Grad News Forum

At this year’s Winter Carnival–beginning on Thursday, February 9th and running through Sunday, February 12th–Dartmouth’s graduate students are invited to participate in the “2012 Winter Carnival Snow Sculpture Contest!”

Dartmouth Students building the 2011 Winter Carnival Sculpture

Feel like participating in one of Dartmouth’s oldest traditions? Then assemble a team of builders from your department, register for the contest by Tuesday, February 7th, and bring your favorite snow shovel to the green on Thursday, February 9th and Friday, February, 10th!

Organized by the Collis Center for Student Involvement Office and Programing Board at Dartmouth, the theme for the 2012 Winter Carnival is “Carnival in Candyland.”

Here’s an outline of the event from 2012 Winter Carnival Snow Sculpture Contest’s offical website:

“Who: Any College-recognized organization (including living units, athletic teams, alumni groups, and academic and administrative departments).

What: A contest held on the Green to select the best sculpture representing this year’s Carnival theme.

When: Carnival is one of the busiest weekends at Dartmouth. In order to allow students and others to participate in all of the various activities, we have limited the hours of building. Starting at noon on Thursday, February 9, organizations may start building a sculpture. Building hours are from noon to 10 p.m. on Thursday, February 9, and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. on Friday, February 10. Judging will take place between 3:30-5 p.m. on Friday, February 10. During the judging, the Green Key Society, Winter Carnival Council, and Collis will be giving out hot chocolate and snacks and welcoming the community.

Where: In order to participate in this contest, all sculptures must be built on the southwest quadrant of the Green (corner closest to Collis). Snow will be provided in a large pile on the Green. Large barrels and shovels will be provided to move snow. A hose will also be on-site to get water to wet-down your sculpture.

Why: Why not? Let’s revive a tradition!

How much: 1^st place: $500; 2^nd place: $300; 3^rd place: $200—transferred to your organizational account. The winning organization will also be provided a sculpture trophy for display.“

For more information on the event, including Safety Guidelines, please visit the contest’s website.

With its emphasis on enabling students to pursue their personal academic interests within the framework of a rigorous graduate program, the College’s Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program attracts students from a diverse range of backgrounds. The program, founded in 1970, focuses on the importance of interdisciplinary studies and flexibility within graduate education, according to English professor and MALS chair Donald Pease.

To learn more about Datmouth’s MALS program, read the article recently published in The Dartmouth.

On Tuesday, November 8^th at 5:30 pm, the newly elected Departmental Representatives of Dartmouth’s Graduate Student Council (GSC) attended their first monthly GSC meeting in the 1930s Room of the Rockefeller Center. At the meeting, the Executive Board outlined the responsibilities of each departmental representative, and the latest GSC initiatives and social events were discussed by the council.

Welcome 2011-12 Departmental Representatives to the GSC!

Dartmouth Community,

First of all, I’d like to welcome each newly-elected Departmental Representative to Dartmouth’s Graduate Student Council (GSC). I’m excited by the ideas generated at both the November and December meetings, and by the positive energy exhibited by each new Rep. I look forward to working with you all over the next six months, and I hope that you each consider running for an Executive Board position this spring.

So far, the 2011-12 academic year has been exciting for the Graduate Student Council. Since this year’s Executive Board took office in May, four new graduate student clubs have been recognized. For all 14 of Dartmouth’s graduate student groups, the GSC provides both the monetary resources, and the institutional recognition necessary for these organizations to host niche events that strengthen the graduate community.

This October, the council awarded block funding grants to six GSC recognized student groups. Currently, the Finance Committee, chaired by Zanes Cypress, is in the process of reviewing how these groups have used this funding—come winter, the student leaders of each of these student groups will showcase the community building events made possible by these grants, and explain how their organizations intend to utilize their remaining funds.

Coupled with the larger social events planned by the GSC’s two social co-chairs—Ana Draghici and Jeremy Fitzpatrick—and the small-scale programs coordinated by Erin O’Flaherty, the Graduate Studies Activities Coordinator, and Regina Salvat, the North Park Graduate Advisor, the activities hosted by all of the GSC-recognized student groups create the social space for Dartmouth’s graduate students to meet outside of the classroom, laboratory, and library, and to collaborate in a relaxed environment.

I’d like to take a moment to commend Dartmouth’s graduate community for its quick response to the flooding caused by Hurricane Irene. In addition to the GSC-led donation drive, many graduate students also participated in the rebuilding efforts organized by the college. Also, I’d like thank the staff of Baker Berry for allowing the GSC to place a collection bin in the main corridor of the library, and the staff of the William Jewett Tucker Foundation for both organizing several campus-wide relief efforts, and distributing the donations collected by the GSC.

On top of this fall’s hurricane response, the community enrichment projects undertaken by the GSC are many: in October, the Graduate Relief Team, led by Student Life Chair, Marie Onakomaiya, and Vice President, Aarathi Prasad, coordinated graduate student participation in Dartmouth’s annual “Day of Caring,” and helped organize the GSC holiday food drive. Again, thank you to all members of the graduate student body who have taken the time to give back to the local community!

Dartmouth’s Strategic Planning continues to be an exciting challenge for the GSC. Over the past months, the Graduate Education for the Future working group, chaired by Brian Pogue, Dean of Graduate Studies, has met on a biweekly basis. In November, the GSC helped coordinate an Open Forum that was held in the Rockefeller Center. Structured to solicit graduate-student feedback regarding the strengths and weaknesses of Dartmouth’s graduate community, the working group intends to incorporate the student suggestions generated at this forum in the Strategic Planning process.

Finally, the Academic Committee, chaired by Julia Bradley-Cook, recently awarded travel grants to Katie Duryea (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology), Sergey Fogelson (Psychological & Brian Sciences), and Gillian Moritz (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology). Each year, the GSC awards grants both in November and in March to help defray the cost of attending an academic conference: the grant is meant to supplement, but not to replace other funding sources.

Spanning the entire month of October, this year’s elections for Departmental Representatives were entirely electronic, and were facilitated by Mandy Balboni, the Executive Board’s secretary. Currently, 31 students are serving as Departmental Representatives, but several seats are still available: two departments are not represented, and the GSC is looking for graduate students to serve on the school’s Council on Libraries and the Council on Computing.

To nominate either yourself, or a member of your department fill a vacant seat on the GSC, please email graduate.student.council@dartmouth.edu.

Again, Congratulations!

-Wesley Whitaker
President of the Graduate Student Council

2011-12 Departmental Representatives:

Biological Chemistry
1.)  Anna L. Hatch
2.)  Kelli Hvorecny

Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (EEB)
1.) Jeffrey A. Lombardo
2.) Thomas S. Kraft

Chemistry
1.) Justin T. Foy
2.) Nicholas B. Tito

Comparative Literature
1.) Vacant 

Computer Science
1.) Yu-Han Lyu
2.) Andrew Lyons
3.) Vacant    

Digital Musics
1.) Phillip M. Hermans

Earth Sciences
1.) Justin B. Richardson

Genetics
1.) Gilbert J. Rahme
2.) Rishika De

Mathematics
1.)  Vacant
2.)  Vacant

Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS)
1.) Cheng (Dawn) Ling
2.) Keely H. Badger
3.) Maryna Marchanka

Molecular & Cellular Biology, 1^st-Year (MCB)
1.) Erin Shoemaker
2.) Andrew Bridges

Micro-Immunology
1.) Yash R. Patankar
2.) Megan O’Connor

Programs in Experimental and Molecular Medicine (PEMM)
1.) Ryan Soderquist
2.) Catherine Fricano
3.) Vacant

Physiology
1.) Matthew P. DeBerge

Physics and Astronomy
1.)  Shuo Wu
2.)  Vacant

Psychological & Brain Sciences (PBS)
2.) James R. Peck
3.) Richard B. Lopez

The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice (TDI)
1.)  Lisa M. Jackson
2.)  Vacant

Thayer School of Engineering
1.) Natasha Mohan
2.) Kirti Khopkar
3.) Raghav Ahluwalia
4.) Rebecca Williams

Biological Sciences
1.)  Adrienne Perkin
2.)  Vacant

Non-Voting Representatives:

HOP SAC+
1.) Sarah Langman (MALS)

Council on Libraries
1.) Vacant

Council on Computing
1.) Vacant 

In the latest movie produced by the Graduate Studies Office, international graduate student reflect upon their studies at Dartmouth. Featuring interviews from students in five of Dartmouth’s Arts & Sciences graduate programs, the newly-released movie explores the international community in Hanover.

Directed by Tennile Sunday
Filmed & Edited by Wesley Whitaker

Peter Winkler is a mathematician or a computer scientist. We are not sure which, and neither is he. He says he is interested in the theory of computing, which is an application of mathematics as well as a subject area within computer science. “So whether a person in this field is called a mathematician or a computer scientist is partly just a question of happenstance,” says Winkler.

For the full article go to Dartmouth Now.

This past spring, Thayer awarded fourteen MS and seven PhD degrees, and this fall Thayer accepted five new students into the PhD Innovation Program.

Thayer completed a $60 million fundraising campaign which will help to enhance our programs, and with professors Ian Baker and Keith Paulsen working as co-directors, Dartmouth was designated as a Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE) with a $12.8 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Project leaders on the grant include engineering professors Gerngross, Pogue, and Griswold.

Professor Olfati-Saber received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). Two Thayer-founded companies won GE’s Ecomagination Challenge, IceCode founded by Professor Petrenko, and SustainX founded by Professor Hutchinson and three PhD graduates, Dax Kepshire Th’06, Ben Bollinger Th’04, and Troy McBride Th’01. In addition, professors Sullivan and Levey were awarded green-technology grants from DoE.

Professor Hartov was appointed director of MS and PhD programs, filling the shoes of Ursula Gibson, who accepted a new position at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Meanwhile, we welcomed several new faculty members, including Margaret Ackerman, Eric Fossum, Michael Gerst, Venkat Krishnaswamy, Jifeng Liu, and Vicky May.

Currently, several PhD candidates are participating in Dartmouth’s new Polar Environmental Change program, offered through a grant by NSF’s Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program. Thayer congratulates Kristen Louise Lurie D’08 Th’08 and Renee Nicole Cottle D’07 Th’09, who were both awarded 2010 NSF Graduate Research Fellowships. Finally, Broc Burke, MD/PhD candidate, was selected as a 2010-11 Schweitzer Fellow, and MS candidate Jonathan Guerrette, along with Devon Anderson and Nathan Niparko, won the 2nd Prize in the 2010 Collegiate Inventors Competition.

By Catharine Lamm

Photograph: Thayer Innovation Fellows; From left to right: Steven Reinitz, Alicia Petryk, Matthew Pallone, Geneva Trotter, Regina Salvat.

Photo: Kathryn LoConte

Each spring, Thayer School of Engineering hosts an Open House and Exposition, welcoming the public to see how engineering prepares students to innovate in medicine, public policy, law, architecture, design, technology, entrepreneurship, and more.

For the full story go to Dartmouth Now.

Oftentimes, music groups work solos into their songs to give individual performers the chance to improvise. Larry Polansky, the Jacob H. Strauss 1922 professor in music, composed a music piece that does the reverse — the performers of his piece can play whatever they want, with however many musicians and whichever instruments they choose, as long as one of the instruments adheres to the score at any given point of the entire piece.

Read the full article from the The Dartmouth.

Professors Robyn Millan and Brett Anderson are currently in Antarctica preparing for a test flight of a high-altitude balloon payload to study precipitation of radiation belt relativistic electrons. Karl Yando has been working on developing a new mechanical design for this particular payload, and Leslie Woodger continues data analysis for relativistic electron precipitation and developing a thermal model for the BARREL payloads. At the other end of the world, Professor Kristina Lynch and Philip Fernandes are in Svalbard participating in the launch campaign for Dartmouth graduate alumnus Marc Lessard’s RENU rocket.

Professors Jim LaBelle and Micah Dombrowski spent most of January and February in Fairbanks, Alaska, participating in the successful CHARM-2 rocket launch. As a part of a NASA GSRP fellowship, Micah also spent the month of September at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Nick Bunch defended his thesis on experimental investigations of bursty auroral radio emissions in January, and is now in a postdoc position at Stanford.

Summer was also a busy time for the Physics Department. James Lundberg spent the summer in New Mexico at Langmuir Labs observing x-ray burst activity from lightning strikes, and Thiago Brito and Zhao Li both attended the GEM Workshop in Snowmass, Colorado, and the NASA “Living with a Star” Summer School at NCAR in Boulder, Colorado. Zhao went on to spend the rest of the summer at the High Latitude Observatory at NCAR, where Professor Mary Hudson has been on sabbatical for six months. A highlight of Hudson’s six months ‘Out West’ was participating in the graduate student retreat at Breckenridge, Colorado, in September for NSF-CISM graduate students from Dartmouth, BU, CU, Berkeley, Rice and Alabama A&M University.

“It was fun to get to know and go hiking with students across CISM institutions, with research interests ranging from solar to ionospheric physics,” commented Hudson.

In September, Matt Broughton took a field trip to Toolik Lake and Poker Flat, Alaska, to add antennas to the arrays and set up a four-antenna array for riometry on four separate frequencies. A collaboration with Dartmouth graduate alumnus and current Siena  Professor Allan Weatherwax, the project is believed to be the first time riometry has been attempted on so many frequencies simultaneously.

Working with Research Professor Richard Denton, Shuo Wu has begun a project to simulate magnetospheric whistler chorus waves. These waves are thought to be important for the acceleration and loss of radiation-belt electrons that can damage satellites and endanger astronauts in space. Shuo will be developing her simulation code from the code that former Dartmouth graduate student Yonggang Hu developed to simulate ion-cyclotron waves.

by Kristina Lynch
pictured Physics grad students around the world… The top and bottom of the Earth at the same time!
top left the balloon group in Antarctica; Top right: the rocket group in Svalbard

Dartmouth’s mathematics department would like to congratulate the five students it awarded PhDs to in 2010: Giulio Genovese, Paul Kinlaw, Mits Kobayashi, Nick Scoville, and Sarah Wright. The department also congratulates both Paige Rinker, the recipient of the first annual Kenneth P. Bogart Teaching Award, and Katie Kinnaird, the first student to pass the new qualifying exam in applied mathematics.

The department also received five Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) fellowships, and looks forward to the conferences and symposiums that it will host in 2011: the NH Operator Theory Symposium in April, the Problems in Spectral Geometry in July, the Conference on Permutation Patterns in August, and the East Coast Operator Symposium in October.

In 2011, mathematics students will continue to participate in various international study programs. Madrid’s Topics in Operator Theory continues to be popular, and Elizabeth Gillaspy will attend the Operator Algebras and Noncommutative Geometry program at the University of Victoria in Canada. Ralf Rueckriemen will attend a workshop on Analysis of Graphs and its Applications at the University of Cambridge in the UK, and both Lola Thompson and Enrique Treviño will participate in the Quebec-Maine Number Theory Conference held in Quebec.

The department’s faculty would like to welcome visiting Professor Susan Diesel and visiting Assistant Professor Johanna Franklin to Dartmouth! The faculty is proud to announce that two papers published in The Mathematics Monthly, both co-authored by Pete Winkler, have been awarded the 2011 Robbin Prize. In addition, faculty members Dan Rockmore and Marcelo Gleiser’s joint project that aims to develop a STEM education model for rural libraries recently received funding from the National Science Foundation.

by Marcia Groszek
photo by Wesley Whitaker, MALS
pictured Paige Rinker, recipient of the Kenneth P. Bogart Teaching Award