Workshops History

Workshop History/SIBS 2026 Camden

Held from 30 January 2026 to 6 February 2026

The SIBS 2026 workshop will be an exciting week of scientific discovery and hands-on learning at the Centre for Carbon, Water and Food, University of Sydney, in Camden! Participants will delve into the world of stable isotopes and their applications in agriculture, ecology, and environmental research. Through lectures, lab sessions, and fieldwork, attendees will gain practical skills in isotope analysis and apply them to their own research projects.

Past Workshop Details

Main organiser

Dr Claudia Keitel

University of Sydney, Australia

🌐 Personal link

📧 claudia.keitel@sydney.edu.au

Programme

▸ Day 1 Fri 30 Jan 2026 — Arrival
12:00 –18:00	Break	Arrival
18:00 –19:00	Break	BBQ
▸ Day 2 Sat 31 Jan 2026 — Isotope theory and instrumentation
08:00 –08:30	Break	Breakfast
08:30 –09:15	Lecture	Isotope Theory Dr Claudia Keitel
09:15 –09:22	Lab / Practical	Q&A
09:22 –10:07	Lecture	Isotope Calculations Dr Cesca McInerney
10:07 –10:15	Lab / Practical	Practical
10:15 –10:45	Break	Break
10:45 –11:30	Lecture	A quick and incomplete survey of stable isotopic applications Dr Hilary Stuart-Williams
11:30 –11:37	Lab / Practical	Q&A
11:37 –12:22	Lab / Practical	Instrument tours
12:22 –12:30	Lab / Practical	Q&A
12:30 –13:30	Break	Lunch
13:30 –14:15	Lecture	Magnet-based IRMS Instruments
14:15 –14:22	Lab / Practical	Q&A
14:22 –15:07	Lecture	Laser-based instruments
15:07 –15:15	Lab / Practical	Q&A
15:15 –15:45	Break	Break
15:45 –16:30	Lecture	GROUP Pitches
16:30 –17:15	Lecture	Student discussions/group formation
17:15 –18:00	Lecture	Student discussions/group formation
18:00 –19:00	Break	Dinner
▸ Day 3 Sun 1 Feb 2026 — Plant carbon and oxygen isotopes
08:00 –08:30	Break	Breakfast
08:30 –09:15	Lecture	C isotopes in C3 Plants
09:15 –09:22	Lab / Practical	Q&A
09:22 –10:07	Lecture	C isotopes in C4/CAM Plants Prof. Lucas Cernusak
10:07 –10:15	Lab / Practical	Q&A
10:15 –10:45	Break	Break
10:45 –11:30	Lecture	C isotopes in leaf gas exchange Dr Florian Busch
11:30 –11:37	Lab / Practical	Q&A
11:37 –12:22	Lecture	Probing plant physiology with isotopes Dr Alexander Cheesman
12:22 –12:30	Lab / Practical	Q&A
12:30 –13:30	Break	Lunch
13:30 –14:15	Lecture	H & O isotopes in Plant Water Prof. Lucas Cernusak
14:15 –14:22	Lab / Practical	Q&A
14:22 –15:07	Lecture	O isotopes in plant tissues Dr Nathan English
15:07 –15:15	Lab / Practical	Q&A
15:15 –15:45	Break	Break
15:45 –18:00	Lecture	GROUP PROJECTS
18:00 –19:00	Break	Dinner
19:00 –21:00	Break	Activity
▸ Day 4 Mon 2 Feb 2026 — N, C, O, H isotopes in plants, microbes, water and ecosystems. Calculations, standards and QC
08:00 –08:30	Break	Breakfast
08:30 –09:15	Lecture	H and O isotopes in the Water Cycle
09:15 –09:22	Lab / Practical	Q&A
09:22 –10:07	Lecture	C isotopes in Plant-Soil-Microbes Prof. Feike Dijkstra
10:07 –10:15	Lab / Practical	Q&A
10:15 –10:45	Break	Break
10:45 –11:30	Lecture	N and O isotopes in Plant-Soil-Microbes Prof. Feike Dijkstra
11:30 –11:37	Lab / Practical	Q&A
11:37 –12:22	Lecture	Equation practical/modelling/theory exploration
12:22 –12:30	Lab / Practical	Q&A
12:30 –13:30	Break	Lunch
13:30 –14:15	Lecture	Isotope Standards
14:15 –14:22	Lab / Practical	Q&A
14:22 –15:07	Lecture	GROUP PROJECTS
15:07 –15:15	Lab / Practical	Q&A
15:15 –15:45	Break	Break
15:45 –18:00	Lecture	GROUP PROJECTS
18:00 –19:00	Break	Dinner
▸ Day 5 Tue 3 Feb 2026 — Ecosystem isotopes and isoscapes; fieldtrip
08:00 –08:30	Break	Breakfast
08:30 –09:15	Lecture	Ecosystem N isotopes Dr Naomi Wells
09:15 –09:22	Lab / Practical	Q&A
09:22 –10:07	Lecture	CSIA with conventional MS instruments
10:07 –10:15	Lab / Practical	Q&A
10:15 –10:45	Break	Break
10:45 –11:30	Lecture	Isotopes and Climate Change
11:30 –11:37	Lab / Practical	Q&A
11:37 –12:00	Lecture	Isotopes in agricultural systems Dr Cesca McInerney
12:00 –12:22	Lab / Practical	Isotopes.au and stable isotope ontology Dr Cesca McInerney
12:22 –12:30	Lab / Practical	Q&A
12:30 –13:30	Break	Lunch
13:30 –18:00	Field	Field trip
18:00 –19:00	Break	Dinner
▸ Day 6 Wed 4 Feb 2026 — Food webs, isotopes in agriculture and archaeology
08:00 –08:30	Break	Breakfast
08:30 –09:15	Lecture	Stable isotopes in pyrogenic carbon Mx Michael Bird
09:15 –09:22	Lab / Practical	Q&A
09:22 –10:07	Lecture	Radiocarbon
10:07 –10:15	Lab / Practical	Q&A
10:15 –10:45	Break	Break
10:45 –11:30	Lecture	Isoscapes
11:30 –11:37	Lab / Practical	Q&A
11:37 –12:22	Lecture	Isotopes in animals
12:22 –12:30	Lab / Practical	Q&A
12:30 –13:30	Break	Lunch
13:30 –14:15	Lecture	Isotope labelling of coastal ecosystems
14:15 –14:22	Lab / Practical	Q&A
14:22 –15:07	Lecture	Bird isotopes and archaeology
15:07 –15:15	Lab / Practical	Q&A
15:15 –15:45	Break	Break
15:45 –18:00	Lab / Practical	GROUP PROJECTS
18:00 –21:00	Break	Workshop dinner
▸ Day 7 Thu 5 Feb 2026 — Isotopes in teeth, carbonates, radioisotopes
08:00 –08:30	Break	Breakfast
08:30 –09:15	Lecture	Oxygen isotopes in tooth and bone phosphate as climate proxies Dr Hilary Stuart-Williams
09:15 –09:22	Lab / Practical	Q&A
09:22 –10:07	Lecture	Laser ablation IRMS
10:07 –10:15	Lab / Practical	Q&A
10:15 –10:45	Break	Break
10:45 –11:30	Lecture	RNA/DNA based isotope probing
11:30 –11:37	Lab / Practical	Q&A
11:37 –12:22	Lecture	Isotopes in ecosystem gas exchange Dr Naomi Wells
12:22 –12:30	Lab / Practical	Q&A
12:30 –13:30	Break	Lunch
13:30 –14:15	Lecture	Carbonates Mx Michael Bird
14:15 –14:22	Lab / Practical	Q&A
14:22 –15:07	Lecture	GROUP PROJECTS
15:07 –15:15	Lab / Practical	Q&A
15:15 –15:45	Break	Break
15:45 –18:00	Lecture	GROUP PROJECTS
18:00 –19:00	Break	Dinner
19:00 –21:00	Break	Activity
▸ Day 8 Fri 6 Feb 2026 — SIBS 2026 symposium and Departure
08:00 –08:30	Break	Breakfast
08:30 –09:15	Break	Attendees to move out of accommodation
09:15 –09:40	Lab / Practical	Student Presentation: Amino Acids in Hydroponic Wheat
09:40 –10:05	Lab / Practical	Student Presentation: Isotopes in Riverine and Pond Ecosystems
10:05 –10:30	Lab / Practical	Student Presentation: Water Use efficiency in tree species
10:30 –11:55	Lab / Practical	Student Presentation: From Soil to Atmosphere
11:55 –13:30	Break	Lunch
13:30 –18:00	Break	Participants leave

Venue

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Lab Methods and Interest

Testimonials

As a lecturer from a regional university, attending SIBS 2026 was a great opportunity to meet other environmental science researchers and to hear about the interesting work happening around the country and overseas. It was fun to get out in the field and do some lab work to complete a small group research project. It was valuable to be on the other side of teaching - learning from other groups, universities, and all the presenters. Claudia and her colleagues did a fantastic job of organising the workshop - their hard work produced a successful, relevant and engaging experience. Thank you!!

by Catherine (Cassie) Jones, Attendee — SIBS 2026 Camden

Delta Team

In this photo from the 2020 SIBS workshop in Canberra, students and mentors teamed up to form the iconic delta symbol – the classic mark of isotopic ratios. A perfect snapshot of the creativity and camaraderie that define SIBS!

The SIBS 2026 Workshop was an outstanding and enriching experience. The combination of lectures, laboratory training, and field activities provided strong theoretical and practical foundations in stable isotope applications in environmental research. I especially valued the hands-on approach and the opportunity to collaborate with inspiring researchers and students. I would like to sincerely thank Dr Claudia Keitel for her exceptional organisation, kindness, and genuine care for all participants, creating a welcoming and supportive environment. I highly recommend this workshop to anyone intere

by Mauricio Leite, Attendee — SIBS 2026 Camden

SIBS was such an important learning experience! Building a background in isotopes science is something I have wanted and needed for my career, but it's not something that's widely taught in Ecology; there just aren't any courses in most undergraduate or Master's degrees. What makes SIBS so unique is having over a week where everyone - attendees, instructors, organizers - are entirely focused on isotopes, so you can make those big knowledge gains and come up with new ideas in such a short time. As an added bonus, the people are all amazing and are building such a robust professional community!

by Lauren Hitt, Attendee — SIBS 2026 Camden

Our Original SIBS Logo

Our very first SIBS logo, designed for the 2013 workshop in Camden – a symbol of more than a decade of passion and dedication to sharing the science and techniques of stable isotopes with students and professionals worldwide.