In her talk Jess showed how the moss we have collected at Casey can be hundreds of years old. So it started growing with Shakespeare and ended up being picked and dated just as Game of Thrones (GOT) appeared on HBO. There is an important link between our Antarctic research and GOT because Jess is the one that got me reading the books and then watching the series. She went to Casey with all the books and hence I got hooked too. Big books like the GOT series are very popular when you are crossing the Southern Ocean. Often reading a book is the most you can do if you are feeling sea sick. TV series also help to pass the time.

Giving her talk on graduation day seemed to work well since it meant Jess' family and friends could come too and we could all celebrate her completion together. 

Rebecca Miller also came up from Melbourne so we had an Antarctic Moss renunion.It was wonderful to share Jess and Ari's graduation day with them. A very big Congratulations to them both.

 We also welcomed a new lab member, Dali Hofmann to Wollongong. Dali did his Bachelors degree at UTS in Sydney but wants to work on moss for his Honours so he has joined the moss team!  Dali started on Wednesday so he met Jess and her family too!