I am currently in my 6th week as a second year graduate student. I have since moved to a new office space (room 213) with just one other graduate student instead of 10. I like it, but it really leaves you out of the loop with all the first years who are housed in our former office space: room 208. Most of the second years have filtered into new offices as well. Two of my former office mates are located next to me and it is nice to still be able to talk. I am taking 3 courses in addition to a required half credit seminar that is not applied to our graduation. They are: Geography Field Methods, Environmental Management, and Advanced Spatial Analysis. I am once again the lab coordinator for the Intro to Physical Geography labs and also teach two sections. I was also assigned as the teaching assistant for the Forest Ecology lab as well as a research assistant for 4 hours a week. I have continued my duties as the Graduate Colloquium Coordinator this semester as well as taken on a new position as the graduate representative on the Student Advisory Committee.
My thesis research has been moving along well. Since my last post the problems with the new growth chamber have been fixed and I am currently on trial 2 of 3. I completed the first trial in which the samaras were subjected to 7 degrees Celsius. They are now germinating (if they are viable and able) at a temperature of 1 degree Celsius. I have completed my first year thesis field work as well. I went to the U.P. this August with my advisor and an undergraduate (Christine) in order to obtain all the first year density counts and heights on the seedlings that germinated within my plots. After the U.P. trip we proceeded up to Canada for two weeks, where I assisted my professors with their research and children. This is my third year working with them up in Canada, but my first year in which I didn’t have any of my own research up there. Later, Josh and Christine visited my local central Illinois site in order to get the density counts and height for those plots. Now it’s just a waiting game for the field work related to my thesis until next summer.
I am overwhelmed and extremely busy most days…but it all seems to work out somehow! I just take it one day at a time…
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Ongoing Crisis in Room 215…
To date, I’ve had to swap my experiment to and from the new growth chamber three times since the first freezing incident. Finally, after trying everything the company who sold the department the machine instructed us to do, there is someone here to do a check up on the chamber. Turns out the chamber wasn’t acting up simply because of the nature of my experiment…which is a good thing! Apparently, the refrigeration unit was not functioning properly, so the guy is looking for a leak and is going to fix it (today hopefully)…YEA! Currently, my experiment is being housed in the old growth chamber that may stop working at any minute, since it is actually quite old and temperamental (hence the need to purchase the new growth chamber!). So far however, the good ol’ temperamental growth chamber has been holding a constant temperature and is acting as a great surrogate for my samaras. After today, I am hoping I’ll never have to worry about checking for ice build up in the chamber! We'll see! If everything works properly from here on out, then things aren’t so bad! I am glad this mishap occurred at the beginning of the experiment, because otherwise the consequences may have been more detrimental.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Crisis in room 215!
In conducting field work, I have learned that everything you plan will probably have to be altered in some way in order to account for the unknowns that occur in the field! Lab work apparently is not void of these alterations and mishaps, as this is yet another example of research not going as planned!
Apparently, all the moisture from my first germination trial run is “too taxing” on the new growth chamber I am using. On Monday (yesterday), I came in to check whether the contraptions that we constructed in order to keep the samaras moist had actually worked over the weekend. The temperature on the growth chamber was at 5.9°C, when it was supposed to be at the set temperature of 5°C. I thought perhaps it was simply within the fluctuation range of the machine, but when I came in today (Tuesday) to check on it the temperature was all the way up to 6.9°C, which seemed unacceptable since what I wanted it to be set for was 5°C. We called the company and that’s what they told us, I have too much moisture in the chamber for the current cycle of the fans. Therefore, I had to remove my experiments in order for all the ice to melt from the fans and then reset the fans to cycle between cool and defrost faster so that it can keep up better. It put a slight kink in my experiment, but I was able to temporarily move my experiments to the older growth chamber until tomorrow when we can readjust the new one. We also thought it best if we reassign this trial to be the 7°C trial instead of the 5°C trial, because the temperature seemed to range closer to 7°C than it did 5°C. Oh the woes of research…and I thought lab work would run much smoother than field work!
On the plus side however, the contraptions that were designed to keep the germination paper moist for longer so as to reduce the frequency needed for watering the samaras seemed to work like a charm. I finished assembling all the experiments on Friday and when I checked on Monday they were still very moist! At least that seems successful thus far!
Apparently, all the moisture from my first germination trial run is “too taxing” on the new growth chamber I am using. On Monday (yesterday), I came in to check whether the contraptions that we constructed in order to keep the samaras moist had actually worked over the weekend. The temperature on the growth chamber was at 5.9°C, when it was supposed to be at the set temperature of 5°C. I thought perhaps it was simply within the fluctuation range of the machine, but when I came in today (Tuesday) to check on it the temperature was all the way up to 6.9°C, which seemed unacceptable since what I wanted it to be set for was 5°C. We called the company and that’s what they told us, I have too much moisture in the chamber for the current cycle of the fans. Therefore, I had to remove my experiments in order for all the ice to melt from the fans and then reset the fans to cycle between cool and defrost faster so that it can keep up better. It put a slight kink in my experiment, but I was able to temporarily move my experiments to the older growth chamber until tomorrow when we can readjust the new one. We also thought it best if we reassign this trial to be the 7°C trial instead of the 5°C trial, because the temperature seemed to range closer to 7°C than it did 5°C. Oh the woes of research…and I thought lab work would run much smoother than field work!
On the plus side however, the contraptions that were designed to keep the germination paper moist for longer so as to reduce the frequency needed for watering the samaras seemed to work like a charm. I finished assembling all the experiments on Friday and when I checked on Monday they were still very moist! At least that seems successful thus far!
Field work season begins!
I headed out into the field today with my advisor. We visited my central Illinois site where this past fall I had collected and then redistributed samaras into my plots. Some plots contained samaras from the northern range, some contained samaras from the southern range, while still others contained samaras from the central area (their original origin). Each square meter plot received 1,000 samaras, except the five plots designated for Tennessee seeds. Those received 500 samaras as they were assumed to have a higher viability rate because they were sorted by the company we purchased them from.
The test runs I have been conducting for about 2 ½ - 3 months now, in which I distributed 100 samaras from each location into small plots with soil, show that all locations have some germination action. This confirms that all locations had viable seeds and after I count the germinated seeds I will know better what that viability rate is for each location. Either way since the samaras were sprouting in the test run, I was hopeful that they would also be germinating in the field.
The first plot we can upon at the site falsely got our hopes up that all the distributed samaras were flourishing. It was covered with a blanket of seedlings much like what one would expect from a mast year and much like the area that surrounded it. As we walked around to all the other plots however, there were definitely smaller numbers of seedlings when compared to that initial plot. Some plots didn’t even have any seedlings in them and we speculated that it was because they were located in low lying areas that may have become to wet. We took a density count for all the plots and determined that it would be the maximum density count for each location that we would be interested in rather than the averages, since we are ultimately interested in seeming how well these plants could establish in these different geographic areas. We intend to return to this site and also go to the northern site in August to get the official density counts and other measurements for my first growing season. Everything is moving forward though…exciting progress!
The down side to all of this is that it seems one of the main competitors for the forest floor space is garlic mustard at the central site, which may represent somewhat of a problem. We’ll see, I guess. Also it will be interesting to see how the cicadas affect things as this is going to be the year they emerge in masses! As many as seven billion in some predictions may emerge to mate as it has been another 17 years in their 17 year cycle. I believe they only feed on and lay their eggs in mature trees, but I am not positive.
I took a few pictures of this latest field adventure as well as of the preparation and set up of my official first temperature trial run for my thesis. If you are interested you can view these pictures and more by clicking on the Research pictures link under related links, then click on the Goal: M.S. set.
The test runs I have been conducting for about 2 ½ - 3 months now, in which I distributed 100 samaras from each location into small plots with soil, show that all locations have some germination action. This confirms that all locations had viable seeds and after I count the germinated seeds I will know better what that viability rate is for each location. Either way since the samaras were sprouting in the test run, I was hopeful that they would also be germinating in the field.
The first plot we can upon at the site falsely got our hopes up that all the distributed samaras were flourishing. It was covered with a blanket of seedlings much like what one would expect from a mast year and much like the area that surrounded it. As we walked around to all the other plots however, there were definitely smaller numbers of seedlings when compared to that initial plot. Some plots didn’t even have any seedlings in them and we speculated that it was because they were located in low lying areas that may have become to wet. We took a density count for all the plots and determined that it would be the maximum density count for each location that we would be interested in rather than the averages, since we are ultimately interested in seeming how well these plants could establish in these different geographic areas. We intend to return to this site and also go to the northern site in August to get the official density counts and other measurements for my first growing season. Everything is moving forward though…exciting progress!
The down side to all of this is that it seems one of the main competitors for the forest floor space is garlic mustard at the central site, which may represent somewhat of a problem. We’ll see, I guess. Also it will be interesting to see how the cicadas affect things as this is going to be the year they emerge in masses! As many as seven billion in some predictions may emerge to mate as it has been another 17 years in their 17 year cycle. I believe they only feed on and lay their eggs in mature trees, but I am not positive.
I took a few pictures of this latest field adventure as well as of the preparation and set up of my official first temperature trial run for my thesis. If you are interested you can view these pictures and more by clicking on the Research pictures link under related links, then click on the Goal: M.S. set.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Who knew it would actually happen!
At some point in my undergraduate career I was told by a few of my professors that it was possible to get paid to go to graduate school. I had heard of this concept before it was voiced to me in college and it had always intrigued me. From then on I was convinced that I was going to be paid to go to graduate school! I wasn't sure how exactly that was going to actually happen, but I knew I could make it happen...somehow!
Its May and I have officially completed my first year of graduate school in the Geography Department at Northern Illinois University! I received a full tuition waiver in addition to a full stipend as a Teaching Assistant (TA). My tuition waiver and stipend extend into next year as well and I will be teaching summer school starting June 18th. I was able to pick a desk in an office in the Geography Building (Davis Hall) that holds 10 graduate students. The office room number is 208, hence the title (just thought I would explain!). So I guess I did it after all and I am enjoying the adventure that is graduate school very much!
My first semester as a graduate I taught two lab sections of Physical geography 102, which is meant to accompany the Intro to Physical Geography 101 lecture. These two courses are separate however, and because of that the labs were a little trickier to teach. I couldn't assume everyone was taking the lecture at the same time and therefore I couldn't assume they knew anything about the material I had to present for each lab. I had to give them background and explain to them how to do each lab. I had never been in full control of a class before, although it quickly became clear to me that I was very lucky to have had the experience as an assistant in geography labs during my undergraduate at UW-W. In addition to the two lab sections that I taught my first semester, I also proctored the geography computer lab.
This past semester I was "promoted" to teaching four lab sections of the Physical Geography 102 lab. I was also named the lab coordinator, so it was my job to coordinate a weekly meeting with the other TAs as well as with the coordinating professor to discuss upcoming lab material. We would review the best ways to teach the material and make sure everyone understood the labs. The instillation of a projector in the lab rooms also helped in that we could now use PowerPoint instead of the overhead projector to teach the lab material. Therefore, all I had to do was convert my overheads into slides and tweak them a bit for this semester and I was set.
The first time I stood up in front of the class was to pass out the syllabus and my heart pounded the whole time. I knew I was turning red and knowing that only made me turn even redder. Surprisingly, I think that was the hardest day because I was new to teaching the class as well as to the University and there I was having to explain to the students all the rules and expectations that I barley even knew. I hoped at the time that when I began actually teaching the material it would go smoother and it did. Since I taught two sections of the same class, I always seemed to do it better the second time around. I didn't do a bad job with the first group, I just worked most of my kinks out after running it threw for the first group! Teaching became easier the more I did it and I made sure I was very prepared for each class. Some of the labs were VERY long and it was a challenge to fit everything into the hour and fifty minutes provided for each lab, but it all worked out in the end.
Its May and I have officially completed my first year of graduate school in the Geography Department at Northern Illinois University! I received a full tuition waiver in addition to a full stipend as a Teaching Assistant (TA). My tuition waiver and stipend extend into next year as well and I will be teaching summer school starting June 18th. I was able to pick a desk in an office in the Geography Building (Davis Hall) that holds 10 graduate students. The office room number is 208, hence the title (just thought I would explain!). So I guess I did it after all and I am enjoying the adventure that is graduate school very much!
My first semester as a graduate I taught two lab sections of Physical geography 102, which is meant to accompany the Intro to Physical Geography 101 lecture. These two courses are separate however, and because of that the labs were a little trickier to teach. I couldn't assume everyone was taking the lecture at the same time and therefore I couldn't assume they knew anything about the material I had to present for each lab. I had to give them background and explain to them how to do each lab. I had never been in full control of a class before, although it quickly became clear to me that I was very lucky to have had the experience as an assistant in geography labs during my undergraduate at UW-W. In addition to the two lab sections that I taught my first semester, I also proctored the geography computer lab.
This past semester I was "promoted" to teaching four lab sections of the Physical Geography 102 lab. I was also named the lab coordinator, so it was my job to coordinate a weekly meeting with the other TAs as well as with the coordinating professor to discuss upcoming lab material. We would review the best ways to teach the material and make sure everyone understood the labs. The instillation of a projector in the lab rooms also helped in that we could now use PowerPoint instead of the overhead projector to teach the lab material. Therefore, all I had to do was convert my overheads into slides and tweak them a bit for this semester and I was set.
The first time I stood up in front of the class was to pass out the syllabus and my heart pounded the whole time. I knew I was turning red and knowing that only made me turn even redder. Surprisingly, I think that was the hardest day because I was new to teaching the class as well as to the University and there I was having to explain to the students all the rules and expectations that I barley even knew. I hoped at the time that when I began actually teaching the material it would go smoother and it did. Since I taught two sections of the same class, I always seemed to do it better the second time around. I didn't do a bad job with the first group, I just worked most of my kinks out after running it threw for the first group! Teaching became easier the more I did it and I made sure I was very prepared for each class. Some of the labs were VERY long and it was a challenge to fit everything into the hour and fifty minutes provided for each lab, but it all worked out in the end.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)