Rodeos and Regolith: A Week at LPSC 2025

The PVL crew at LPSC 2025 in The Woodlands, Texas. From left to right, we have MSc students Milena and Abby followed by PhD students Conor and Alex. There's nothing like your first scientific conference! (I still remember LPSC 2004 fondly.) Below, Milena Markovich, one of our new MSc students reflects on their experience this past March.

 by Milena Markovich

Running through Toronto Pearson Airport a punctual three hours before my flight, I could hardly focus on where I was going. Making my way through security, I placed all my items and luggage on the conveyor belt, running on autopilot. My mind was racing with anticipation, a perfect storm of excitement and anxiety. When I finally arrived at my gate, I double checked the display by the desk – destination: Houston, Texas. I settled into my seat and began some last-minute marking before I would eventually arrive at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. 

Once Abby arrived at the gate, we began discussing the conference in an excited flurry. What would it be like? Would our poster sessions go well? Which sessions and speakers were we most excited for? In a coincidence which perfectly exemplifies the small world of planetary science, sitting across from us was a former colleague of our supervisor: Dr. Livio Tornabene. After some friendly conversation, I asked Dr. Tornabene if he had any advice for a first-time conference goer like myself. His advice echoed in my mind for the entire week ahead – remember to take breaks, there’s so much going on that you can’t possibly “do it all”.

Although this was fantastic advice, after my first day at LPSC 2025 I realized I would certainly have a problem following this piece of advice. Sitting in on sessions exploring the icy moons of Jupiter, the minerology of Mars and astrobiology, I knew this was a learning opportunity of which I could not miss a single second. What followed was a week of 7AM mornings, quick jogs across the Macy’s parking lot to make it to the first session of the day, and long evenings spent meeting other graduate students, exploring The Woodlands and even Houston.  

The welcoming nature of everyone I met was a warm embrace into the planetary science community. In Texas of all places, so far from home and campus, I encountered other graduate students from York University. Through quick chats between sessions and social bar nights with loud “cheers!” going around, I gained a deeper sense of community. I met other students and scientists from across the world – offering friendly conversation at lunches, fascinating discussions about their research and helpful doses of career advice and mentorship.

In between the lecture presentations, bonus workshops and poster sessions I spent many hours walking the canal by the conference hotel with lab-mates, exploring local restaurants (failing miserably to order a sufficient amount of barbecue for three people), even managing an excursion to the Houston rodeo. From experiencing Cracker Barrel for the first time or exploring the wacky food booths at the Houston rodeo with my newfound friends, I gained so many wonderful memories outside the conference hall. This attitude of never saying “no” to a restaurant, extra session, or fun field trip allowed me to develop friendships with York students I had hardly seen around campus, and with other scientists from across the country, continent and world.

Thus, it seems I went directly against Dr. Tornabene’s advice. That is certainly not to say that his advice was not perfectly sound – however, as a first-year graduate student surrounded by the passionate, excited and welcoming nature of this community for the first time, this advice seemed equally impossible for me to follow.

Following discussions of LPSC 2025 being the last LPSC conference in this capacity, I knew I had done the right thing by trying to soak up as much of the experience as I possibly could. While career paths can be winding – starting and stopping at different destinations than we may expect – my time spent immersed in the planetary science community has been both professionally fulfilling and has provided me with many treasured moments with friends. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to participate in this conference, both by presenting my research at the poster session and absorbing all the fantastic work being done in planetary science, while building meaningful relationships and connections within the community. 

Throughout my week at LPSC 2025 I learned much more than I could have hoped. From presentations on the geophysics of Mars and icy moons to lunar volatiles and minerology. Of equal value, I learned what a country steak is, had fried okra for the first time and experienced the epic highs and lows of a Texan rodeo. At the end of the day, there are indeed times when we all make the mistake of not following perfectly good advice. Returning home from Houston exhausted, yet full of knowledge, inspiration and fond memories, I’m glad I made that mistake.