About CarbonMat

CarbonMat is a home for organic petrology, organic and carbon materials.

It is a place where science can be explored with curiosity, clarity and, occasionally, a sense of humour. You may come here to learn something new, look more closely at something familiar, meet the members of The Society of Reflective Personalities, or simply have a laugh.

Although CarbonMat is grounded in science, it is not only for scientists. You do not need to work with coal, belong to academia or have specialist knowledge to be welcome here. If you are curious and willing to learn, the door is open.

The platform brings a few things together under one roof. CarbonMat’s Library holds the articles and explainers behind the "how" and "why" of organic matter and carbon materials. The Society of Reflective Personalities gives macerals a voice, and a sense of humour, of their own. Courses are on their way, for anyone who wants to go further than a single article. And alongside all of it, CarbonMat continues to provide the specialist analysis and consulting work with which it began — interpreting petrographic and microstructural evidence for industry and research.

Some parts of CarbonMat are technical. Others are playful. Both belong here.

CarbonMat is written and run by Dr Sandra Rodrigues — read more about her [here]. On any given day it might hold a new technical explainer, a fresh instalment of The Society, or an enquiry about a consulting project — all under the same roof, in the same voice.

A home for science, curiosity and anyone with a passion for learning.