The Rock Deformation GRC is a premier, international scientific conference focused on advancing the frontiers of science through the presentation of cutting-edge and unpublished research, prioritizing time for discussion after each talk and fostering informal interactions among scientists of all career stages. The conference program includes an array of speakers and discussion leaders from institutions and organizations worldwide, concentrating on the latest developments in the field. The conference is five days long and held in a remote location to increase the sense of camaraderie and create scientific communities, with lasting collaborations and friendships. In addition to premier talks, the conference has designated time for poster sessions from individuals of all career stages, and afternoon free time and communal meals allow for informal networking opportunities with leaders in the field.
The fundamental underlying mechanisms that allow rocks to deform result in a wide range phenomenological behaviors. When we describe rock deformation, we often use combinations of springs, dashpots, and sliding blocks as analogs, while also seeking to unpick the microscopic processes that result in such behavior. Robust models of rock behavior, grounded in the microphysics of deformation, are essential for interpreting geophysical observations and making geodynamic predictions at time and length scales not accessible in the laboratory. We are not alone. Scientists and Engineers studying the physical properties of many other materials use some of the same treatments, observe many of the same behaviors, and have comparable difficulties in extrapolation. In the similarities and differences among all of these materials, in what might at first glance be disparate phenomena, we can gain valuable insight into the underlying physics and controls of deformation.
At the 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Rock Deformation, leading experts in experimental rock deformation, structural geology, earthquake seismology, geodesy, geodynamics, and glaciology will meet alongside experts in the areas of battery design, food technology, winter sports, and building materials to present progress and outstanding questions in the behavior of materials of study over a range of time and length scales. The conference will draw together a broad and novel set of international experts at the forefronts of their fields, both early-career and senior investigators. The collegial and open atmosphere of the Gordon Research Conference, combining programmed oral sessions, poster sessions, and discussions, as well as opportunities for informal gatherings in the afternoons, evenings and during meals, provides a forum for scientists from different disciplines to brainstorm together, while developing new cross-disciplinary collaborations in a broad range of research areas.
