Antarctic field work and the graduate student experience

1. Antarctic field work and the graduate student experience Jill Mikucki OPP-Polar Postdoc Harvard University

2. …or what I learned in field camp. McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER and Microbial Observatories • Lessons learned • Postdoc transition • Preparing the Polar Postdoc application • Status

3. Preparation: • Organize • Plan ahead • Build in some backup • Education: • Learn in a natural laboratory • Take advantage of the resources! • Crary Labs, PIs, RPSC, Program Mangers, etc Antarctic Field Research: The Process

4. Antarctic Field Research: Character building • Teamwork: • Collaborate • “Speak new languages” • Develop a culture of synthesis • Leadership: • Make decisions • Take responsibility • Communicate effectively • Mentor

5. Antarctic Field Research: Independence • Explore • Provide a new perspective • Ask new questions • Develop research thesis under a powerful support network (PIs, OPP and Raytheon)

6. Antarctic Field Research: Legacy • The role of research in the history of Antarctic exploration • Contribution to a long-term dataset • Community of polar investigators

7. Antarctic Field Research: Graduate student/Postdoc transition • Opportunity to learn new skills • Continue my training as a polar scientist but ask • compelling new questions • View the system and data with a new perspective

8. Antarctic Field Research: Postdoc proposal thoughts • Discussed my ideas with other Antarctic PIs • Read NRC reports (Frontiers in Polar Biology in the Genomic Era) • Met with prospective sponsor • Talked to my program manager • Thought about my career goals

9. Antarctic Field Research: A few months in… • Training on new (prototype) equipment • Exposure to new disciplines, techniques and perspectives • Field season planning (SIP, etc) • Share the Antarctic process with colleagues and outreach Moving-wire interface for the isotopic analysis of nucleic acids Pearson Biogeochemistry Group

10. With appreciation!

11. Questions?