Grad News Forum

Like the rest of the world, Matthew Sturdevant, MALS ’08, was shocked and horrified when he first learned of the mass shootings in Newtown, Conn., on December 14, 2012. But then he had to go to work and cover the unfolding tragedy for the Hartford Courant, Connecticut’s largest daily newspaper.

A Courant staff writer since 2009 and a reporter for nearly 15 years, Sturdevant says, “Nothing could have prepared me for the mass murder of children. Many people feel the pain is still very raw. It’s harrowing and haunting, and yet it’s also uplifting to have seen a global outpouring of kindness in response to the tragedy.”

On April 15, Sturdevant was one of a team of Courant staffers recognized by the Pulitzer Prize committee. Runners-up to the Denver Post in the category of breaking news reporting, the Hartford Courant staff was cited “for its complete and sensitive coverage of the shooting massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., that killed 20 children and 6 adults, using digital tools as well as traditional reporting to tell the story quickly while portraying the stunned community’s grief.”

Sturdevant credits the Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) faculty with helping him “expand my writing abilities,” and thus enabling him to convey such difficult news in an insightful way. He cites Professors Thomas Powers (a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist), Barbara S. Kreiger, and Sydney Lea as “hugely influential,” and says he chose a MALS nonfiction creative writing concentration over a journalism master’s program because he “wanted to broaden my learning and steep in the two years of a liberal arts education that Dartmouth provides.”

For the full article go to Dartmouth Now.

Photo courtesy of Matthew Sturdevant

Members of SAT, Spencer Hatch and Justin Richardson

The Sustainability Action Team (SAT) is a newly formed arm of the Dartmouth Graduate Student Council (GSC) concerned with providing a voice for sustainability efforts and awareness in the Dartmouth graduate community. During Earth Week 2013, on April 23, the group will be hosting their first event, an e-waste collection site, in collaboration with the Dartmouth Office of Sustainability.

SAT members are graduate students in programs ranging from earth science and engineering to public health. They share an interest in contributing to sustainability efforts at Dartmouth. These sustainability efforts include education regarding current ecological issues as well as simple practices in which the Dartmouth community, both individually and collectively, can engage. More than just a platform for philosophizing and debating, team members envision a Sustainability Action Team that does as the name implies by focusing time together on ways to help the Dartmouth community become more sustainable.

What does becoming more sustainable mean? For SAT, becoming more sustainable begins with a realization that how humans choose to interact with the earth is a real determining factor in the future availability of resources and the health of life on this planet. Once that awareness is reached, we are in a position to start thinking of ways to lessen the negative and emphasize the positive impacts we have on local, as well as global, ecosystems.

Originally envisioned by earth sciences PhD candidate and GSC Vice President Justin Richardson, the Sustainability Action Team first came together as part of a breakout session at the December 2012 GSC meeting. The first meeting demonstrated that individual members of the team have given significant thought to issues of sustainability and that there was plenty of momentum among team members to define goals and to execute a plan based on a shared vision.

What is that shared vision? Primarily, it is that the Dartmouth graduate community is capable of making a meaningful and measurable difference. In addition, SAT members recognize that collaborative effort should be emphasized; sustainability efforts at Dartmouth have the benefit of much existing organizational infrastructure, such as the Dartmouth Sustainability Project, the Sustainable Living Center, and the Tuck School of Business student group, Tuck Sustains. Sustainability Action Team members have already met with personnel from the Office of Sustainability and are hopeful about collaborating with other student groups to pool efforts and resources.

It is probably fair to say that most of the team members are not planning to devote their careers exclusively to the fight for a more sustainable world. However, they recognize that living sustainably does not require a career commitment. Living sustainably requires simple awareness of the impact of human activity on the various systems that make up the earth, and a willingness to learn how to be wise stewards of our planet and its resources.  At Dartmouth, SAT members believe that making a meaningful and measurable difference is possible even with their multiple other commitments. SAT members believe it so much, in fact, that they’d like to invite you to their first event!

In celebration of Earth Week 2013, the GSC Sustainability Action Team is collaborating with the Dartmouth Office of Sustainability to host an e-waste collection site on April 23 in front of the Fairchild Science Complex (Fayerweather Hill Rd). The event will be from 11 am to 3 pm (or until they reach their weight limit of 1000 pounds). This event is completely free. Acceptable items include electronic waste, such as cell phones, computers, monitors, TVs, and microwaves. (They will not accept any refrigerating units—for example a mini fridge.)

Future SAT plans include visiting Dartmouth Organic Farm and working to encourage graduate students to green their workspaces and homes, through sponsoring activities such as herb/planter gardening classes. Be sure to check out the GSC events page for the latest updates!

by Spencer Hatch

The Graduate-Undergraduate (G-U) Mentoring Program was officially launched on April 4^th, 2013 with a kick-off event co-sponsored by Dartmouth Graduate Studies and Career Services.

The launch event was hosted at the Career Services office in downtown Hanover and began with an introduction of the Mentoring Program by graduate students, Max Mehlman and Marie Onakomaiya. A panel discussion followed with Thayer professor, Dr. Kofi Odame and five graduate students (Stela Celaj, Max Mehlman, Erin O’Malley, Elizabeth Sergison, and Jeremy Thompson), who answered questions from the 30 undergraduates who attended the event. The final session was the meet-a-mentor breakout session, during which undergrads could mingle and talk one-on-one with graduate students in their field of interest.

Almost a year in the making, the idea for the Mentoring Program came from a conversation in the spring of 2012 between Onakomaiya, a PhD student in the Program in Experimental and Molecular Medicine, and Jessica Friedman of the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding. Friedman highlighted the need to connect Dartmouth undergraduates interested in graduate school with graduate students, so they could experience what graduate school is like. Unless they do undergraduate research in a lab or an honors thesis with a professor, students do not get to experience what it is like to go to grad school until they begin. This conversation led to the initial concept of a day of shadowing grad students.

Through collaboration with Mehlman, a PhD student in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences (PBS), Anna Prescott and Aarathi Prasad of the Graduate Women in Science and Engineering (GWISE) group, and Kathy Weaver, the assistant director of the Office of Undergraduate Advising and Research, the program evolved into more than just shadowing. A summer pilot was set up, and through announcements in the Graduate Student Council (GSC) Gazetteer, graduate students were recruited to be “low-pressure” mentors to undergraduate students in the Women in Science Program (WISP). Over 40 graduate students signed up to be mentors within a month of recruiting—an indication of the enthusiasm of graduate students to help the Dartmouth community fill this gap.

After the summer pilot, the feedback from the 18 participants was largely positive. One undergraduate, Holly Wakeman, said of the program “I found the program very helpful! I’m an undergrad considering applying to grad school, and I met with several mentors to talk about how and when to apply, their experiences, and my interests. While I’m not still in contact with most of the mentors I met with, it was a very valuable experience and really helped me to better understand what I’d like to do and how to get there!”

Through the fall and winter terms, Mehlman and Onakomaiya re-evaluated the program and worked on how to launch it campus-wide. Weaver connected them with key people in offices across campus involved in undergraduate-graduate education, including the Undergraduate Deans Office, Pre-Health Advising, Graduate Studies, and Career Services, among others. They also pitched the program to professors in different departments and schools on campus, who recognized the need and potential of the program. There was overwhelming support from all corners.

The program is designed to be self-sustaining. Undergrads are given access to a list of graduate students interested in being mentors, including their contact information and a short description of their graduate work and other expertise. The graduate students are available for questions over email and/or coffee, or to be shadowed, giving some flexibility to all concerned.

In the future, there are plans to receive quarterly mentor feedback and to set up a yearly mentor training session to provide support to the graduate mentors and help them be better mentors, as well as to re-assess the success of the program. Overall, the Mentoring Program is providing a direct way for undergraduates to learn more about graduate school, and has in the same turn provided a mentoring opportunity for Dartmouth graduate students.

The Mentoring Program is always recruiting new mentors. Graduate students interested in being mentors can e-mail either Mehlman or Onakomaiya. Undergraduate students interested in learning more about grad school can visit the Graduate-Undergraduate Mentoring Program website to connect with a mentor.

by Marie Onakomaiya

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on April 12, 2013, elected Dartmouth’s Interim President Carol L. Folt to be its next chancellor. Folt will assume her new role on July 1, succeeding Holden Thorp, who is leaving to become provost of Washington University in St. Louis. Folt will be the first woman to lead UNC-Chapel Hill.

Congratulations to Marie Onakomaiya, one of the winners of the 2013 Graduate Community Award!

Graduate Community Award winners were announced by Dean F. Jon Kull on May 10 at the Graduate Poster Session as part of Graduate Appreciation Week (April 6-12). The Graduate Studies Office awards the Graduate Community Award each year to recognize graduate students’ commitment to serving the Dartmouth community. Recipients contribute through participation in student governance, serving on campus-wide committees, and in the development and promotion of academic and social programs. They receive $1,000 in honor of their dedication to the community.

Onakomaiya is a fourth-year PhD student in the Department of Physiology and Neurobiology in the Program in Experimental and Molecular Medicine. She earned her undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Babcock University in Nigeria. Onakomaiya works in the lab of Professor Leslie Henderson, studying the sex-specific effects of anabolic androgenic steroids on anxiety. She also examines how alcohol consumption and voluntary exercise interact with steroid use. This work is significant because it could inform steroid users, which today includes both men and women, of the potential long-term effects of chronic anabolic steroid use on their behavior and brain. Onakomaiya has won several awards, including a Graduate Travel Award in 2012 and a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Early Career Investigators Travel Award in 2011. She was also an Albert J. Ryan Foundation Fellow in 2012.

While it is difficult to fully describe the extent of Onakomaiya’s engagement on campus, a couple of the groups and programs with which she is involved include the Dartmouth International Graduate Mentorship Program (IGMP), the Dartmouth Graduate-Undergraduate Mentoring Program, the Graduate Relief Team, the Geisel Martin Luther King Jr. Planning Committee, and the events committee for the Neuroscience Center at Dartmouth. Onakomaiya was also a student representative for the Graduate Student Council (GSC) from 2010-2011 and the student life chair of GSC from 2011-2012. She is currently a member of the GSC web team committee.

The Graduate Relief Team (GRT), of which Onakomaiya is co-chair, has been involved in a number of activities on campus. The group coordinates monthly volunteer opportunities for graduate students with community non-profits and Dartmouth service organizations. It organized a campus-wide screening of the award-winning documentary Water Pressures in association with the ONE Campus Challenge on World Water Day in March 2012. In addition, the GRT has conducted fundraising and organized a graduate student team to participate in the American Cancer Society’s annual Relay For Life.

As the graduate student representative of the Geisel Martin Luther King Jr. Planning Committee, Onakomaiya helped organize several events to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. in January 2013. Currently, as a student representative for the events committee of the Neuroscience Center at Dartmouth, Onakomaiya is helping to organize the first Upper Valley Brain Bee for local high school students. The event seeks to raise awareness about the brain and encourage interest in neuroscience.

Onakomaiya is also a member of the grants review committee for Granite United Way and a volunteer at Upper Valley Haven in White River Junction, Vermont, where she provides mentoring and childcare for shelter guests. She has also worked with the non-profit, Friends of Firefighters, on developing a relief service project in communities in New York affected by Superstorm Sandy.

In nominating her for this award, her peers wrote that Onakomaiya “is a dedicated leader within the graduate community and beyond,” who “is involved in countless activities outside of lab, all of which serve to strengthen the Dartmouth community.” They described her as “passionate and motivated, organized and caring.” One nominator reflected, “this award exists for people exactly like Marie.”

The Graduate Studies Office applauds Onakomaiya for her hard work and wishes her the best in all of her future community endeavors!

Congratulations to Ron Bucca, one of the winners of the 2013 Graduate Community Award!

Graduate Community Award winners were announced by Dean F. Jon Kull on May 10 at the Graduate Poster Session as part of Graduate Appreciation Week (April 6-12). The Graduate Studies Office awards the Graduate Community Award each year to recognize graduate students’ commitment to serving the Dartmouth community. Recipients contribute through participation in student governance, serving on campus-wide committees, and in the development and promotion of academic and social programs. They receive $1,000 in honor of their dedication to the community.

Bucca is a second-year student in the Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies program with a concentration in Globalization Studies. Bucca, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, has focused on researching the new modes of global communication, and is currently writing a thesis on the benefits of social media in humanitarian relief.

Since arriving on campus last January, Bucca has dedicated himself to organizing graduate students from a variety of programs and advocating for the things our students need most. As the chair of the Dartmouth Graduate Veterans Association, Bucca has boosted graduate student recognition on campus by associating graduate students with high-profile events and prolific guest speakers. The DGVA has a now-famous record of public service, which includes their work with the Claremont Food Pantry, their mentoring of underprivileged youth of Orion’s House, and their continued efforts to advocate for veterans on campus and across the Upper Valley.  Back in February, the DGVA was awarded the Martin Luther King, Jr. Social Justice Award—a first for an organization in its first year—in recognition of these efforts. It was clear at that event that the top administrators at Dartmouth have taken notice of the work this group of graduate students is doing on campus. Though he’d never admit it, Bucca has been, unquestionably, the leader of these efforts.

Bucca has made it a point to dedicate himself to the entire graduate community. As the Student Life Chair on the Graduate Student Council, he has completed surveys of graduate students to assess the hierarchy of needs in our community. Once he established that extended dental and vision care were the primary concern, he has worked tirelessly to procure these services. In the face of consistent deterrence, Bucca has refused to cede defeat on these issues, and is now working with providers in the region to establish reduced pricing options for graduate students. His leadership and decision-making skills have been instrumental to the GSC this year—his fellow exec board members would echo these sentiments.

What is perhaps even more exceptional is that, despite the incredible time commitment associated with the initiatives and responsibilities listed above, Bucca still uses much of his free time for his own personal service missions. He planned and funded a trip to Haiti this fall, where he did incredible, life-changing community work in two rural villages. And he’s been helping out with Hurricane Sandy relief ever since the deadly storm struck, volunteering down at Breezy Point any time he’s home for a break.

Bucca’s incredible commitment to service and his achievements in advancing the good face of Graduate Studies here at Dartmouth are equally remarkable. That he remains a modest and thoughtful member of our community is a testament to his extraordinary character. Every student who has had the chance to work with Bucca—and there are many—will speak to his good nature, approachability, and dependability.  These characteristics exemplify leadership. They represent the best our community has to offer.

The Graduate Studies Office applauds Bucca for his hard work and wishes him the best in his future community endeavors!

Two Dartmouth students have their sights set on very different kinds of science, courtesy of the National Science Foundation (NSF). As recipients of NSF Graduate Research Fellowships, Eshin Jolly will pursue graduate studies in cognitive neuroscience at Dartmouth while Aryeh Drager ’12 will head to Colorado State University to study atmospheric science.

For the full article go to Dartmouth Now.

Professor Cottingham, President Folt, Professor Hawley, and Dean Kull

This year’s recipients of the Graduate Faculty Mentoring Award are Professor Kathryn Cottingham and Professor Robert Hawley. Each year the Graduate Student Council (GSC) gives out two Graduate Faculty Mentoring Awards to recognize the exceptional mentoring activities of faculty advisors at Dartmouth. Award recipients are honored for their commitment to fostering the academic and professional pursuits of graduate students and receive $500 to support further mentoring activities. This year the selection committee consisted of Julia Bradley-Cook, the president of GSC, Rich Lopez, the academic chair, and Daniel Durcan, the activities coordinator. President Carol Folt announced this year’s recipients on Wednesday, April 10, at the Graduate Poster Session.

Professor Kathryn Cottingham

Professor Kathryn Cottingham is a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) program. She joined Dartmouth faculty in 1998 and currently mentors two graduate students. Her research focuses on aquatic ecology, in particular the reasons for and results of cyanobacterial blooms in lakes and factors affecting the accumulation of mercury by fish and invertebrates in streams. Her lab has also been involved in examining dietary exposure to arsenic in pregnant women and infants.

In nominating her for this award, graduate students observed that Cottingham plays an important role as a mentor in her department as a whole. A member of the Cottingham lab observed that when she interviewed at Dartmouth “the most common response I received from other graduate students about the Cottingham Lab, was that Kathy may be the ‘official advisor’ to her own graduate students, but she ‘unofficially’ advises all the graduate students.”

Another aspect of Cottingham’s mentoring style that her graduate students appreciated was her ability to balance letting her students work independently, while also providing enough support and guidance to facilitate success in their research. One of Cottingham’s current students observed that her mentoring style “strikes a nice balance between letting me work independently to the extent that I want to” while always being available “to help troubleshoot, design experiments, and address any problems that arise.” Discussing the importance of building research skills in graduate school, several students expressed their appreciation of Cottingham’s guidance in data analysis and in improving their writing skills. One student explained, “I especially appreciate how her mentoring with me has changed through time as I have developed as a scientist, and has focused on everything from scientific writing, how to work in groups, [and] data analysis.”

Professor Robert Hawley

Professor Robert Hawley is an assistant professor of Earth Sciences. He came to Dartmouth in 2008. Hawley leads the Glaciology Research Group at Dartmouth, mentoring five graduate students and a postdoctoral researcher. The group studies the formation and make-up of polar ice sheets to explore issues related to sea level rise and climate change. Hawley developed a new technique for studying polar firn, called Borehole Optical Stratigraphy, which involves lowering a video camera into a borehole in the ice. The camera records patterns of light and dark in the walls of the borehole, which reflect differences in ice grain size and density and facilitate the studying of annual layers.

In their nominations, Professor Hawley’s students expressed an appreciation for his enthusiasm and patience. They observed that his excitement and creativity in his research were inspiring, and these were balanced with his calm and practical approach to problem solving and project management. One of Hawley’s students explained that Hawley’s “ability to bring both perspective and calm is incredible. I cannot recall a challenging ‘moment’ or issue that I could not bring to [his] attention.”

As well as developing his mentees’ skills in academic and proposal writing and teaching techniques, Hawley also encouraged students to engage in service. A member of the Glaciology Research Group wrote, “With regard to citizen-science, [Hawley’s] work with outreach (e.g., Science Pubs at Salt hill) has been an example that I hope to emulate in my own work.” In addition, Hawley encouraged his students to pursue outside learning opportunities, such as participation in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide Ice Core Project. Finally, Hawley’s students also appreciated his willingness to prioritize their ideas and goals. A student described him as “an undeniable exemplification of a masterful mentor-extraordinaire.”

Reflecting on the process of choosing this year’s recipients, Bradley-Cook observed, “We had an impressive collection of nominees—faculty who go above and beyond to challenge, support, and motivate graduate students. Professors Cottingham and Hawley are inspiring role models with mentoring styles that genuinely support graduate students. We are grateful for the opportunity to acknowledge their extraordinary mentorship.”

The Graduate Studies Office congratulates Professors Cottingham and Hawley on their receipt of this award and thanks them for their dedication to supporting graduate students at Dartmouth.

Congratulations to Julia Bradley-Cook for being awarded an honorable mention for the 2013 American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award!

Each year, AIBS recognizes graduate students in the biological sciences who have demonstrated an interest in and ability to contribute to science and public policy. This year competition for the award was especially fierce; AIBS awarded two students the top prize, in addition to recognizing three students, including Bradley-Cook, with honorable mentions.

Bradley-Cook is a fourth-year PhD student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology working with Dr. Ross Virginia on carbon dynamics in Greenland soils. Bradley-Cook has been interested in the intersection of science and policy ever since an undergraduate course got her thinking about the role of science in resource management. Two years working for sustainable development NGOs in Namibia after college confirmed her interest and exposed her to the challenges of bringing science and policy together.

Since coming to Dartmouth, Bradley-Cook has continued her commitment to policy while working to complete her biology degree. Her research addresses the critical issue of how much carbon currently locked in arctic permafrost will be released as the climate warms. As Dr. Virginia says, “Julia’s work connects basic science to the information needs of the policy world. No small task, and essential work.”

As president of the Graduate Student Council, Bradley-Cook works closely with the Dartmouth administration to advocate for graduate student rights. As a fellow in Dartmouth’s Polar Environmental Change Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT), she has been able to pair her scientific research of Greenland’s soils with a study of Greenlandic policy, meeting with Greenlandic national leaders during her field seasons and on Dartmouth’s campus. Bradley-Cook says that her “understanding of the social and political context has enriched [her] connection to Greenland, and has made [her] research all the more worthwhile.”

Bradley-Cook is honored to be recognized by AIBS and says that it will encourage her to pursue science-policy positions in the future. With such pressing issues as global warming and water shortages, we need leaders like Bradley-Cook to bring science and policy together.

by Ruth Heindel

The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth has named Elliott S. Fisher as the director of The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. An internationally recognized leader in health services research and health policy, Fisher is currently the director for Population Health and Policy at The Dartmouth Institute, as well as the James W. Squire Professor of Medicine and Community and Family Medicine at the Geisel School. He is also co-director of the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care.

Read the full story at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice news.

See the Dartmouth Now coverage.