Dear all, We are happy to announce that the 2026 Metamorphic Studies Group Research in Progress (RiP) meeting will take place in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy, on April 9th-10th 2026, for the first time outside of the UK! There will be an icebreaker on the evening of the 8th and an optional three-day field trip to local sites of interest on Sardinia from the 11th to the 13th inclusive. The meeting will be a hybrid event, so those who cannot attend in person can still join in and present virtually. The flyer of the meeting is available at https://metamorphicstudiesgroup.wordpress.com/2026-msg/ Registration for both events is now open and the deadline is January 20th at 23:59 UK time Registration<https://msg.absmanager.com/account/?wppb_referer_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmsg.absmanager.com%2F> Conference fees are visible on the link above after registration, as well as at the bottom of the present email. You may select the “member” fee if you are a member of the Mineralogical Society of the UK and Ireland, the Geological Society of London, or the Società Italiana di Mineralogia e Petrologia. Optional activities are * a social dinner with typical Sardinian food (option to be selected during registration, the cost of 40€/35£ is not included in the registration fee) * a field trip to see high-grade rocks and retrogressed eclogites of the North-Eastern area of Sardinia from the 11th to the 13th of April inclusive. Attendance on the field trip is limited to 32 participants, and places will be assigned on a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis. Please select this option during the registration process if you wish to attend. Registration<https://msg.absmanager.com/account/?wppb_referer_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmsg.absmanager.com%2F> Abstract submission Abstracts can be uploaded using the conference registration system. Registration is a one-time process but you can log in to your account and update your record/add new items to your order at any time before the deadline. PLEASE USE THE ABSTRACT TEMPLATE available at https://metamorphicstudiesgroup.wordpress.com/2026-msg/ Conference Information The conference will be held at Sa Manifattura (formerly Manifattura Tabacchi, https://www.sardegnaricerche.it/manifattura/, instagram: @manifatturatabacchi/), Viale Regina Margherita, 33, 09125 Cagliari, Italy. Presentations on the 9th and 10th will be held in the Sala Eventi on the first floor. Detailed logistical information will be provided closer to the date. Posters and refreshments will be in the adjacent foyer area (Ballatoio). The icebreaker will take place in the same area. Hotels We have no specific arrangements for this conference, generally the best options for that period of the year are found on well-known booking websites. In case you need further assistance, please contact silvio.ferrero@unica.it<mailto:silvio.ferrero@unica.it>. Travel Cagliari Airport is a short train ride (10 minutes) from the city center. The station is located a few hundred meters from the venue. Cagliari has many direct connections to London and to major European hubs. If you do not find any direct flights, try connecting via the mainland hubs of Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa, or Milan Linate. Alghero and Olbia airports are in the north of the island, and it takes 2–3 hours to reach Cagliari by train (with some luck). Both Olbia and Alghero may be good options for flying out after the field trip (for those of you attending), as they are very close to the area where we will be on the 13th of April. Green(er) options: Ferries travel daily to and from mainland Italy with the following connections: Cagliari–Civitavecchia and Cagliari–Palermo. More options from Olbia and Porto Torres in the north are available at www.traghettilines.it<http://www.traghettilines.it> Fieldtrip Information The field trip will take place in the northern part of the island using minivans, starting in Cagliari at around 9 AM on the 11th and finishing in the same place in the evening (around 7 PM) on the 13th. Drop-off at Alghero or Olbia airports can be organized for the late afternoon of the 13th of April. Accomodation in hotel for two nights will be offerend in double rooms; single rooms available upon request for an additional fee (around 67 euros). This will be taken care of at a later date, once we have a precise idea of how many people will join the fieldtrip. Lunch bags will be provided for both days. The detailed program is still under definition, but the main targets will be medium to high-grade rocks, low/medium pressure migmatites and retrogressed eclogites visible on the north-east coast and on the northern coast. The last day will involve a two-hour drive across mountainous areas with very winding roads. Further details will be provided closer to the time. IMPORTANT: Attendance on the field trip is limited to 32 participants, and places will be assigned on a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis! We are looking forward to welcoming you all to Cagliari! The organizing committee (Silvio Ferrero, Gabriele Cruciani, Alfredo Idini, Leonardo Casini, Olga Turek, Lorenzo Dulcetta, Dario Fancello) ______________________________ CONFERENCE FEES Student/Retired/Unwaged Member – €74 (including €13.34 VAT) Student/Retired/Unwaged Non-Member – €84 (including €15.15 VAT) Professional Member – €183 (including €33.00 VAT) Professional Non-Member – €203 (including €36.61 VAT) Remote Student/Retired/Unwaged – €40 (including €0 VAT) Remote Professional – €100 (including €0 VAT) Remote attendance by delegates who live and work in Low- and Middle-Income Countries – €0. Invited speaker/Conference organizer – €0 LATE FEES (WHICH WILL COMMENCE AFTER 20TH JANUARY 2026) Student/Retired/Unwaged Member – €84 (including €15.15 VAT) Student/Retired/Unwaged Non-Member – €94 (including €16.95 VAT) Professional Member – €203 (including €36.1 VAT) Professional Non-Member – €223 (including €40.21 VAT) Remote Student – €40 (including €0 VAT) Remote Professional – €100 (including €0 VAT) _________________ Prof. Silvio Ferrero Professor (Associate) of Petrology / Professore Associato di Petrologia Member of the Researchers’ Focus Group (RFG) HRS4R Erasmus contact person Università degli Studi di Cagliari Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche Blocco A, Cittadella Universitaria, 09042 Monserrato (CA) "In those early days people laughed at me. They quoted Saussure who had said that it was not a proper thing to examine mountains with microscopes, and ridiculed my action in every way. Most luckily I took no notice of them" (Henry Clifton Sorby) ​ To many petrologists a volatile component is exactly like a Maxwell daemon; it does just what one may wish it to do. (The evolution of the igneous rocks, N.L. Bowen, 1928)