Jonathan Stone (2005 Leaver) – Volcanologist

Jonathan Stone (2005 Leaver) was interviewed on the Radio 4 “Today” programme on Friday 30^th August 2013 about his work with community based monitoring of volcanoes.
The interview came about as a result of work that Jonathan was presenting at the Royal Geographical Society Annual Conference.

Jonathan’s research involves something called ‘citizen science’, where he works with volunteers to collect data. By using kites and quadcopters with cameras attached, people living around volcanoes can not only provide valuable data, but also learn about the risks that they face. The project is about empowering people to get involved with monitoring volcanoes, so that we can increase our understanding of how they work and how they affect the population around them. Many of the volunteers were 6^th form students from a school in Montserrat, West Indies.

It is worth noting that the first time Jonathan flew a kite like this (powerful enough to lift a camera) was with Dr Patchett and a few others from his physics class after games on a Wednesday….!

Follow Jonathan on Twitter: @jonathanstone10