Is there a Doctor in the House?

I’m over a month into my PhD program and I’m still oscillating between wild, ecstatic optimism and stone cold, stop you in your tracks fear of the route ahead.  Completing a Master’s degree was two and a half years of hard work and setbacks culminating in one of the proudest, happiest moments of my life - successful defending of my thesis. I’m back on track for five more years of the grad student life, but these will be harder, faster, stronger times ahead than before. Good thing I’ve got my Daft Punk pandora station ready to go. My Masters program didn’t entail any qualifying or comprehensive exams so they seem like lofty, impassable goals now. A sentiment shared by my cohort members, but we’ve found that the more information we have the more confidence we gain. We here at STS would like to share what we know about our own roads to knowledge with you the readers so that you guys can find the confidence to face this journey too.

Cover Letters of Interest

Once you've gone through the process of finding potential grad school advisers, the next step is to contact them. It can be quite scary. That fear that you'll craft a seemingly marvelous letter, attach your well-written CV, send it off, and then…hear back nothing. Or worse, you'll hear back, but they aren't interested in your obvious brilliance. Try not to get in your own head too much. Think of it more as the start of an epic journey towards the next step in your blossoming academic career. The professors that show the most interest in you are going to be the ones that are the best fit for your unique interests and skills. Writing about yourself is hard, but now is the time to brag on yourself a bit. Say it with me, “I am a badass science baller and all the profs want me.” Keep in mind that this letter does not need to be perfect. I just looked back at the cover letter I sent to my MS advisor (keep anything you write about yourself!) and it’s nearly 2 full pages long with way too much information. Thankfully, she wasn't bored, and I had a wonderful, productive Master’s experience.

Say it again!

Collaboration Station: Google Drive

Collaboration is a vital part of the scientific process. Do you think I’m going to save the world on my own? Nope. I’m going to need at least a little bit of help. The more great minds working on a project, the faster advancements may be made. And we need advancements (I’m look at you, self-driving car peoples)! Any sort of collaboration is difficult across distances. Technology has made the process easier and email is currently the main tool for communication for researchers. While I’m really proud of the older generations of scientists for getting on track with email, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask them, and everyone, to utilize Google Drive for their collaboration needs.

Being able to access my Google Drive from anywhere keeps me productive!

Welcome to Sweet Tea, Science

Mt. St. Helens, Summer 2012

Let us start by first saying welcome! We are excited and proud to be launching the Sweet Tea, Science blog today. We are two scientists from Kentucky currently working on obtaining our PhDs.  Aside from academic pursuits, we are passionate about sharing our interests in various STEM topics, travel, and sustainable living. It is our hope that through Sweet Tea, Science we can share our knowledge, practice our communication skills, and learn from you!

Costa Rica, Winter 2007

In addition to being hysterical scientists, we are also real life friends! We met in 2005 at Western Kentucky University where we both obtained a BS in Biology with concentrations in Biodiversity, Ecology, and Conservation. Meridith is an overachiever, and also has a minor in mathematics! During our time at WKU (go Tops!), we both completed Honor’s theses and graduated from WKU’s Honors College.  While in college we studied (we took pretty much every biology class together), traveled (numerous Central and South American countries, Africa, Michigan…), and adventured together (everything is an adventure!).  After graduating, we continued to learn and explore as a team, and now we are tackling the blogging world as a dynamic duo.

Love Letters and Salutations

Day Three

Carlsbad Caverns to Albuquerque
Total Miles Hiked: 3.1 (14.6 Overall)

Driving days can be a nice reprieve from the long hiking days in the sun, but there's a limited amount of adventure you can have when in a car for six hours. Rachel and I both have thesis related work to make progress on and that takes up a fair deal of time. However, we also absolutely love to write postcards. We try and buy a few at each park gift shop we stop at, as well as some pit stops along the road. Roswell, NM was a prime post card purchasing location. Pretty much everyone who provides an address will get at least one during the trip!

Postcards ready to be sent out!

If you would like to be added to our writing list and know us personally, feel free to send us Facebook messages with your snail mail addresses!

If you are a lovely blog reader and would still like a postcard from either Rachel, myself, or both please shoot us an email with your address to alwaysscientist@gmail.com.

We also take requests and will write a pretty haiku just for you!

Besties

EDIT: Errmehgrrrd! We rudely forgot to mention our gracious host, Chelsea, for taking care of us in ABQ. We got a little spoiled being allowed to shower, feed, and do laundry after just one park. Chelsea provided us with a fine Chana masala dinner and bagel/fruit breakfast that we've yet to top. Many thanks to her and we hope to see her guest star again on our trip!

"Doesn't happen very often, and sometimes it takes a while, but occasionally a meme will change my life." CEB

Question of the Day:
Do you still send snail mail?

Thinking About the Future of This Blog

It took me a few days of those unavoidable 'woe-is-me-I'm-not-qualified-for-space-travel-research' blues, but I'm back in the pilot's seat and already engrossed with finding my next potential 2013 adventure. Something has to distract me from writing my thesis, right?

I'd like to first extend a hearty 'Best of Luck' to the 30 finalists in the HI-SEAS program. I will be following along from wherever I end up and possibly providing updates to my readers from my position on the outside. I am also considering applying for the 2014 crew, so any advice for making it to the finalists would be greatly appreciated.

One last tidbit to carry with you to the Red Planet:

On To The Future


My main focus with this blog is still sharing an interest and passion for science. However, I am going to be focusing less on the space and astronomy aspects and more on general science topics. Are you ready to get your biology on? I hope to incorporate aspects of travel and food blogging and I'll have a lot of time to focus on these topics once I graduate. Until that point, get ready for some grad school/thesis writing 'How to...' posts.

Do you have requests for blog topics? Please allow your voice to be heard in this week's poll. The poll is located on top left side bar, and you may choose as many answers as your heart desires. Thanks for your support and advice! If you would like to request topics not on the poll, by all means include them as a comment here!

Be patient with me in the short-term. I'll be playing around with different visual themes and layouts. A new outfit helps when starting something new! I also need to brainstorm for a new name. One that will apply to my blog over the long-term. Again, suggestions are appreciated.

Reinventing Education: eTextbooks

Click to Enlarge

I was going to wait a bit until I talked more about this topic, but I'm excited to get it out of my brain onto a post! Earlier this week, I talked about how the Khan Academy has the potential to revolutionize education by allowing students to view video lectures at home and focus on mastering the concepts with help from teachers in the classroom. I've already watch a handful of videos myself and have found them very helpful and educational.

I've been watching videos though the Academy iPad app and have loved how convenient it is. I was able to download videos so that I could watch them during my bus ride (with no internet) back to New Mexico. I felt like could have been in a 'The Future is NOW' ad. I can't help but smile and shake my head in amazement and the products we have available to us.

What's even more amazing is the dedication that Apple and other companies have to the education system. My friend Cornelius received a refurbished iPad as part of a larger donation to Teach for America. He currently uses it as a teaching tool at .... Hopefully we can convince him to write a guest post in the future!

What I'd really like to share with you today is Apple's iBook2 announcement from January 2012. I was nerdy enough to watch the keynote speech the day this initiative was announce and was completely blown away and inspired by what they've created. I have long complained about the antiquity of textbooks, and it seems like the creative, talented people of the world are trying to insight a paradigm shift.















No heavy backpacks. No expensive, out-of-date texts. No boring walls of text.

Why did this take so long?!

Actually, I've already purchased two e-books as required texts for my graduate classes, but this announcement still got me all riled up in a tizzy. After my initial, giddy reaction, I began to spread the good news like it had been passed down from Steve Jobs on high (and he only needed the one tablet). I could see no flaw in the design and expected everyone to be just as excited as I. Most were. But then, gradually different criticisms emerged.

• eTextbooks are only available though iBooks 2 on the iPad
• iPads are too expensive for most schools
• Teachers will be reluctant to adapt new learning platforms
• Students already have limited contact with print media. Too many 'gadgets' will actually prevent advancements in certain areas of their education. 
• Just a new way for students to be distracted in the classroom. 

I believe many if these issues will be addressed in the years to come. Even just allowing access to the texts on a Mac computer will placate many naysayers. I've seen predictions of the Retina Display coming to the next generation of MacBooks, so I wouldn't be surprised if that jump is announced alongside the new lineup of computers in the Fall. Certainly, there will need to be a transition period and different platforms will most likely attempt similar version (Kindle), however it is important to remember that initially teachers were not assigning schoolwork that required the internet or even word processors, but those are not integral parts of the classroom.

I'm already growing impatient with the current stale, lifeless textbooks I'm using this semester. After watching that first keynote, I turned my focus back to my studies. Assigned reading in my Statistics textbook.

I felt like my brain was moving in molasses in an attempt to learn the concepts.

I had seen the future and now instead of reading and retaining information, all I could think about was how I could transform the text into an entertaining, interactive experience. I eventually got the chapter read, but it was very clear to me that hey, I could do this! And so, it is now that I announce, nay declare, that I, Meridith, will one day author a completely awesome eTextbook.

Until then, I'll have to manage with the current system.

*        *       *

Perhaps, if selected, I can convince the Hi-SEAS program to compile the joint experiences of the 6 Astro-Nots and 2 alternates into an iBook. I can easily envision a healthy collection of reports, media, and blog entries that would serve as content.

Can't get to ahead of myself. Still one more week until the first announcements!

Questions of the Day:
Do you think such a radical change can occur in the public school system?
Are you a supporter?
What do you think are the biggest challenges to this idea?
What would you want to see in an end report/book from the 120-day Hi-SEAS food study?

Bits of Excitement

Word came today from the application review board!

"We expect to have an update for applicants next week. Thank you for your patience as we give your applications the attention they deserve."

At least I'm not out, yet. It'll be a nerve-wracking  week and a half. I can only assume that 'next week' really means 'the very end of next week, don't rush us!'.  This kind of excitement is usually reserved for my birthday, or Christmas, or when waiting for final grades to be posted.


I've actually got a few things to share today for YOU GUYS to be excited about.

The European Space Agency (ESA) and Hubble have just announced the 2012 Hubble's Hidden Treasures  Competition.

Everyone, absolutely everyone, is invited to help the ESA discover some of the magnificent photographs lurking in the archives. Vast datasets are available to the public, all you have to do is be patient enough to find a new, interesting/inspirational/beautiful file, adjust the contrast and colors, and upload it to the contest Flickr group. As an extra challenge, you may also use provided software to transform data into breath-taking images. These images can be uploaded to a separate Flickr accounts.

Winners receive an iPod Touch or an iPad.

Both competitions close on 31 May 2012.

I would encourage everyone to try and share the contest information, get your children involved, get something going in a classroom, whatever you can think of! I am going to try and link the two Flickr accounts so that they appear on the sidebars of this blog. Stay tuned!


The other bits of excitement I'd like to share with you are two blogs by Women In Science. Young women, at that! I was chatting with a new friend of mine about my blog and he was cruel enough to share these two with me, even though he knows I'm supposed to be ultra productive these days.

I've added these to my 'Other Voices' section on the left, but I'll provide a quick overview of the blogs.

The Contemplative Mammoth: [From the listed description] I blog about ecology and climate change over various time scales --ranging from the last ice age to the present-- and how our understanding of the past can help prepare us for the future. I also write about my experience in grad school and academia, share book reviews and interesting journal articles, and discuss science literacy, science communication in all forms...and the occasional dung fungus.

Adventures Elsewhere: This blog is much more broad and often seems very journal-like. However, it is penned by a young woman in grad schools so I can relate to a lot of the posts and perhaps you would find it enjoyable, as well. I'm looking forward to reading more, which is quite a task as she started the blog in 2009. 

So thanks to New Friend Sean for sharing, and I hope everyone else can follow in his footsteps by sharing their favorite blog/website/photo site/etc. Doesn't have to be any particular topic; I just want to know what you enjoy reading/viewing!

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Question of The Day:
Of course, what are your favorite blogs/websites/etc?
What are you currently excited about?

Words to Keep Handy

Six strangers.

It's always a bit intimidating to head towards a new experience. In a new place. With new people.

Maybe you're starting a job, heading off to college, or traveling to a different country, either way you're going to run into 'strange' people. While that may seem daunting and scary, it is a wonderful opportunity to open yourself to a unique experience or connection.

Growing up in suburbia outside of Louisville, Kentucky, I wasn't exposed to much cultural diversity. Even Louisville's famous Kentucky Derby Festival opening ceremonies, Thunder Over Louisville, turns the Waterfront lawn into a live People of Walmart, but with more fireworks and beer.

I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to travel to Italy, Greece, and Spain during a few weeks of my last two summers of high school. However, being shuffled around by teachers and parents did not provide many chances to really interact with the people able to offer real insight into the magnificent locations we visited. More recent trips abroad have allowed me to truly interact with the people and culture of my destinations.

College was a hub of strangers, eager and waiting to find and make new connections. It was here, in the small city of Bowling Green, KY, that I really learned about the importance of enjoying the 'new' parts of life. I transformed from an unknown freshman to being unable to walk across campus without running into someone to chat with. During my years at WKU, I was lucky enough to have a stable job working in the Ecology Lab, but to also have a boss/advisor/mentor that encouraged me to explore my options each summer.

So I did:

Summer 2006 - Chicago Botanic Garden
Summer 2007 - Kellogg Biological Station
Summer 2008 - South African Study Abroad
Summer 2009 - H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest
Summer 2010 - NMSU Algae Research
Summer 2011 - Kellogg Biological Station

And they were some of my best experiences to date.

I promise to share stories from my summer adventures and tales of some of the fine people I've met in later posts, but what I really wanted to share today is a poem that has stuck with me and inspired me (posted after the jump - click 'Explore the Beyond'). It brings up some other aspects of talking to strangers that may not apply to the circumstances I focus on above, but I still enjoy the overall message.

Hopefully, I will be able to put these experiences to work helping me adapt to the unique group dynamics of an isolated Analog Habitat.

Question of the Day:
How would you deal with meeting and living with 5 others for 120 days?
Do you have any 'ice breaking' tips/tricks?

Also, you can find my answer to yesterday's QOTD here.

Also, also, check out my new flag counter at the bottom of the blog. What an appropriate addition on Talk to Strangers day! Welcome all! Thanks to Timothy for the idea and help.


Talk to Strangers

By: Bonny Bonfiyah

Oh no little bitty Joe’s momma told

him not         to talk         to strangers.

Don’t talk to strangers, no don’t Joe, no, so

Little Joe didn’t talk to strangers, no,

Didn’t talk to the blind girl       at school

Didn’t talk to the janitors          eeyyoo

Didn’t talk to the mailman        mmm mmm.

Then he grew and he grew and he grew,

          didn’t talk to strangers.

Talked to aunts and cousins and friends of the family,

goin back n forth between big       houses, then frat       houses,

theeeeeeeen whaddya know Joe Schmo became CEO

          keeping strangers—

way up in the tippity top, glass office, what not.

Hey, he’s in the business of keeping strangers!

         Cuz he knows:

I might be mad at Mr. Joe,

(you know, for selling frankenfood for a huge profit whilst layin off half the staff to buy a convertible and a summer home in France with a Jacuzzi bath?)

Yes, indeedy, I might be mad,

but as long as I don’t know you or you or you,

what am I gonna do?

So for as many times as it has been told to you

I mean to undo I mean to undo it

Talk          to            strangers!

As long as Ms. Thousand Dollar Rent keeps Ms. Scrounging 50 Cents a stranger,

Ms. Extravagant won’t get Ms. Disadvantaged

is working hard for just barely enough

and has a true love too and reads good books too and here’s what’s true:

They know if we start talking we might start sharing

and sharing is scandalous; sharing is a solution

that starts with (you know)

talking to strangers.

Talk to strangers;

share your books, your food, your complaints,

your magazines, your movies, your worries, your stories,

your solutions.

Talk to strangers so we can share our STUFF!

FIVE, TEN, TWENTY-FIVE people livin in a building--

Do we ALL need a blender? 

Do we ALL need a subscription to Netflix? 

Do we ALL need a car? 

We HAVE BEEN TAUGHT TO GO IT ALONE

SO MR. JOE CAN SELL US ALL

WHAT HE STOLE

FROM THE LABOR OF STRANGERS STAYIN STRANGE.

Divide and conquer, friends, look at it, there it is:

they keep us strange from each other so they can sell us shit separately. 

That’s it.  No mystery.

Sister starts making some money, they HOPE

she enters that big ole ongoing stuff contest with her

neighbor-strangers.

Instead of sharing it, she wears it. 

People: 0, Aeropostale: 2.

The only way to protest is to not participate. 

Share your stuff so you can shop less.

Shop less to protest and

Talk

To

Strangers

‘bout the revolution

growing in your bones

the dis-chord among the formerly alone.

The unknown? Unh-unh!

Talk to strangers

let them know:

We don’t wanna be strangers       any mo

We don’t wanna be allowing        Joe schmo

to feed the rich by stealing from the poor.

Talk to strangers, y’all, talk,

tell ‘em it’s time.

Walk the streets, talk to strangers,

haunt the bookstores, the coffee shops,

bring your literature and your reserves,

talk to strangers, peace warriors, spread the word,

talk y’all, talk, yeah,

let those former strangers know:

To must emerge from the strangeness placed upon us,

we must be louder, to be louder, we must come together,

to come together, we must SPEAK together,

we must go, get out there, go, let each other know, go, now, please, go!

Challenge Accepted

Starting a blog is a big undertaking. But, then again, so is living in an isolated research station designed to simulate the living and working experience of six astronauts on a real Mars mission. So, why does this blog feel like the more challenging pursuit?


Last week, with a mere 7 minutes to spare, I submitted my 19 page application to the Cornell/University of Hawaii Hi-SEAS mission. I allowed myself a brief moment to savor my achievement and enjoy that pleasant calmness that follows the anxiety of anticipating a deadline. Graduate School does not allow you much time to rejoice before it throws a new obstacle your way, so I grabbed my thinking helmet and was off to tackle more challenges.

But, instead of studying for my statistics exam, I wanted to be searching the Hi-SEAS facebook page for news of other successful applicants. Instead of finishing my SAS homework, I wanted to be reading and commenting on blogs that have already started to chronicle the application process. It was becoming increasingly clear that waiting quietly and patiently for semi-finalists to be announced in late-March was not an option.

When I first discovered the call for applicants in early February, something took hold of me and inspired my decision to spend the limited spare time I had available on compiling a competitive application. Once inspiration, motivation, and excitement take hold, it's quite difficult to tell everything bubbling up inside of you to hush up! With good reason, that is my voice aching to be heard!  I have more to say and I shouldn't think I have to wait to do so. I spoke often about passion and optimism in my application. It seems only fitting to demonstrate them now.


I hope to spend the next year sharing my opinions, insight, and knowledge with the followers of the blog. I encourage everyone to add their own voice to the mix through comments, questions, suggestions, jokes, etc. I will attempt to maintain a wide assortment of discussions, while remaining ever-mindful of the big picture objective: instilling an interest in all for space exploration (and other scientific endeavors). The challenge of maintaining a blog pales when compared to the potential impacts of inspiring others.


I will leave you with a few words from friends that have inspired me.


"Your words are your best weapons, adversity is your toughest battlefield, but your armor of determination will shield your way." C. L.

"just tiny people

in the middle of space

in a tiny amount of time

completely irrelevant

except to each other" D. C.