University of Liverpool. My PhD was in experimental rock deformation at University College London. I spent a lot of my time deforming sandstones. Following a postdoc at LMU Munich, I started, alongside some great colleagues, to use these methods and our understanding of porous sedimentary rocks to try to better understand volcanic rocks. And this is what I’ve been doing for the last 10 years. I don’t know whether I, or others, would classify myself strictly as a volcanologist… I’m more of someone who’s very interested in measuring things that could be useful for certain people, so I tend to flitter around. But yeah, I measure things.

VIPS

Okay. So let’s start easy. What is your favorite volcano, and why?

MH 

I think my favorite volcano is Whakaari in New Zealand. It’s one of the volcanoes I’ve studied with many different collaborators and friends. It’s a really spectacular place. It’s about 40 kilometers off the north coast of the North Island of New Zealand, and you have to take a boat or a helicopter to get there. There’s no walking: you take a one-and-a-half-hour boat ride and you’re basically where the action is. It’s spectacular. There’s always something going on. It also smells really bad. [This interview was conducted before the tragic event on December 9, 2019 in which more than twenty people lost their lives.]

VIPS

Okay. That’s awesome for a volcano. So, currently where lies your main interest in research?

MH

My current research focus is the influence of hydrothermal alteration on the physical properties of volcanic rocks. A lot of volcanic systems have an associated hydrothermal system, and this is modifying or altering the rocks. I explore what such alteration does to the physical properties, such as strength and permeability, of volcanic rocks. Understanding what this process does to the rocks is important because if the strength and permeability of these rocks is modified, it could influence flank stability, which has all sorts of hazardous knock on effects, and whether the volcano erupts effusively or explosively. Anyway, the impact of alteration on the physical properties of volcanic rock is what I’m focusing the next years of my research on.

VIPS

What are your favorite aspects of your research?

MH

A lot of the lab stuff we do is quite laborious, I guess it’s in the definition. It’s quite routine, in a way. And so what I like is after you’ve made a lot of these measurements—be it porosity, strength, or permeability—and you finally click on the figure, and this is like a big reveal. And either it works or it doesn’t!

VIPS

So you like to see the trend?

MH

Yeah, or not! So I think in lab work (because I don’t do so much fieldwork) there’s some satisfaction in creating a big data set and testing a hypothesis. When you plot those two variables against each other, and you press go! I think somehow this can be satisfying.

VIPS

How would you define your role as a scientist in society?

MH

Well, for me at least, it took some practice and some lengthy reflection time. I needed to speak to a lot of different people to understand where my place was in science, where I could help, and what I could do. If we make laboratory measurements, or we make field observations, then we can hope that someone is going to use that information. And then hope that, eventually, someone in society—the average person that may not know anything about volcanology—would benefit. Reaching out to communities with information is not easy, not for me at least, and requires a certain character and certain amount of training. I have amazing respect for scientists who do this type of work. Personally, I would like to think that what we do in the lab is going to affect or help certain communities. I’ve tried more and more to work with people involved in these activities. For example, very recently I have worked with the volcano observatory in Guadeloupe. And that’s super rewarding. I feel like, the information that we can glean in the lab, be it big or small, will help the person tasked with relaying information to those living on the flanks of the volcano in a time of crisis. But when I think “have I been in a position where I could confidently say that I helped someone?”, I’m not sure. I think that’s a really difficult question. I’m not sure I’m answering your question…

VIPS

Okay, so you were saying that it is the most rewarding to basically be able to help people? Would you also say that this your accomplishment in your career, what you’re most proud of? Or something else?

MH

Another difficult question… I don’t know what I’m most proud of. In terms of societal impact, I think a lot of other people have done a lot more. My favorite thing about science is collaboration: talking to different people from different backgrounds, different communities, different cultures. That’s not necessarily what I’m most proud of, but I think this is what interests me the most. And if people benefit from that, or gain some insight from that, and then I’ll be very happy. That would make me proud.

VIPS

And what was your motivation to start down the academic train? And did you always see yourself in academia?

MH

I guess it was my third year at university as an undergrad when I asked the questions “how do I do a PhD? And what does that entail?” And I think that was the moment when I really started to enjoy geology, and I just wanted to do more. And then the rest of it kind of fell into place. That’s not really helpful advice! I applied for PhDs and accepted an offer from University College London. Then afterwards to Munich, and then onto Strasbourg. I still feel motivated about finding new things out. I think that these two weeks of fieldwork [in Iceland] is a collection of people who are super interested in exploring new things and finding out new stuff.

VIPS

What are the best things about the academic workplace? What gives you motivation and drive?

MH

A large part of my motivation, and this might sound a bit cliché, is working with friends to solve problems. Seeing students super excited about things that you’re excited about. It’s always very encouraging and motivating when you find someone who is like-minded and super keen. And maybe that’s because of something you said, or something you said in a lecture or practical class.

VIPS

What advice would you give to an early career researcher?

MH

I’ve given different advice to different people in different stages of their early career. I think that it’s good to be bold, it’s good to ask questions. If you really want to work with someone, for example, then I find that a lot of scientists, despite how senior or busy you might think they are, respond very well to well-worded emails or conversations at conferences. But I know that this type of advice will not necessarily suit everyone. So I think people can tackle this in their own kind of way. But I would definitely recommend trying to be as bold as you can within your comfort. And then see where it takes you.

VIPS

Cool. Our last question: given the talk of mental health and academia, especially on Twitter, how do you maintain a healthy work/life balance? How do you encourage your students to do the same?

MH

To be very honest, I’m not sure that I have a great work/life balance. I feel like it’s somehow very often difficult to switch off, which I can see is detrimental. You’re trying to enjoy being away somewhere and you’re thinking about some email to some co-author that you’re letting down because you haven’t emailed them. But I would definitely encourage people not to go down the same route. So for example, my current PhD student, Lucille, is very musical. So together with Patrick, whose is co-supervising her project, we’ve encouraged her to keep continuing to play music, to go to concerts, and to record her music because I think that, ultimately, a happy PhD student is a good one. But also I think that’s really good for her well being to keep continuing to do that. But then, personally, I think I could do a little better. I don’t know what the answer to that is.

VIPS

Thank you for your honesty.

---

Follow Dr. Heap on Twitter @LDR_Strasbourg

Transcribed by https://otter.ai