What is the Herdman Symposium
The Herdman Symposium has been running since 1973 and is an annual regional gathering of Earth Scientists. For one day every year, the Herdman Symposium delivers a new scientific programme of talks given by internationally leading experts across earth sciences and centred on topical issues of the day. It is organised by the Herdman Society, which is the geology and geophysics undergraduate society at the University of Liverpool with links to physical geography and environmental geoscience.
The Herdman Symposium talks are pitched at an accessible level, and themes have ranged from: Sedimentary Basins (1984), Progress in Volcanology (1987), Environmental Change (1994), Sea Level Change (1996), The Origin of Life (2000), Armageddon – The End is Nigh (2001), Beginnings of the World (2009), Geoscience Frontiers (2010-2016), Bold Ideas in Earth Sciences (2017), Climate Variation Through Earth’s History (2020), Dynamic Earth (2021), Looking Back and Looking Forward in Earth Science (2023) and Energy and Sustainability (2024).
Our excellent speakers ensure we excite and engage interest across our broad audience of undergraduate and postgraduate students, local geological society members, school students and teachers, academic staff and our University of Liverpool alumni. The Herdman Symposium has been supported over the past decades by our current students and loyal audience who come back year after year, and by our generous industry sponsors.
Over the decades, the Herdman Symposium has commemorated the passing of notable Liverpool academics (Granites: shaping of Earth and the way we live (2007)) and the Herdman Centenary (2018). Many thanks to the Herdman Society Committee members and academic leads (including Trevor Elliott, Pete Kokelaar, Jim Marshall and Janine Kavanagh) who have seen the Herdman Symposium through the turn of the century and a global pandemic to ensure it remains a highlight in the geoscience events calendar.
GeoHub Liverpool now provides a wonderful platform to showcase the history and heritage of the Herdman Symposium, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023. Many thanks to Alan Boyle and Jim Marshall for their efforts engaging our Herdman alumni and networks to compile this history.
History of the Symposium
The brochures for the Symposium 2025 – 2013
Please click on a picture to see the brochure
Past titles, secretaries and Presidents
Please hover over a year to see what data we have. If you can help us fill in the blanks we would be most grateful. Please contact Peter Williams at: tjpeter@liverpool.ac.uk
| year-2024 | year-2023 | year-2022 | year-2021 | year-2020 |
| year-2019 | year-2018 | year-2017 | year-2016 | year-2015 |
| year-2014 | year-2013 | year-2012 | year-2011 | year-2010 |
| year-2009 | year-2008 | year-2007 | year-2006 | year-2005 |
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| year-1994 | year-1993 | year-1992 | year-1991 | year-1990 |
| year-1989 | year-1988 | year-1987 | year-1986 | year-1985 |
| year-1984 | year-1983 | year-1982 | year-1981 | year-1980 |
| year-1979 | year-1978 | year-1977 | year-1976 | year-1975 |
| year-1974 |
In 2021 and 2022 the Herdman Symposium was a virtual event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. You can view recordings of those seminars and some from the 2024 symposium on the Earth Sciences Research Group YouTube page. Here is the Herdman Symposium play list on the ESRG YouTube page:
These four YouTube videos give a flavour of the lectures available in the playlist. David McNamara and Jess Pugsley are from the 2024 Symposium, Dan Faulkner’s lecture is from 2022 and Christine Janis’s is from 2021.