Constraining the tectonics of the western Philippine arc-continent collision zone: a novel research partnership between University of St Andrews and University of the Philippines

Description of impact

Garber and Fischer, research technicians in the St Andrews Geochronology and Geochemistry facility (StAGE; PI Nick Gardiner), have established a new research partnership with University of the Philippines (UP: Dr. Gabriel Valera, Andrew Tabilog) to perform geochemical analyses on rock and mineral samples at St Andrews. This work was supported by funding from the St Andrews Nascent Partnership Fund (awarded Jun 2026), which supported work in our unique facility for ongoing research regarding the plate tectonic history of the western Philippines, including Tabilog’s MS (supervised by Valera). The goal was to establish long-term St Andrews–UP research
collaboration, and to promote international awareness of the recently
established, cutting edge StAGE lab.

Who is affected

Garber, Fischer, Gardiner, and School of Earth and Environmental Sciences @ University of St Andrews
Tabilog, Valera, Rushurgent Working Group, and National Institute of Geologic Sciences @ University of the Philippines

Impact status	Closed
Impact date	Aug 2025 → Jul 2026
Category of impact	Educational Impact (Beyond St Andrews), Other Impact
Impact level	Change adopted - end stage