Transition:
The academic regimen is composed of
transitions: from major to major, class to class, topic to topic, and in my
case, from lakes to streams. I was introduced to the Welter lab in the summer of 2014 on a Minnesota lake project. After a lovely summer in the
field, we have analyzed exciting and novel results! I thoroughly enjoyed the
research process from designing a project, working hard long days in the field, all the way to the
analysis of results!
I am continuing this process as a new collaborator with the work in Iceland. This opportunity will allow me to engage on a professional level and experience the entirety of the scientific process. I have fallen in love with the highs and lows of the research experience and am eager to continue to collect data and answer globally important questions. I have transitioned into preparatory work for our summer 2015 research in Icelandic streams. The transition has been smooth, as both of my aquatic ecology research projects have some parallels in methodology and nutrient cycling dynamics, but strike contrast in flow velocity. This exciting new challenge adds a twist to my familiarity of the low flow associated with lakes. In my transition to streams, I have researched, proposed and developed a project, which includes looking at how metabolism and nitrogen fixation of both nitrogen fixing and non-nitrogen fixing organisms vary over a temperature gradient. I am excited to continue learning, and growing as a research scientist!
I am continuing this process as a new collaborator with the work in Iceland. This opportunity will allow me to engage on a professional level and experience the entirety of the scientific process. I have fallen in love with the highs and lows of the research experience and am eager to continue to collect data and answer globally important questions. I have transitioned into preparatory work for our summer 2015 research in Icelandic streams. The transition has been smooth, as both of my aquatic ecology research projects have some parallels in methodology and nutrient cycling dynamics, but strike contrast in flow velocity. This exciting new challenge adds a twist to my familiarity of the low flow associated with lakes. In my transition to streams, I have researched, proposed and developed a project, which includes looking at how metabolism and nitrogen fixation of both nitrogen fixing and non-nitrogen fixing organisms vary over a temperature gradient. I am excited to continue learning, and growing as a research scientist!
Translation:
Icelandic proverb: Af gódu upphafi vonast góður
endir.
English translation: A good beginning makes a good ending.
Drilling holes in incubation chambers |
Like the process of translation, the comprehension and understanding of such a rigorous and intense project takes time, hard work, and patience. This academic semester I have gained confidence in reading and analyzing scientific literature pertaining to stream ecology, familiarity to essential laboratory techniques, and project methodology and logistics. The research preparatory process has been vital in my comprehensive and quantitative reasoning skills that will be useful in the data collection and sample analysis days to come. It has been a good beginning, and I am excited to flow through this journey into the world of stream ecology.
Transformation:
Nine bins and counting... |