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Research Highlight
IGyTheM: Integrating Geodynamics with Thermodynamics using Machine learning
To achieve a comprehensive understanding of mantle convection, it is essential to develop models that incorporate the complex interactions between chemical structures and mantle dynamics. However, incorporating thermodynamic calculations in a self-consistent and computationally efficient manner remains a major challenge in computational geodynamics. Two conventional approaches are commonly used to couple geodynamic models with thermodynamic properties. The first relies on pre-computed lookup tables derived from thermodynamic calculations at fixed bulk compositions (e.g., Li et al., 2025; Rummel et al., 2020), which limits compositional flexibility and resolution. The second approach performs thermodynamic calculations on-the-fly during geodynamic simulations(e.g., Hebert et al., 2009), providing greater physical consistency but at a computational cost that is often prohibitive, including approaches based on parallelized, parameterized thermodynamic calculations (e.g., Riel et al., 2022; Wong & Keller, 2023).
Here, we present a new, flexible, general, and computationally efficient framework for coupling convection models with thermodynamics, termed Integrating Geodynamics with Thermodynamics using Machine Learning (IGyTheM, Fig. 1) (Yuan et al., 2025). Assuming ... [full article]
Qian Yuan1, Paul D. Asimow2, Michael Gurnis2, Paula Antoshechkina 2, Junjie Dong2
1Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA , 2California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
From HQ
Dear Community,
Beginning this year, AGU is honoring the legacy of Louise H. Kellogg with a new AGU medal. The Louise H. Kellogg Mid-Career Medal is an award recognizing scientists whose interdisciplinary work advances our understanding of how planets evolve. While many of you may know Louise from her pioneering work in geodynamics, interdisciplinary collaborations and leadership in CIG, this medal also celebrates her contributions to the community.
For those who were fortunate to know Louise - Louise had a hard time saying "no" to helping others, whether it was through collaborations, mentoring, or service. She had many requests for her time, not only because of her scientific expertise but also because of her leadership. This leadership valued people. This included a consensus building approach to decision making, education through outreach and mentoring, and just, well, thoughtful kindness.
Nominations are open until March 2, 2026. I encourage you to get together with your colleagues and nominate a mid-career scientist who exemplifies the spirit of Louise Kellogg! I look forward to celebrating with you this fall, the inaugural recipients of the Louise H. Kellogg Mid-Career Medal at AGU 2026.
Lorraine Hwang, Co Director
Governance
Election Results
Congratulations to our newest members of Governance: EC: Mark Behn and SSC: Kirstie Haynie and Gabriele Morra! We thank Phaedra Upton, Adam Holt and Elvira Mulyukova for their contributions to the community in the last 3 years. In addition, many thanks to our Nominations Committee, Margarete Jadamec, Wolfgang Bangerth, and Cian Wilson for assembling this year's slate.
Speaker Series
Do you know someone who would be a great ambassador for CIG research? The CIG Speaker Series is looking for talented speakers who can promote computational modeling in geodynamics and related earth sciences to a broad scientific audience. Open a ticket and include on the first line, "SPEAKER NOMINATION". More information for speakers and institutions looking for speakers can be found on our website. Deadline is March 31, 2026. [info]Working Groups
CIG seeks to engage its community and encourage new ideas by seeking members interested in participating as a member of a current working Group or starting a new Focused Working Group (FWG). New FWG's should address a specific topic and have a clearly defined scope, e.g., workshop, white paper, benchmark, etc. A WG should define concrete outcome(s) achievable within a short time frame, < 2 years. Anyone can propose one! We look forward to your ideas in continuing the CIG community's dynamic leadership in the Earth sciences. [apply]Events
CIG Webinars
Thermodynamics and Its Application in Geodynamic Models - Spring 2026
Join us for half day sessions on thermodynamics. We are packing this year's webinar series
into several half-day sessions of talks on tools, research applications and discussion on community needs.
This series will provide our community with a deeper understanding of how thermodynamic principles can be integrated into geodynamic simulations. Stay tuned for more details!
Workshops and Meetings
2026| February 3-4 | ASPECT User Meeting |
| March 26-31 | Geodynamic World Builder Hackathon |
| April 13-14 | AxiSEM Community Development Workshop |
| June 8-12 | Crustal Deformation Modeling Workshop |
| June 21-16 | Ada Lovelace Workshop on Modeling of Mantle and Lithospheric Dynamics |
| July 11-18 | Rayleigh Hackathon |
| July 20-31 | ASPECT Hackathon |
See our calendar for details on all events and registration.
Propose a Workshop
Interested in helping to organize the next community meeting? CIG encourages community members to propose workshops that align with CIG's mission to support and foster computational modeling in the earth sciences. Workshops may focus on software training or special topics in geodynamics. Contact us to find out more about proposing a workshop.
The Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics is supported by the National Science Foundation under NSF 2149126.