My family came from the volcanic island I researched: St. Vncent in the grenadines.
Because of my disability I was very sick as a child. Knowing if you have a disability,
knowing your own limits, and then just working with your body to find the right fit ... because
there is a way to do science, to work with your disability whether it's physical or mental.
Volcanoes bring me joy, because they're they're very beautiful geological landforms ,and
I always say that they're underappreciated and misunderstood land forms, because,
sure they destroy things. But they're also very beautiful and contribute so much in terms of
the benefits that they provide. My name is Dr. Jasmine Scarlett and I'm a historical and social
volcanologist, which essentially is: I research past volcanic eruptions, how they impacted people,
and how it can inform the present and our future and understanding how people live with volcanoes.
Dr. Scarlett's work is amazing and it requires knowledge of a lot of different fields.
So my work is interdisciplinary. I combine physical sciences, physical geography with
humanities and social sciences. I've predominately been focusing on marginalized communities and how
they live with volcanoes, because they're usually quite neglected in research. And it
just so happens actually focusing quite a lot on black communities. And that's kind of a personal
connection because my family comes from a volcanic island I researched, St Vincent in the Grenadines.
But it's just really interesting to see how people live knowing that this volcano is active and it
could erupt at any time. And i just really find it fascinating how they just kind of live with
it. I definitely think the most exciting part is getting people stories. Society is not all
the same. It's all very different, and why it matters is that to trace the colonial legacy
how these systems imposed on people, that did not choose to have imposed on them,
how that has actually impacted them living with disasters and in this case volcanic eruptions,
because it's really down to like decisions made that actually that really highlights these kind of
like how people live with them today and how they may live with them in the future. Dr. Scarlett has
found a really innovative way to combine work and play. I really like playing video games.
I like them so much i turned it into research. Not so long ago i kind of got more interested in
the volcanoes and the geology in video games that i was playing. It was Spyro the Dragon.
I was just like looking at a level where it had lava falls in it,
and I was,like, it don't look quite right. So I decided to use my scientific curiosity, I suppose
and look through the levels be like, "okay, is this kind of accurate does this relate to what
we see in real life working?" And that turned into a research paper with a friend of mine,
Ed McGowan. We just basically played games and then reviewed them. Collaborations and mentoring
are very important to Dr. Scarlett. I've had the opportunity to mentor students as well.
Particularly those who want to be volcanologists. If you can get your own students to mentor
that's a really touching kind of experience, to pass on your life experiences to another person.
you