A Summer Experience Working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service

By Ashley Booth The last eight years of my life I’ve spent most of my time in the swamps and marshes of Louisiana, covered in mud while studying blue crabs, sea birds, and wetland plants. From my Masters through my PhD these experiences offered an opportunity to experience the unique ecosystems and cultures of the …

An Abbreviated Journal of a Postdoc

Dr. Clay Tucker Clay, hard at work coring a bald cypress My graduate school advisor once told me, “a master’s degree is learning how science is done, and a PhD is proving that you can do science.” After obtaining a PhD, many are expected to produce scientific products (e.g., publications, grant proposals, teaching) without much …

A Figure is Worth a Thousand Words – The Power of Data Visualization

Apr 20, 2021 by TONI KLEMM Chocolate and hiking trips aside, there are few things I like more than intuitive and informative figures about scientific data. Visualizing our research in intriguing and comprehensible ways is essential in sharing it with peers, stakeholders, decision makers, and the public. Examining a figure can be more time-efficient than …

Virtually Presenting vs. Personally Present – The (Lost) Power of Conferences

DEC. 10, 2020 by ADRIENNE WOOTTEN Every Fall, many of us working in climate science would usually be attending the major end-of-year conferences, meeting colleagues, making connections, presenting our work, and receiving constructive comments and criticism. But the COVID-19 pandemic has changed how millions of people interact personally and professionally. One such meeting is the …

Getting the Most Bang For Your Conservation Buck

OCT. 15, 2020 by TINA MOZELEWSKI Editor's Note: This is a guest post from Tina Mozelewski, a Ph.D. student in North Carolina State University's (NCSU) Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources and 2018-2019 Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center Global Change Research Fellow. This blog is reposted with permission from the Climate Impacts Blog hosted by …

The Sun Rises on a New Day

SEP. 16, 2020 THE EDITORIAL BOARD [ADRIENNE WOOTTEN, MEAGHAN GUCKIAN, CLAY TUCKER, TONI KLEMM, LINDSEY MIDDLETON, CAIT ROTTLER] Photo: Clay Tucker. Have you ever been awake to see the sun as it rises? Have you been there, waiting in the dark as that first bit of light cracks across the horizon? Did you plan to …

Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center Fellows Retreat

JUN 18, 2018     JAMIE MOSEL Photo: Jeanne Brown As a first year PhD student, being a part of the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center is a spectacular learning opportunity. Each month, I’m able to participate in meetings and seminars, to learn about the work of other researchers and students, and to improve my own research and …

Playing Tug-of-War

APR 16, 2018 - ADRIENNE WOOTTEN Do you recall playing a little game called tug-of-war as a child (or even as an adult)? If you were playing with one other person, you’d stand on one side, they’d stand on the other, with a rope held between you. You and your friend (or foe) would start …

Finding mentors and making it work long-distance: Perspectives from an NSF GRIP Intern

MAR 27, 2018    by DEIDRE JAEGER Deidre monitoring a green ash tree and downloading accelerometer sensor data in a residential yard in Boulder, CO, November, 2017. Today my colleague asked me, “are you going to test these sensors on a tree up in the mountains so you can go somewhere out-of-town?” My response was, “Nope, I’m putting …

Balancing Grad School and a Career

MAR 12, 2018     APARNA BAMZAI-DODSON AND LINDSEY MIDDLETON Photo: Brian Miller Many early-career scientists balance a multitude of roles when attending graduate school, from the heavy demands of coursework and research to teaching and thesis and dissertation writing, not to mention the added responsibilities of a job or career. To offer two perspectives among many in …