The Contemplative Mammoth
dissertation
My Academic Independence Day
This is a quick update to say: I defend my dissertation tomorrow! I have a lot of thoughts about this, most of which I am unable to articulate because I am literally eating, breathing, and dreaming my dissertation, which means I’m finding it difficult to articulate anything that isn’t about late-glacial novel ecosystems, bison, dung … Continue reading
A very contemplative mammoth, indeed.
Things have been rather quiet on this blog in the last month or so as I’ve been working hard on #phd2012, and I wanted to give a brief update lest you thought this particular mammoth had gone extinct. I’ll be defending my dissertation on July 5th, and am planning on live-streaming the public portion of … Continue reading
A paper published, a story told: Understanding the impacts of the loss of ice-age herbivores
Paleoecological research involves equal parts detective work, mental time-travel, and story-telling. Clues from the past are collected and pieced together to map out what landscapes might have looked like, and how they may have changed through time. It’s not unlike walking through the set of a play after all the characters are gone, and half … Continue reading
Farewell 2011, welcome 2012!
Before we get too much further into 2012, I’d better share my year-end review post. Last year was a bit crazy, between major life events and state and university shake-ups, but both I and my academic career survived! In 2011, I: Attended the 4th International Biogeography Society Meeting in Iraklion, Crete in January. If you … Continue reading
#PhD2012 FTW
After almost twelve years of post-secondary education, the end is in sight. Grad-school-time is more compressed than real time, and so “the end” isn’t actually for six to eight more months, but that’s close enough to raise my pulse considerably when I think about it. Between now and then, I’ll finish a significant amount of … Continue reading
No pollen grains were harmed in the writing of this dissertation.
The progression through grad school is measured in milestones; some are official (like qualifying exams), others less so, but no less important. This week, I passed such a milestone: I counted the very last pollen grain of my dissertation. For those of you less familiar with the details of paleoecological proxies, let me explain. Pollen … Continue reading
