Explore the Birch Lecture from the 2017 AGU Fall Meeting, featuring Greg Hirth from Brown University. Delve into topics such as the Jason Morgan Early Career Award, Romain Ross Early Career Award, and Paul G Silver Award. Gain positive insights and learn about Byerly's Law, flow law applications, and low-temperature plasticity. Examine issues in the field, mentorship approaches, and the role of grain size and viscosity in geophysical processes. Investigate boundary constraints and intermediate focus earthquakes, concluding with a comprehensive overview of current research in earth sciences.