Grad News Forum

Coral reef ecosystems harbor tremendous biodiversity, perform important functions in the biogeochemical cycles of the planet, and provide the foundation upon which humans create unique and diverse relationships with nature.

In the summer of 2012, I traveled to Buen Hombre, Dominican Republic—a community of 600 residents on the northwestern coast of the country—to assess the status and functioning of coral reef fisheries accessed by artisanal fishermen. With the help of an undergraduate research assistant, Molly Wilson ’13, I performed fish-community surveys, benthic assessments, catch surveys, and social research on how the fishing system in Buen Hombre operates.

Thanks to the scuba equipment purchased with the Alumni Research Award, I was able to sample deeper reef sites that play an important role in the ecological dynamics of the area. We found that nearshore reefs are heavily exploited to the point that some areas have collapsed into an unhealthy, algae-dominated state.

Herbivorous fish maintain coral health by clearing away macro-algae that can outcompete slow-growing hard corals for space. This presents a major challenge for fisheries management because parrotfish, the Caribbean’s most abundant and effective herbivore, currently comprise at least fifty percent of fishermen’s catch in Buen Hombre.

The Alumni Research Award was an integral part of my experience in Buen Hombre, allowing me to perform more thorough and productive research. My future work will include modeling fish population dynamics to help the community and resource managers establish harvest guidelines and promote ecosystem recovery.

by Tyler Pavlowich, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB)

Photo courtesy of Tyler Pavlowich

Dear Graduate Community,

Greetings from Hanover!

As we approach the end of the calendar year I wanted to take a minute to write to you all about the exciting state of Graduate Studies.

I must say that it has been quite an exciting term. Back in August, I began my tenure as the Dean of Graduate Studies. I have spent much of the fall speaking with students, faculty, staff, and administrators, learning about the important issues that surround graduate education at Dartmouth. I have been afforded the opportunity to witness the incredible diversity of talent and drive in each of our graduate programs. I also cannot emphasize enough how impressive the staff of the Graduate Office is. They do an amazing job taking care of our students and programs!

Looking across the spectrum of Graduate Studies, I’ve been touched by the closeness and sense of community that exists inside of and between our programs. Our resolve was tested this fall, as our community suffered a tragic loss. Mikhail Lomakin, a first year graduate student in physics, died in a devastating accident back in October. Mike, as he liked to be called, came to us from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. He was interested in space plasma physics, and was very excited to embark on his career in research here at Dartmouth. Mike’s passing rocked our small community. But our students found ways to come together, supporting each other during an enormously difficult time. This togetherness has made us all closer, impressing again upon me the value of our small size and our sense of collective strength. These virtues keep us moving forward, together, into the New Year that promises to be transformative.

I am proud to report that graduate programs in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics and Astronomy have been awarded more than $2 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Education through the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) program, which will fund 17 three-year graduate fellowships. Dartmouth has received nearly $8 million in GAANN awards since 2004, an amazing success rate reflecting very highly on our graduate programs. Our students also continue to have success obtaining highly competitive funding, with six students receiving prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowships in 2012.

Our Graduate Student Council continues to be a strong student voice on campus, communicating with the administration about issues surrounding Dartmouth’s graduate community. The GSC Executive Board met with President Folt earlier in the fall to discuss a number of issues facing our students. The Council also took part in the 10^th annual Ivy Summit, held this year at the University of Pennsylvania. The Summit is a meeting of graduate student leaders from across the Ivies. There the GSC had the chance to share ideas and learn new strategies to advance our student resources and handle issues related to graduate student life.

In looking to further our alumni-student relations, we have developed an Externship Program, which will pair current graduate students with graduate alumni. During December, students will spend a day with an alumni host, discussing professional goals, engaging in career-oriented conversations with staff, receiving feedback on their resumes or CVs, and shadowing their host in their day-to-day activities. Most importantly, they will help to develop sustainable links between graduate alumni and graduate students. These links help to ensure that Dartmouth alumni find themselves still engaged with the College, and that students have the opportunity to benefit from our alums’ expertise. I’m delighted that so many graduate alumni have signed up for this experience.

Finally, I wanted to thank the graduate alumni for donating to the Dartmouth Graduate Studies Alumni Fund. Each year, contributions from our Graduate Alumni allow us to fund research grants. This year, the fund has allowed a number of talented students to do all kinds of great work, which you can read about on our online news-blog, The Graduate Forum. Your continued support is greatly appreciated, and I am really excited to see what our students will achieve during the coming year.

Have a wonderful Holiday Season, and all the best for 2013!

Sincerely,

F. Jon Kull

Dean of Graduate Studies at Dartmouth

By now I am sure that you have heard about the appointment of Philip J. Hanlon as the 18th President of Dartmouth. This is what key figures in Graduate Arts and Sciences are saying:

Dean of Graduate Studies-F. Jon Kull

“I am very pleased about the appointment of Philip Hanlon as President of Dartmouth. He is an ideal choice and is sure to benefit graduate students and Dartmouth as a whole. As Provost of a major research university, he comes with an understanding of the critical importance of graduate programs and graduate students, and also the issues research faculty face. As a Dartmouth alum, he will also be able to recognize the importance of Dartmouth’s scholar-teacher model, and recognize places where graduate and undergraduate students can interact and strengthen each other.

I’m excited to bring him up to speed on the current state of our grad programs. I will also be discussing with him the strategic planning working group reports relating to graduate programs. I am confident that we can identify aspects of those reports that we can start moving on right away.”

Chair of the MALS program-Professor Don Pease

“Dartmouth is going through one of the most significant transitions in its 250 year history.Philip Hanlon has movingly attested to the life-altering effect of his Dartmouth undergraduate education on his life as a celebrated teacher and world-renowned scholar. Hanlon’s knowledge of the transformative power of Dartmouth’s past and the wisdom he has acquired as an administrator at one of the world’s top-ranked research universities have deepened his understanding of the inseparability of Dartmouth’s undergraduate and graduate programs. Hanlon appears uniquely positioned to inspire, administer, and realize Dartmouth strategic plan for the 21^st century.”

President of the Graduate Student Council-Julia Bradley-Cook

“By all accounts, Philip Hanlon brings a promising combination of leadership and scholarship to the Dartmouth presidency. Surely his experience at University of Michigan give him an understanding of the needs and opportunities for research at a special place like Dartmouth. I would like to echo the excitement across campus, and am looking forward to welcoming him upon his return to Dartmouth.”

What are your thoughts?

This year, Melody Brown Burkins, Senior Director of Research & Strategic Initiatives at the University of Vermont, has joined Allan Weatherwax on the Graduate Alumni Council, while Mark Durand has wrapped up his time on the council. Mark completed his MS in Biology at Dartmouth College in ‘84, and has since remained committed to graduate alumni issues at Dartmouth. The Graduate Studies Office is particularly grateful to those who serve on the council: “I’d like to thank Mark for the work he has done on Dartmouth’s Graduate Alumni Council, and I’m looking forward to working with Melody in the upcoming year!” says Assistant Dean of Recruiting, Jane Seibel.

The Graduate Forum has had the opportunity to interview Melody before, when she was a speaker at a Women in Science event. It was clear then how deeply committed to Dartmouth Melody is, and while this quick Q&A focuses mainly on her involvement in the Graduate Alumni Council, her overall message is very much the same!

The Graduate Forum (TGF): Why is the Alumni Council important to you?

Melody Brown Burkins (MBB): I’m impressed that the Dartmouth Alumni Council works so diligently to both connect alums back to campus and to truly represent the diversity, range, and breadth of Dartmouth’s alumni community.  If you explore the Alumni Council website, you’ll see key committees led by former undergraduates, professional school graduates, doctoral students, and medical students – all of whom loved their Dartmouth experience and care deeply about its future.

TGF: What are your overall goals for the Alumni Council?

MBB: My first goal is to learn how I can best serve our Graduate Studies community as their representative on the Alumni Council.  This will be a new experience for me and so I will be asking for input from the alumni community as to what folks would like to hear about Council activities and issues facing graduate education and research at Dartmouth. I also hope to work closely with the Graduate Studies office, and the excellent Dartmouth Graduate Forum, to learn how I might best align my service on the Council with their active alumni engagement efforts.

TGF: What is it about Dartmouth that makes you want to continue to offer your time and support?

MBB: Dartmouth simply holds an incredibly special place in my professional and personal life. My own years at Dartmouth, both as a doctoral student and then a visiting assistant professor, were absolutely transformative for me, both personally and professionally, shaping my views about effective research, education, and policy that have guided me (very well, I believe) throughout my career.  I also met my wonderful husband of 16+ years at Dartmouth and we have two wonderful sons, one of whom was born at Dartmouth-Hitchcock.  So Dartmouth has a special place in my life, and I see service on the Alumni Council as a wonderful way to not only stay connected with the campus myself, but help other graduate students do the same.

My doctoral adviser and mentor, Professor Ross Virginia, remains one of my most trusted advisers and friends.  It is not hyperbole to say that my time at Dartmouth—what I learned, what I experienced, and those I met (including my husband!)—still influences me daily. I am honored to have this opportunity to give back to the Dartmouth community and look forward to serving on the Alumni Council.

Thanks Melody, we’re looking forward to working with you!

by T. Sunday

The Graduate Forum is proud to announce the winners of the Graduate Teaching Awards. The hard working students are Patricia Cahn in the Math department, April Daigle in Chemistry and Morgan Thompson, Biochemistry.

Patricia Cahn recently received a PhD in Mathematics. Patricia came to Dartmouth in the fall of 2007, after completing her Bachelor’s at Smith College, in Northampton, Massachusetts. She earned her Bachelor’s in math, which was her primary field of study for her undergraduate and graduate years. Patricia also played the double bass throughout college, earning a minor in general music.

When Patricia arrived at Dartmouth, she found herself increasingly interested in a specific field of mathematics known as topology. Topology, which involves the study of the deformation of objects in space, was something that she had a knack for.

“I’ve always enjoyed visualizing things in math, especially shapes and their relationships to space.”

Patricia’s thesis work focused on using algebra to “count” crossings of curves on surfaces. This problem is related to a branch of topology called knot theory. One can obtain a mathematical knot by gluing together the ends of a knotted piece of string, and knot theorists are interested in studying when one knot can be gradually deformed into another.

As a  teacher, Patricia showed an exemplary commitment to passing on knowledge and academic excitement. She has been a teaching assistant in five classes during her time at Dartmouth, and has been an instructor for Math 1 (Calculus and Algebra), Math 31 (Topics in Algebra), and Math 32 (The Shape of Space). Patricia admits that her time working with students in Math 32, both as a TA and as an instructor, was especially rewarding. Her “favorite term” at Dartmouth came when she had the opportunity to for Math 32 during her third year, and this led to her being the full instructor for the course this past year.

“That’s really the field I love. To work with students in an advanced math like topology, I felt really fortunate.”

Patricia agreed that her curiosity and passion made those teaching experiences especially enjoyable. Now she’s on her way to share those traits with a new group of students.

This fall, Patricia will start a three-year post doctorate position at the University of Pennsylvania, as a lecturer in their mathematics department. She’ll be running two courses this fall and one this spring, on calculus and differential equations.

“It’s the good teachers I’ve had, both at Smith and Dartmouth, that first got me excited about teaching,” she says.

This early spark seems to have ignited what looks like a wonderful career. We wish Patricia the best of luck next year at UPenn.

Congratulations again Patricia!

On Sunday, June 10, graduating masters and doctoral students from Dartmouth’s Arts and Sciences Graduate Programs took the stage to celebrate Dartmouth’s 2012 Commencement ceremonies. Dartmouth’s Graduate Programs shone under sunny Hanover skies, as 175 students received their advanced degrees. The Grad Forum wishes the best of luck to all those who celebrated this June!

Video by Zach Williams and Dan Durcan 

Michael and his doctoral advisor, David Bucci

The Hannah Croasdale Award for academic excellence is awarded annually to the graduating PhD recipient who best exemplifies the qualities of a scholar. This individual possesses personal qualities of intellectual curiosity, dedication, and commitment to the pursuit of new knowledge and to teaching, as well as a sense of social responsibility to the community of scholars. The award recipient is selected by The Dean of Graduate Studies.

Since September, Michael Hopkins has been working as a fellow at SpecialtyCare, a company that specializes in intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring. The fellowship aims to train qualified doctoral graduates for careers in this type of surgical monitoring.

“In my current position at SpecialtyCare, I monitor the neurological activity of patients while they undergo surgeries that put their brain or other neural elements at risk. By collecting real-time data about neural function during surgery, my colleagues and I are able to inform the surgeon of any changes that could lead to post-operative injury if no intervention is taken,” says Michael. “While, currently, I am not conducting research, one thing that excites me about working at SpecialtyCare is that the company is known for conducting research and publishing their findings in respected scientific journals. Once I’ve completed my training fellowship, I look forward to participating in these ongoing research projects.”

While at Dartmouth, Michael studied the mental health benefits of regular exercise with his doctoral advisor, David Bucci. This research culminated in his doctoral dissertation, Move it or lose out: neural and behavioral effects of physical exercise.

“My graduate research examined the neurobiological mechanisms underlying exercise-induced cognitive effects, from those underlying changes in stress-reactivity and anxiety-like behavior in rats, and to begin translating these findings from rodents directly into experimental work with humans. We found evidence to support the idea that the effects of exercise on cognition do indeed arise through separable neurobiological pathways than those underlying exercise-induced decreases in anxiety. Through our translational study with human participants, we were able to replicate a number of these findings with a low-intensity exercise intervention.”

In this experiment, Michael tested object-recognition memory in a number of undergraduate and graduate students at Dartmouth, who—prior to volunteering as participants in the examination—met the inclusion criteria for leading a “sedentary lifestyle,” and as part of the study adopted regular exercise routines. For the duration of his study, Michael’s volunteers walked at about 4 mph for 30 minutes every other day on treadmills.

“Throughout my doctoral career, I gathered data on the mental health of my subjects through a series of surveys and complied these findings into one of the studies in my dissertation,” explains Michael. “Our data suggest that a relatively mild exercise intervention can lead to cognitive improvement. But I think the most compelling finding was that the likelihood of experiencing these cognitive benefits may be tied to which version of a specific gene one carries, called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF.”

Since it was disseminated, the research that Michael conducted under the guidance of David Bucci has been featured in a number of national publications, including The New York Times and The Huffington Post.

Michael also served as a teaching assistant in Dartmouth’s Psychological and Brain Sciences department (PBS), and participated in a number of Science Cafés hosted by the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning (DCAL). After completing his department’s teacher-training program, Michael helped teach four of PBS’s required courses—Psych 6, Psych 10—as well as two terms of Systems Neuroscience, Psych 65, one of the more challenging courses offered by the department.

“Margaret Gullick and I were asked to TA Systems Neuroscience together, which required a lot of commitment. However, our efforts were recognized, and in 2009, the faculty members of PBS selected me and Margaret as the recipients of that year’s departmental teaching award.”

Michael infront of Wentworth

While working as the North Park Graduate Advisor, and  serving as an Executive Board member of the Graduate Student Council (GSC), Michael hosted and planed a number of community-building events.  Also, upon arriving at Dartmouth, Michael volunteered to chair Green Lambda, the graduate community’s only LGBTQA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, and Allies) student group. For his community-building efforts, Michael was awarded the Graduate Community Award in 2009.

“I genuinely enjoyed each of the leadership roles that I held at Dartmouth as well as being involved with different facets of the school’s graduate community. While working as the North Park GA, I was impressed by the enthusiasm that graduate students brought to the events—whether it was a wine and cheese mixer in the laundry room, or a shopping trip to White River Junction, the residents that came to my events were excited to meet other graduate students and to enjoy their time outside of the laboratory or library,” explains Michael. “I think the capstone of my GSC involvement was planning the inaugural ‘Amazing North Park Race,’ which I hosted last spring. Those who participated really got competitive, and it was great to watch graduate students from different departments run around campus working together to complete all of the challenges.”

Michael received his bachelors degree in Behavioral Neuroscience from Colgate University in 2002, where he published two peer-reviewed scientific articles with Dr. Spencer Kelly examining the role of nonverbal communication in language. After graduating from Colgate, Michael lived in New York City where he began volunteering at a colon cancer research laboratory housed in The Rockefeller University. After a few months of volunteering, Michael was hired full-time as a research assistant, and while working at the center, found that he really enjoyed working in scientific research.

“The real-world experience I gained at Rockefeller was invaluable: not only did it re-affirm my passion for science and provide the work experience I needed to be accepted into the PhD program of my choice—which was Dartmouth—but I believe that the training I received helped prepare me to succeed as a graduate student,” says Michael.

Congratulations, Michael!

by Wesley Whitaker
photos by Tennile Sunday & Wesley Whitaker

Lola Thompson: Teacher and Number Theorist

A fifth-year PhD candidate in the Math Department, Lola Thompson spends a large portion of her time at Dartmouth training for a career in teaching. In addition to completing the teacher-training program required by her department, Lola has taken a number of professional development courses at the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning (DCAL), and worked as an instructor at the Summer Institute for the Gifted (SIG)—a month-long educational program for children between the ages of 13-17 hosted by Dartmouth each summer.

“Dartmouth’s Arts and Science Graduate Programs are known for preparing students for careers in teaching, and that’s one of the main reasons I chose Dartmouth,” says Lola. “The math department’s doctoral curriculum allows students to engage in cutting-edge research while getting hands-on experience in the classroom. I think it’s a wonderful balance.”

Lola got her first taste of teaching as an undergraduate at the University of Chicago. During both her junior and senior summers, Lola taught at an intensive, eight-week math camp hosted by Ohio State University. It was at this summer program that Lola came across the mathematical problem that inspired her doctoral research.

“I usually tell people that the program at Ohio State was ‘math boot camp,’ and in retrospect, that’s really what it was. At the camp, things like playing cards, board games, the internet, and television were prohibited. As a result, our students were immersed in math for the duration of the summer,” explains Lola.

“Anyways, I was reviewing a problem set with one of my students when I came across an interesting question. It was in the true or false section of the problem set, and asked ‘For every positive integer n, the cyclotomic polynomial ф_n(x) [the unique irreducible polynomial that divides xⁿ-1 but does not divide x^k-1 for any k < n] has only +1 or -1 as its coefficients. True or False?’ At first, I thought that the answer was ‘true’ but I couldn’t think of a way to prove it, so I tried to find a counterexample. As it turns out, when n = 105, the statement is false; ф₁₀₅(x) has 2 as a coefficient. This made me wonder `How large can the coefficients get?’”

When applying to doctoral programs, Lola learned that Professor Carl Pomerance had published a paper related to the problem she came across at the Ohio State summer program. After enrolling at Dartmouth, Lola selected Prof. Pomerance as her advisor, and began her research in Number Theory.

“Most of my doctoral research builds on the counterexample that I discovered with my students at Ohio State, and examines statistical questions related to both the degrees and coefficients of polynomials,” says Lola. “The most practical application of this type of research is in cryptography, a discipline that uses sophisticated patterns to encode information used by the government, financial institutions, the military, and other organizations who encrypt sensitive data.”

Lola is committed to her polynomial research, and is also passionate about teaching. Dartmouth’s Math Department does an excellent job training its PhD candidates to teach. After the masters degree in mathematics is conferred by the school, the department’s doctoral students are qualified to work as course instructors. However, before they’re allowed to teach undergraduates, these graduate students undergo an intensive teacher-training course. In this training course, graduate students learn the nuts and bolts of teaching: to successfully complete the program, the graduate students are required to design two weeklong courses for high school students on topics from the undergraduate math curriculum. Then, before they’re allowed to work as course instructors, these graduate students teach the two courses they designed over the summer.

“Though I enjoyed the training process, it was a little embarrassing,” explains Lola. “The department videotapes each of the summer courses that you teach, and the videotapes are then reviewed in a workshop. It’s worth it though—after you have your masters degree and have completed the training, you’re as qualified to teach as many adjunct professors, and can teach courses at Dartmouth.”

During her five years at Dartmouth, Lola has taught three different courses: two sections of calculus (Math 8 and Math 1) and one section of discrete probability (Math 20). While Lola was the chief instructor for each of these courses, a “teaching mentor” sat in on three of her classes each term to offer feedback on her teaching progress. In addition, she met with a “course chair,” whose role was to ensure that her choice of textbook, syllabus, and exam questions were consistent with the curriculum set by the department.

“While I enjoyed a large amount of freedom in the classroom, both my teaching mentor and course chair were there to guide me,” says Lola. “They checked in to make sure I was teaching effectively, and covering all of the required material.”

During her graduate career, Lola held three positions on Dartmouth’s Graduate Student Council (GSC): she first acted as the departmental representative for the Math department, was then elected Social Chair, and finally served as the Vice President of the GSC. Currently, Lola runs Dartmouth’s Graduate Vegetarians and Vegans club, is a Graduate Student Leader, and takes Persian and belly dancing classes.

Recently, Lola accepted a one-year postdoctoral position at the University of Georgia—her adviser is a Dartmouth Arts and Sciences Graduate Programs alumnus– and she’s also accepted a tenure track position at Oberlin College starting in the 2013-14 academic year.

by Wesley Whitaker

The Graduate Office, in conjunction with the Office of Institutional Research, recently conducted a survey of Dartmouth graduate alumni in order to gauge their satisfaction with their Dartmouth experience.

The survey was sent out electronically to 738 Dartmouth PhD alumni, all of whom were at least five years removed from graduation. Data collection lasted three weeks, and 251 alums responded for a 34% overall response rate.

Overall, the results of the survey were highly encouraging. Eighty-seven percent of the graduate alumni surveyed feel that completing their Dartmouth graduate degree was ‘definitely worth the effort.’ Eighty-three percent of respondents use the skills from their specialty or general field on a daily basis, and 93% percent of alumni respondents believe that Dartmouth provided effective training in designing and executing research. Additionally, 92% of alums feel that their Dartmouth education has been instrumental in helping them think critically and identify problems/format solutions.

“Maintaining strong alumni connections within the Dartmouth graduate community is of the utmost importance to the Graduate Studies Office,” says Kerry Landers, Assistant Dean of Graduate Student Affairs at Dartmouth. “We’re thrilled that so many graduate alumni, several years after graduating, are still pleased with the overall quality of their Dartmouth experience.”

In terms of career placement, Dartmouth graduate alums fare extremely well in comparison to the general population. Eighty-two percent of respondents are currently employed full-time, with 57% currently working in the education sector. Graduate alums are also productive scholars: of the respondents working in four-year educational institutions, more than 64% of graduate alums are on a tenure-track faculty appointment, with 52% of respondents having published seven or more refereed journal articles since graduating from Dartmouth.

Some of the recent awards and accolades that Dartmouth graduate alumni have received include the National Medal of Science (Marye Anne Fox, PhD, Chemistry), as well as numerous teaching and research grants and awards from such prestigious institutions as the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health, NASA, and the Fulbright Program. In June of 2011, Marye Anne Fox was also the first graduate alumnus in Dartmouth’s history to be elected to the Dartmouth Board of Trustees.

While the majority of graduate alums (80%) report that their academic experience at Dartmouth was ‘very good or excellent’, approximately half of the respondents felt that there is room for improvement in the development of career-focused skills such as managing people, budgets, and writing funding proposals.

“Many of the areas in which respondents expressed less enthusiastic support for—such as non-academic student life and non-academic career training—are areas that we have been aggressively targeting over the last few years by offering multiple workshops on professional development skills,” says Landers.

Brian Pogue, Dean of Graduate Studies, also commends the efforts currently being made to increase the satisfaction of graduate students at Dartmouth, both academically and non-academically. “Surveys such as this one allow us to recognize the areas in which we are already succeeding, while also helping us to identify opportunities for growth and improvement,” says Pogue.

 by Erin E. O’Flaherty

The DAM Interview