Friday, May 11, 2012
On travel
So here I am, on travel! Because science is a collaborative enterprise, it involves quite a bit of travel. This travel can be to conduct research, present research results (and see others') at a conference, or learn about something new that you're trying to figure out how to do and start new collaborations.
This week I'm in California to do the latter. I received some funds from EPSCoR (a program to improve research infrastructure in states that don't get a lot of research funding -yeah West Virginia is one of those states) to establish some collaborations with people that have built instruments for micro satellites to support our current collaboration to provide the science instruments for some planned microsatellite launches. So yesterday we visited NASA Ames to talk with people that have been doing these for awhile. While we were there, we visited the lab of another person that I did some collaboration with back in grad school. To make the trip even more worthwhile, today we visited a company that does plasma processing of wafers to get some ideas for relevant experiments that we could do in the lab. This was all piggybacked onto a conference that our postdoc and grad student were presenting at this week.
I have had the opportunity to travel to some great places throu my job. As a grad student, I got to do research for a summer in Australia. I have traveled above the arctic circle in tromso, Norway and saw the midnight sun. Through all of this I have worked with and met lots of scientists.
My husband thinks this is all a big boondoggle, and everything should be done by Skype. Now, we do a lot of meetings by teleconference or web conference, but some things just need to be done in person. At conferences, you're likely to see a talk or meet a person that you never would have if you were just checking out select talks online. Plus your own research is more likely to be seen by a wider audience when they're all there in person. This is especially important for younger scientists trying to network for jobs. Similarly, our meeting with the second person at Ames yesterday allowed us to tell her about previous work that our group had done that will help her out with her current research, and we may have found a solution to her two-body problem (finding jobs for both spouses in the same city).
Next week, I am doing another short trip that seems a lot more like a boondoggle, but is not supported by federal dollars. I am working with a team that is developing educational materials on the science of cycling and zip lining, so we're going on a trip to do some zip lining and mountain biking to understand a bit more about the location that we will be working with so we can figure out how to integrate the educational materials with the terrain. We will also be meeting with e people in charge of the site to discuss our ideas and plans.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Proposals 1
I previously mentioned that I would eventually get to proposals, and here we are. Scientists that don't work for a company that directs their research have to write proposals describing what they want to do. These are submitted to federal funding agencies (like NASA, National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health, etc), private foundations, internal university funds, and other sources of funds. There is typically a solicitation describing what kind of projects the agency is looking for. The proposals are reviewed by scientists that are experts in the related field for federal agencies or the board of a foundation (sometimes with input from related experts).
I recently started working on two proposals. One is for funds supported by the university's ADVANCE grant to support women faculty in science fields, and the other is a big one to NSF to increase majors in science fields. The first one will be a rewrite of a proposal I wrote earlier this year but was not selected for funding (some say you have to write 3 proposals for every 1 you need to get funded, and that could get worse in today's federal budget climate). The budget available is about half as much, so I'll have to cut something out, probably the funding for 1/2 a grad student. The second one will involve work with a bunch of other people at the university, so I'm currently in the process of making lots of contacts. I'm also doing a literature search to get the necessary data on best practices in increasing science majors.
I'll try to keep you posted as the process goes along.
I recently started working on two proposals. One is for funds supported by the university's ADVANCE grant to support women faculty in science fields, and the other is a big one to NSF to increase majors in science fields. The first one will be a rewrite of a proposal I wrote earlier this year but was not selected for funding (some say you have to write 3 proposals for every 1 you need to get funded, and that could get worse in today's federal budget climate). The budget available is about half as much, so I'll have to cut something out, probably the funding for 1/2 a grad student. The second one will involve work with a bunch of other people at the university, so I'm currently in the process of making lots of contacts. I'm also doing a literature search to get the necessary data on best practices in increasing science majors.
I'll try to keep you posted as the process goes along.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Tooting Your Own Horn
This evening I attended an award ceremony where I was very honored to be given an award for service to women at my university. It is very nice to be recognized for the work that I do with the Association for Women in Science (AWIS) to support women in science fields and outreach to encourage girls to pursue science careers. It is also good for an academic's career to receive awards (although there is some disparity among the credit given for research vs. teaching vs. service awards, especially depending on the institution).
Admittedly, I played a large role in being selected for this award. I received notice about several awards for women from the university and the state a few months ago. I sent the information to my AWIS chapter listserv, suggesting that, as a woman's organization, we should be nominating people for them. One member suggested nominating me. As we looked at the information needed, they decided it would be best for me to complete the information since I know the most about what I do. So I compiled the information, answering each required question, while another chapter officer wrote up the nomination and got the supporting recommendations.
I think it is important for women to be willing to toot their own horns to get the recognition they deserve for their hard work. Sometimes this is hard to do, and may be part of why the number of awards for research given to women has not increased as the number of women researchers has increased. (The percentage of teaching and service awards given to women is more on par with their representation.) AWIS has recently received a grant to work with professional societies to ensure that women are recognized for outstanding research.
About a year ago, I asked someone to nominate me for an award that is given to an early career woman for research in my field every 3 years. While someone else was selected for the award last year, I will still be eligible in the next cycle and plan to ask to be nominated again. Of course it is important to be doing good research to be deserving of such awards, but it never hurts to remind other people what you are doing and why it is awesome!
Admittedly, I played a large role in being selected for this award. I received notice about several awards for women from the university and the state a few months ago. I sent the information to my AWIS chapter listserv, suggesting that, as a woman's organization, we should be nominating people for them. One member suggested nominating me. As we looked at the information needed, they decided it would be best for me to complete the information since I know the most about what I do. So I compiled the information, answering each required question, while another chapter officer wrote up the nomination and got the supporting recommendations.
I think it is important for women to be willing to toot their own horns to get the recognition they deserve for their hard work. Sometimes this is hard to do, and may be part of why the number of awards for research given to women has not increased as the number of women researchers has increased. (The percentage of teaching and service awards given to women is more on par with their representation.) AWIS has recently received a grant to work with professional societies to ensure that women are recognized for outstanding research.
About a year ago, I asked someone to nominate me for an award that is given to an early career woman for research in my field every 3 years. While someone else was selected for the award last year, I will still be eligible in the next cycle and plan to ask to be nominated again. Of course it is important to be doing good research to be deserving of such awards, but it never hurts to remind other people what you are doing and why it is awesome!
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Strawberries
Strawberries are back in the grocery store, and I've been buying them the past few weeks, even though they're not quite at their peak. The first time I bought them, a couple weeks ago, was one of those days when all you have time to carry in the door are the items that need to be refrigerated. The poor baggers get many curses on those days: What moron would put one yogurt in with a bunch of canned goods? Reusable bags of meat, ice cream, milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs draped over every inch of my arms as I hobbled toward the door and plopped them into the kitchen. Hope I didn't drop those eggs too hard. Shove everything into the fridge and tend to the kids.
That evening, after finally wrestling the kids into bed, I came downstairs, looked for my laptop, and realized it was still in the car. I walked out into the unseasonably warm night, opened the car door, and was washed over by the smell of strawberries. I suddenly remembered that I had groceries to carry in.
But I paused and inhaled the sweet smell that reminded me of my grandparents' garage. Every summer when we visited, the shelves in their garage would be full of baskets overflowing with plump, red strawberries. They grew apples and tomatoes and a few vegetables, but the strawberries were the best. Store-bought strawberries don't do justice to the true experience of eating fresh-picked strawberries. These berries were red throughout and dripped as you bit into them.
Yesterday, I introduced the kids to a fun way to eat strawberries: dipped in powdered sugar! Grandma taught us this trick. She knows everything is better with sugar. She taught me to eat tomato slices with sugar. When I got hiccups, she gave me a spoonful of sugar.
Grandma still grows fruits and vegetables, though not on the scale they did when Grandpa was alive. She still makes her yummy strawberry jam that we get to eat when we visit. For now, I'll have to recreate the simple pleasure of strawberry desserts for my kids with mediocre berries. Maybe it's time to find a berry-picking farm nearby!
That evening, after finally wrestling the kids into bed, I came downstairs, looked for my laptop, and realized it was still in the car. I walked out into the unseasonably warm night, opened the car door, and was washed over by the smell of strawberries. I suddenly remembered that I had groceries to carry in.
But I paused and inhaled the sweet smell that reminded me of my grandparents' garage. Every summer when we visited, the shelves in their garage would be full of baskets overflowing with plump, red strawberries. They grew apples and tomatoes and a few vegetables, but the strawberries were the best. Store-bought strawberries don't do justice to the true experience of eating fresh-picked strawberries. These berries were red throughout and dripped as you bit into them.
Yesterday, I introduced the kids to a fun way to eat strawberries: dipped in powdered sugar! Grandma taught us this trick. She knows everything is better with sugar. She taught me to eat tomato slices with sugar. When I got hiccups, she gave me a spoonful of sugar.
Grandma still grows fruits and vegetables, though not on the scale they did when Grandpa was alive. She still makes her yummy strawberry jam that we get to eat when we visit. For now, I'll have to recreate the simple pleasure of strawberry desserts for my kids with mediocre berries. Maybe it's time to find a berry-picking farm nearby!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Outreach and Women in STEM
Yesterday I got to do public outreach-sharing my science with non-scientists-which is one of my favorite parts of my job.
I was invited to present a workshop at an All Girls STEM Workshop for a group of middle school girls. The girls' teachers had requested an event to get this group of girls interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. I have developed a workshop that utilizes iPads to access data from satellites that are observing the Sun and other regions of space around Earth to learn about the Sun and Space Weather, which is how the Sun affects our local Earth environment. We also used solar scopes to look at the Sun and saw a couple sunspots and a cool prominence! I was the last of several workshops that they did during the day and wrapped up with some encouragement to take math and science courses in high school.
As a part of the Association for Women in Science, I am also organizing a state-wide event for middle school girls in April that includes hands-on workshops. I'll be presenting my Sun and Space Weather workshop again there.
Women continue to be underrepresented in many STEM fields. There are many factors including conscious or unconscious bias against girls' ability to do math and science, the image of scientists portrayed in our culture, and barriers (either real or perceived) of the difficulty to be a scientist and have a family or enjoy other parts of life. Exposing girls to a variety of STEM fields and getting them excited about science is important.
Coincidentally, I also received an email yesterday with a graphic created by some women in engineering advocate that was being shared for posting on websites. Most of the data on the graphic was useful-demonstrating girls loss of self-esteem/self-confidence in their abilities in STEM fields and the effects of stereotype threat (studies have shown that if you tell a group of test-takers that a particular minority performs poorly on that test, that minority will perform worse on that test than if they were not told). However, it was titled "Girls are Smarter than Boys" and contained a picture of a young girl reading a book and a picture of a young boy holding a cigarette. I felt that this was totally missing the point. My email in response included the following:
I was invited to present a workshop at an All Girls STEM Workshop for a group of middle school girls. The girls' teachers had requested an event to get this group of girls interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. I have developed a workshop that utilizes iPads to access data from satellites that are observing the Sun and other regions of space around Earth to learn about the Sun and Space Weather, which is how the Sun affects our local Earth environment. We also used solar scopes to look at the Sun and saw a couple sunspots and a cool prominence! I was the last of several workshops that they did during the day and wrapped up with some encouragement to take math and science courses in high school.
As a part of the Association for Women in Science, I am also organizing a state-wide event for middle school girls in April that includes hands-on workshops. I'll be presenting my Sun and Space Weather workshop again there.
Women continue to be underrepresented in many STEM fields. There are many factors including conscious or unconscious bias against girls' ability to do math and science, the image of scientists portrayed in our culture, and barriers (either real or perceived) of the difficulty to be a scientist and have a family or enjoy other parts of life. Exposing girls to a variety of STEM fields and getting them excited about science is important.
Coincidentally, I also received an email yesterday with a graphic created by some women in engineering advocate that was being shared for posting on websites. Most of the data on the graphic was useful-demonstrating girls loss of self-esteem/self-confidence in their abilities in STEM fields and the effects of stereotype threat (studies have shown that if you tell a group of test-takers that a particular minority performs poorly on that test, that minority will perform worse on that test than if they were not told). However, it was titled "Girls are Smarter than Boys" and contained a picture of a young girl reading a book and a picture of a young boy holding a cigarette. I felt that this was totally missing the point. My email in response included the following:
I do not support women in science because boys are stupid, which
is the sentiment portrayed by this graphic. All children should be
encouraged to pursue the fields that they like. Yes, we need to support
girls' self esteem, but not by denigrating boys. As the mother of two
boys, I definitely would not want them to see this. If you create a new
graphic, please share it with
me.
Hopefully they update it with a more positive message.
Friday, March 23, 2012
publications
I am happy to announce that my paper submitted to the Journal of Geophysical Research was accepted today! This seems like a good opportunity to talk about publishing. You may (or may not) have heard the phrase "Publish or Perish." Publishing journal articles is how scientists share their results with other scientists. We do share some information through talks and posters at conferences, but journal articles are the official communications of scientific work because of the peer review process.
When a person submits an article manuscript to a journal, the journal editors send it to (usually 2) referees with knowledge in the field to read the manuscript and provide a review. The referee usually selects from several choices (there is some variation by journal, but in general): Publish as is, Could be published after minor revisions, Could be published after major revisions, Reject, and provides comments on what revisions should be made. This is an anonymous process (referees are sometimes acknowledged when the article is published) so the referee feels free to provide an honest critique of the work without fear of ramification from a poor review or without the ability to benefit from a positive one. I have found that the review process generally makes papers much better. There is currently legislation in the works to mandate any government funded research be made publicly available for free, with quite a bit of controversy. There are costs to the publishing process, most of which is paid for through subscriptions to journals (often paid for by university libraries). However, there has been some testing of "open access" where the author pays the publishing costs (much greater than the current page charges of anywhere around $500-$1500 that authors pay per article), currently done by the choice of the author.
In a journal article, the author(s) cite any relevant previous work that has been done. When a person publishes an article, it is available for the scientific community to read and cite their work. Generally in academia, a research career depends on publications, usually the quality of the journal is taken into account; and the number of citations a person's publications receives is important because it indicates that the work is relevant to the field.
As a research professor, my job is to obtain research funding (through writing proposals-will have to write another blog post on that in the future) and publish my research results. I am currently trying to increase the amount of publications I write as I have been somewhat slow in that area (published one article in 2011). Looking back, I think conference travel may have kept me busy, so I am reducing the number of meetings that I am traveling to this year to focus on writing and publishing. Proposal writing also has taken a big chunk of my time, but I recently had a proposal funded, so I can take a bit of a break from that for now.
In addition to my job requirements, I'm on the science team of a NASA satellite-based mission. Every few years, NASA reviews the current missions, and chooses which ones will receive a piece of the (limited) funding for extended missions. Demonstrating the benefits of a mission is done primarily through publications, so that is another reason to push my publication rates.
I am already working on another article. This one has actually been in the works for about a year, but was put aside while I worked on the one accepted today, because that was submitted as part of a special section of the journal that had a deadline. I hope to get this one submitted soon and help my graduate student write his first first-author paper as well.
So, I should probably explain what I mean by "first-author." Many papers have a list of co-authors, all who contributed some to the research discussed in the paper. (Ethics guidelines say that all co-authors are responsible for verifying the authenticity of anything published with their name on it.) The first author is the person that contributed the most, and generally wrote the bulk of the paper as well. Journals that use name citations in the text [First author et al, 2012] as opposed to numbered citations, really help get a person's name recognized in the community. So first-authored papers are a big milestone for students!
When a person submits an article manuscript to a journal, the journal editors send it to (usually 2) referees with knowledge in the field to read the manuscript and provide a review. The referee usually selects from several choices (there is some variation by journal, but in general): Publish as is, Could be published after minor revisions, Could be published after major revisions, Reject, and provides comments on what revisions should be made. This is an anonymous process (referees are sometimes acknowledged when the article is published) so the referee feels free to provide an honest critique of the work without fear of ramification from a poor review or without the ability to benefit from a positive one. I have found that the review process generally makes papers much better. There is currently legislation in the works to mandate any government funded research be made publicly available for free, with quite a bit of controversy. There are costs to the publishing process, most of which is paid for through subscriptions to journals (often paid for by university libraries). However, there has been some testing of "open access" where the author pays the publishing costs (much greater than the current page charges of anywhere around $500-$1500 that authors pay per article), currently done by the choice of the author.
In a journal article, the author(s) cite any relevant previous work that has been done. When a person publishes an article, it is available for the scientific community to read and cite their work. Generally in academia, a research career depends on publications, usually the quality of the journal is taken into account; and the number of citations a person's publications receives is important because it indicates that the work is relevant to the field.
As a research professor, my job is to obtain research funding (through writing proposals-will have to write another blog post on that in the future) and publish my research results. I am currently trying to increase the amount of publications I write as I have been somewhat slow in that area (published one article in 2011). Looking back, I think conference travel may have kept me busy, so I am reducing the number of meetings that I am traveling to this year to focus on writing and publishing. Proposal writing also has taken a big chunk of my time, but I recently had a proposal funded, so I can take a bit of a break from that for now.
In addition to my job requirements, I'm on the science team of a NASA satellite-based mission. Every few years, NASA reviews the current missions, and chooses which ones will receive a piece of the (limited) funding for extended missions. Demonstrating the benefits of a mission is done primarily through publications, so that is another reason to push my publication rates.
I am already working on another article. This one has actually been in the works for about a year, but was put aside while I worked on the one accepted today, because that was submitted as part of a special section of the journal that had a deadline. I hope to get this one submitted soon and help my graduate student write his first first-author paper as well.
So, I should probably explain what I mean by "first-author." Many papers have a list of co-authors, all who contributed some to the research discussed in the paper. (Ethics guidelines say that all co-authors are responsible for verifying the authenticity of anything published with their name on it.) The first author is the person that contributed the most, and generally wrote the bulk of the paper as well. Journals that use name citations in the text [First author et al, 2012] as opposed to numbered citations, really help get a person's name recognized in the community. So first-authored papers are a big milestone for students!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
How did I get here?
I often start my story about how I ended up in my current job with the caveat that my path is not typical. But I hear that a lot, so maybe everybody's path is atypical! It took me awhile to figure out what I really wanted to do, but looking back on my childhood, I can recall enjoying math and science (though there were other things I enjoyed as well).
All the way back to preschool/kindergarten, I went to a Montessori school and I remember playing with one of my favorite "works" (as they're called in Montessori) called The Golden Beads. (Now, I don't remember that name from way back, I am blessed to have a Montessori school here that my child attends, and I got to rediscover all of the Montessori works!) The Golden Beads consist of single beads that are the ones, a bar of 10 beads, a square of 100 beads, and a cube of 1000 beads. It is a very sensory-based way to learn and understand our base-10 number system. This is an example of why Montessori education is so awesome: you learn everything through sensory activities! When I visited the school here, I saw two related works, the binomial and trinomial squares that help to visualize several math concepts. I had totally forgotten about them, but it was like having flashbacks when I saw them! If you've ever seen the TV series, Alias with Jennifer Garner, you'll understand when my husband and I joked that my Montessori education was like the spy school.
Throughout elementary school, I remember doing cool science stuff, including rat mazes and shark dissection and a summer science "camp." In high school, I was selected for an accelerated math program, taking pre-calculus during the summer, AP Calculus in junior year, and Multivariable Calculus in senior year. I had an AWESOME teacher, Mrs. Irwin. One favorite memory of her class was when she brought in Pringles to teach us about saddle points! I knew then that I wanted to major in math, and I was thinking that I wanted to be a veterinarian. I got the chance to help in a vet clinic and almost passed out during a very bloody spaying surgery. I'm not sure if that totally killed my interest in being a vet, but that was definitely a factor. I took physics as a senior in high school, which I enjoyed somewhat, but the teacher was definitely not as enthusiastic. She kept saying "you all are so much smarter than me," which was not a good thing to say to a bunch of high school students!
So my great math experience inspired me to major in math at college. I had a number of great professors and I did an Honors project in mathematics. I also minored in music, playing the cello. While I loved taking math classes, I didn't really know what to DO with math. I was really interested in astronomy and space physics (the Mars Rovers were a big deal!) so I started trying to take as many physics classes as I could fit into my schedule. During the summer after my junior year, I did a Research Experience for Undergraduates in Solar Physics in Tucson (where I had spent a good amount of my childhood so I was excited to go back). There was a big learning curve-I had to learn UNIX, C, and IDL along with some solar physics to be able to do a research project in just a couple of months. But it was great. I hung out with all of the other REUs, mostly doing astronomy. We did some observing on Kitt Peak and visited the National Solar Observatory, Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and Very Large Array in New Mexico.
I applied to several astronomy graduate programs, and was accepted to UVA. But then I decided to get married, my husband to be was 2 years ahead of me and already in medical school. UVA said they would keep my application supporting documents for 2 years, so I could easily reapply. Since I needed to catch up on physics courses anyway, I figured I'd take some physics courses and then we would move to UVA together. I was accepted into the physics graduate program where my husband was, eventually joined a research group in plasma physics, and what was my first research project? Space physics! (using the IDL that I had learned during my REU!) So we never went to UVA, we stuck around. I did my dissertation work in laboratory plasma physics.
My husband finished his residency 1 year before I finished my PhD, so he got a job in the area-that included a 3 year requirement to stay in the area. Plus, I wanted to start a family when I finished. Luckily, my phd adviser had funding for a half-time postdoc doing space physics, so that's what I did. Eventually, I wrote a proposal that was funded, providing me a promotion to a research professor. And that's where I am!
Since this blog is about my work and the other parts of my life, I'll throw in some tidbits about non-work here too. Today my second kid is the age that my first kid was when the second was born. They grow up so fast!
For dinner, it's been so nice we decided to use the grill. We had tuna steaks and they were yummy! We'll have to do that again. And last night we had some strawberries, cut up, lightly sugared, on top of vanilla ice cream. Such a simple dessert, but one of my favorites.
All the way back to preschool/kindergarten, I went to a Montessori school and I remember playing with one of my favorite "works" (as they're called in Montessori) called The Golden Beads. (Now, I don't remember that name from way back, I am blessed to have a Montessori school here that my child attends, and I got to rediscover all of the Montessori works!) The Golden Beads consist of single beads that are the ones, a bar of 10 beads, a square of 100 beads, and a cube of 1000 beads. It is a very sensory-based way to learn and understand our base-10 number system. This is an example of why Montessori education is so awesome: you learn everything through sensory activities! When I visited the school here, I saw two related works, the binomial and trinomial squares that help to visualize several math concepts. I had totally forgotten about them, but it was like having flashbacks when I saw them! If you've ever seen the TV series, Alias with Jennifer Garner, you'll understand when my husband and I joked that my Montessori education was like the spy school.
Throughout elementary school, I remember doing cool science stuff, including rat mazes and shark dissection and a summer science "camp." In high school, I was selected for an accelerated math program, taking pre-calculus during the summer, AP Calculus in junior year, and Multivariable Calculus in senior year. I had an AWESOME teacher, Mrs. Irwin. One favorite memory of her class was when she brought in Pringles to teach us about saddle points! I knew then that I wanted to major in math, and I was thinking that I wanted to be a veterinarian. I got the chance to help in a vet clinic and almost passed out during a very bloody spaying surgery. I'm not sure if that totally killed my interest in being a vet, but that was definitely a factor. I took physics as a senior in high school, which I enjoyed somewhat, but the teacher was definitely not as enthusiastic. She kept saying "you all are so much smarter than me," which was not a good thing to say to a bunch of high school students!
So my great math experience inspired me to major in math at college. I had a number of great professors and I did an Honors project in mathematics. I also minored in music, playing the cello. While I loved taking math classes, I didn't really know what to DO with math. I was really interested in astronomy and space physics (the Mars Rovers were a big deal!) so I started trying to take as many physics classes as I could fit into my schedule. During the summer after my junior year, I did a Research Experience for Undergraduates in Solar Physics in Tucson (where I had spent a good amount of my childhood so I was excited to go back). There was a big learning curve-I had to learn UNIX, C, and IDL along with some solar physics to be able to do a research project in just a couple of months. But it was great. I hung out with all of the other REUs, mostly doing astronomy. We did some observing on Kitt Peak and visited the National Solar Observatory, Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and Very Large Array in New Mexico.
I applied to several astronomy graduate programs, and was accepted to UVA. But then I decided to get married, my husband to be was 2 years ahead of me and already in medical school. UVA said they would keep my application supporting documents for 2 years, so I could easily reapply. Since I needed to catch up on physics courses anyway, I figured I'd take some physics courses and then we would move to UVA together. I was accepted into the physics graduate program where my husband was, eventually joined a research group in plasma physics, and what was my first research project? Space physics! (using the IDL that I had learned during my REU!) So we never went to UVA, we stuck around. I did my dissertation work in laboratory plasma physics.
My husband finished his residency 1 year before I finished my PhD, so he got a job in the area-that included a 3 year requirement to stay in the area. Plus, I wanted to start a family when I finished. Luckily, my phd adviser had funding for a half-time postdoc doing space physics, so that's what I did. Eventually, I wrote a proposal that was funded, providing me a promotion to a research professor. And that's where I am!
Since this blog is about my work and the other parts of my life, I'll throw in some tidbits about non-work here too. Today my second kid is the age that my first kid was when the second was born. They grow up so fast!
For dinner, it's been so nice we decided to use the grill. We had tuna steaks and they were yummy! We'll have to do that again. And last night we had some strawberries, cut up, lightly sugared, on top of vanilla ice cream. Such a simple dessert, but one of my favorites.
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