[SAVE THE DATE] iSTRUM (inveStigating Transient Rheology of the Upper Mantle) Community Workshop, June 22-26, 2026
Kristel Chanard
Dear solid-Earth Science community,
We are excited to announce the upcoming iSTRUM (inveStigating Transient Rheology of the Upper Mantle) Community Workshop, to be held June 22-26, 2026 at UC Santa Barbara, hosted by the Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics (KITP).
If you are interested in attending this workshop, save the dates! To help us with logistics planning, please complete this short form: click here. A formal registration form will follow in early 2026.
This 5-day, NSF-funded event will bring together ~60 researchers from the fields of Rock Physics, Seismology, Geodesy, and Geodynamics with the goal to advance our understanding the broad spectrum of upper mantle rheology, covering timescales ranging from seismic waves (~1 s) to Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (~10^12 s). The workshop will foster interdisciplinary collaborations among a diverse array of researchers motivated by the goal of integrating seismic, geodetic, and laboratory observations, within a self-consistent framework that links geodynamics to microphysics.
Throughout the week, we will address questions such as:
How do Earth materials deform across a range of time scales?
How are viscoelasticity, anelasticity and transient creep detected, described and characterized in geophysical signals?
What processes and mechanisms lead to these phenomena? What are the benefits and limitations of mechanistic and phenomenological models formed to understand them?
What does the micro-scale predict for the macro-scale?
How do we observe complex rheology in the lab/field, and how can we disentangle it from time/space/state-variable heterogeneity controlling variation in apparent signals?
The workshop will include plenary talks (16), large and small group discussions, poster sessions, software demonstrations, and pilot-project-driven breakout groups. Our goal is to have numerous formal and informal opportunities for generative discussion and collaboration to build a rich and lasting network of multidisciplinary researchers, including early-career scientists. For in-person participants, six nights of accommodation (Sun-Sat) will be provided in apartment-style housing, along with breakfasts, lunches, and three communal dinners. Remote participation will also be possible, with access to live and recorded talks, though opportunities for real-time interactions will be limited.
The full workshop schedule is still taking shape, but we are thrilled to advertise the following confirmed invited speakers and discussion panelists: Mark Behn (Boston College), Roland Burgman (UC Berkeley), Donna Depolo (U. Colorado), Arwen Deuss (Utrecht U.), Uli Faul (MIT), Luce Fleitout (Ecole Normale Supérieure), Greg Hirth (Brown U.), Tushar Mittal (Penn. State U.), Elvira Mulykova (Northwestern U.). Francis Nimmo (UC Santa Cruz), Fred Richards (Imperial College London), Josh Russell (Syracuse U.), Barbara Romanowicz (UC Berkeley), David Wallis (U. Cambridge), and Hatsuki Yamauchi (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory). All other attendees will be expected to present new research at poster sessions.
Please, forward this announcement to colleagues and students who might be interested in joining. We look forward to seeing you in sunny Santa Barbara for a stimulating and collaborative week!
Warm regards,
Kristel Chanard for the iSTRUM science team and meeting conveners: Colleen Dalton, Zach Eilon, Lars Hansen, Chris Havlin, Ben Holtzman, and Harriet Lau.