4th International Diamond School

January 29th through February 2nd, 2018

Bressanone, Italy

✦ Students identifying mineral inclusions in diamonds at the 2nd International Diamond School, 2015 (photo: Manuel Conedera)

The school provides a general overview of the recent advances in diamond research focusing specifically on the geology, exploration and gemology of diamond. Scheduled speakers include the world’s leading scientists in these fields. The school, following tradition, provides not only theoretical lectures but also practical sessions focused on microscopic observations of a complete inclusion-bearing diamond collection (Zeiss will provide 15 binocular microscopes) and micro-Raman spectroscopy of diamonds and their mineral inclusions (Horiba Scientific will provide one micro-Raman spectrometer).

The 4th International Diamond School will have 110 participants from 13 different countries (Canada, Italy, Germany, France, UK, Austria, The Netherlands, USA, Russia, Israel, South Africa, Ireland, Australia). The participants include 92 attendees, 17 speakers, and 1 executive organizer of which 27 are undergraduate students, 22 are Ph.D. students, 29 are academic seniors and 14 are participants from industry with almost equal gender balance (45 women vs 47 men).


ORGANIZING and SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Fabrizio Nestola (University of Padova, Italy)

Steven Shirey (Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington DC, USA)

Graham Pearson (University of Alberta, Canada)

Wuyi Wang (Gemological Institute of America, New York, USA)

Matteo Alvaro (University of Pavia, Italy)

INVITED LECTURERS and TOPICS

1) Bruce Kjarsgaard (Geological Survey of Canada): Experimental constraints on kimberlite origins

2) John Armstrong (Karowe Mine, Lucara Diamond, Botswana): Mining and extracting the world’s largest diamonds

3) Herman Grütter (Peregrine Diamonds, Vancouver) (a) Pyroxene thermobarometry: a xenocryst-based approach; (b) Use of Microdiamonds in Deposit Evaluation

4) Matteo Alvaro (University of Pavia, Italy): New methods of diamond barometry

5) Wuyi Wang (GIA, New York, USA): Diamond gemology (4Cs and development of advances technologies to replace visual observations)

6) Mike Breeding (GIA, New York): Diamond defects, diamond color treatment, and its identification

7) Ulrika D’Haenens-Johansson (GIA, New York): Synthesis of Man-Made Gem Diamonds and their Detection

8) Oded Navon (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel): Diamond-forming fluids

9) D. Graham Pearson (University of Alberta, Canada): Petrology, geochemistry and formation of cratonic mantle – the host for diamonds

10) Steven B. Shirey (Carnegie Institute of Science, USA): Diamond geochronology

11) Jeff Harris (University of Glasgow, UK) : History of diamond

12) Thomas Stachel (University of Alberta, Canada): Formation of Diamond in Earth’s Mantle

13) Pierre Cartigny (Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, France): Stable isotopes and diamonds

14) Emilie Thomassot (CNRS, Nancy, France):m New advances in in-situ isotope measurement in diamond and their inclusions

15) Dan Howell (University of Padova, Italy): FTIR studies of diamonds

16) Steven Reddy (Western Australian School of Mines at Curtin University): Atom Probe Microscopy and potential applications to diamond research

17) Nick Sobolev (V.S. Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, Novosibirsk, Russia): Inclusions in Siberian diamonds and their polycrystalline aggregates and specific features of orogenic diamonds from Kazakhstan

Schedule of the 4IDS throughout the week of January 29 - February 2

Monday, January 29

Tuesday, January 30

Wednesday, January 31

Thursday, February 1

Friday, February 2

Talk delivered by Steve Shirey at the 4th International Diamond School, January 30, 2018.

(Click on the slide navigation bar below to see all slides.)

DiamondAges_4IDS_2018.pptx