Aidan Neill, a Midshipman second class in the United States Naval Reserve and an undergraduate geology student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, combines a passion for the outdoors with a drive to explore rare earth elements. As a research technician at the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS), part of the Prairie Research Institute (PRI), Aidan assists with research on the Hicks Dome Regolith. Beyond academia, Aidan spends summers guiding inner-city and underprivileged youth through wilderness experiences, sharing his love for nature. Read the latest edition of our “People of PRI” blog to learn more about Aidan’s work, interests, and advice for aspiring geologists.
Q&A with Aidan Neill
Q: Can you tell us about yourself and your role at PRI?
A: I love being outdoors, working out, and spending time with friends. During my summers I work as a wilderness guide for inner-city and underprivileged youth. I truly enjoy being able to share my love of nature with youth who have never had the opportunity to explore the outdoors. Being able to teach students about environmental sustainability and conservation is extremely rewarding. My role at PRI is as a research assistant working on the Hicks Dome Regolith.
Q: What drew you to your area of work or study?
A: What drew me to this area of work is my interest in rare earth elements and production and management of the associated supply chains. Being able to produce resources within the US is very important to national security. Especially for us as a country that is moving towards green energy.
Q: What tools are indispensable to your work?
A: I use many tools that are indispensable to me while doing my work. One of the most important tools that we use is an XRF Machine. This helps give the compositions of the soils that we are analyzing and gives us an idea of the concentrations of different elements within the soils.
Q: What advice would you give to those just starting out in your field?
A: Don’t be afraid to ask questions! Staff at ISGS are super helpful and can really help when you run into problems. The jump between undergraduate classes and actually doing geological research can be very large. However, I have found there are a lot of support systems around at the ISGS that can really help.
Q: What do you do in your free time?
A: During my free time I love to spend time in the outdoors, fishing, hiking, and rock climbing, especially during the summers. During the semester, I spend most of my free time working out and participating in different RSO’s. On campus I am a member of the Geology Club and the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps. Within NROTC I am involved in many clubs, including the Rifle Pistol Marksmanship Team and Drill Teams. I can also be found during home football games ringing the bell for every Illinois touchdown.