My name is Hector Hinojosa and I am a 2016 recipient of the Graduate School of Geosciences (GSGS) Fellowship Grant 2016A, which funding ends in 30.06.2016. I would like to thank the GSGS for sponsoring this great fellowship program, whose aim is to support young researchers whose doctoral studies and funding are about to end and who want to write scientific manuscripts for publication and/or seek employment. I was honored to receive this grant and am fortunate for the opportunities it has and will provide me. As the GSGS Fellowship Grant 2016A recipient, I was awarded a TV-L-E13 (50%) position at the Department of Geosciences, Institute of Geology and Mineralogy of Cologne University. I had the honor to work under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Klaus-G. Hinzen. During the grant period, I accomplished several academic and non-academic activities that have benefited me greatly.

Academic activities include the completion of my doctoral dissertation and examination as well as the preparation of scientific papers for publication on topics such as the quantification of potential ancient earthquake local site effects at the Mycenaean Citadels of Tiryns and Midea (Argive, Basin, Peloponnese, southern Greece) and the geology and geochemistry of perlite deposits from northwestern Mexico. The progress towards preparing a manuscript for publication was reached successfully and timely. The goal was to prepare at least one manuscript for publication. This manuscript (first draft), entitled “The Mycenae normal fault, its assumed ca. 1190 BCE earthquake and the probable seismic site effects at the nearby Mycenaean citadels of Tiryns and Midea (Greece)” was completed in 10.04.2016. The manuscript is undergoing a second revision before it can be submitted for publication. Principally, I expect to publish this manuscript stemming from the GSGS-funded fellowship in a peer-reviewed journal within the next few months. Other papers (on perlite deposits, see below) that began to be crafted during the grant period will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal towards the end of 2016.

Non-academic activities performed during the grant period include the search for employment in both academia and industry, the enrollment in a five-month intensive Germany course which included a one-month practical internship in a local geophysical firm; and last but not least, short trips to the Bavarian Alps so I can actually see the iconic geology I have been reading about! In particular, the practical internship offered me the chance to experience real world borehole geophysical prospecting. Although well logging was for shallow wells, I learned significantly about the different well logging techniques as well as data collection, processing, and interpretation. I also put in practice my basic German language skills.

The opportunity to work with Prof. Dr. Hinzen in Cologne/Bensberg was a highlight. Due to the global nature of science, the opportunity to build interactions with a leading scientist from another country will continue to enhance the quality and productivity of my potential research well beyond the fellowship period. The GSGS Fellowship Grant program was a great opportunity for me both professionally and personally. I recommend doctoral students in the Department of Geosciences of Cologne University to become active members of the GSGS and apply for the fellowship and travel grant programs.

Thank you, again, for supporting the hard work of your enthusiastic doctoral students.

Publications prepared during the fellowship period

Hinzen K-G., Hinojosa-Prieto HR, Kalytta T. (accepted manuscript). Site Effects in Archaeoseismic Studies at
Mycenaean Tiryns and Midea. Seismological Research Letters.

Klaus-G Hinzen, Ursula Damm-Meinhardt, Claus Fleischer, Hector Hinojosa-Prieto, Joseph Maran, Sharon K.
Reamer, Gregor Schweppe, Jana Tzislakis. 2016. Mycenaean Tiryns and the Earthquake Hypothesis: Summary of Results from the HERACLES Project. 35th General Assembly of the European Seismological Commission (ESC), Trieste, Italy, 4-10 September. (Talk).

Hinojosa-Prieto HR, Hinzen K-G. (manuscript in preparation). The Mycenae normal fault, its assumed ca.
1190 BCE earthquake and the probable seismic site effects at the nearby Mycenaean citadels of Tiryns and Midea (Greece).

Hinojosa-Prieto HR, Vidal-Solano JR, Hinojosa-García HJ. (manuscript in preparation). Geochemistry of the
Selene perlite deposit, northwestern Sierra Madre Occidental, Sonora, Mexico.

Héctor R. Hinojosa-Prieto
PhD student

Institute of Geology and Mineralogy