It's a Saturday night - June's final day. The last streaks of sunset are receding across the Northwest sky, rainclouds have been banished until October, and Seattle is in its prime.
Some of you will recall the 40 day flood of experiments I inundated myself with back on May 22. If your calender is handy, that means the time is almost up. Tomorrow, we can expect a reprieve. As I write this, I am preparing the last batch of cells for my last surgical experiment of my graduate career. The clouds are breaking for me, too. The sky is lightening. I can almost feel the sun cooking my pale Northwest skin.
This feels good.
I sure hope it takes me less time to find land then it took Noah et al. I am ready for it to finish.
Showing posts with label graduation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label graduation. Show all posts
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Sunday, June 10, 2007
40 Days
Let's see. It rained on Noah for 40 days and 40 nights. Moses was on the mountain for 40 days. Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days.
I am also on a 40 day journey.
First, some context: As I type this, I am eating my ninth consecutive meal at the lab. You know work is busy when the porcelain is replaced with tupperware in the dishwasher at home. I now know the relative distances, operating hours and selection-economy axis of the three grocery stores closest to my lab. I am friends with Abdikadir, the late shift custodian in our building. I also know when to move from my lab bench to tissue culture to avoid being "mopped in." (10:30 pm)
The motivation for these recent developments can be traced to two dates: May 22 and September 13. On May 22, my advisory committee agreed that I could defend my dissertation on September 13. Of course, I do not have quite enough data to complete the scientific stories I am trying to tell. I presented an ambitious plan to finish all of my wet experiments (which for me includes those involving cells and animals) by July 1.
That puts me today at number 19 of a 40 day flood of experiments. Just like the one described in Genesis, this rain falls day and night. And while it may sometimes feel like I am in the wilderness, I am not fasting, nor do I expect at the end of it all to be tempted with world domination or anything like that. No, I will be tempted to embark on a second flood. One of words. That's right: I hope to have a draft of my dissertation, (and two accompanying articles for submission) by August 9.
Now that this information is out there for all 25 of you readers, I will have to commit to it. For you locals, here are the specs.
By the way, you could select another "40" for me here or here.
I am also on a 40 day journey.
First, some context: As I type this, I am eating my ninth consecutive meal at the lab. You know work is busy when the porcelain is replaced with tupperware in the dishwasher at home. I now know the relative distances, operating hours and selection-economy axis of the three grocery stores closest to my lab. I am friends with Abdikadir, the late shift custodian in our building. I also know when to move from my lab bench to tissue culture to avoid being "mopped in." (10:30 pm)
The motivation for these recent developments can be traced to two dates: May 22 and September 13. On May 22, my advisory committee agreed that I could defend my dissertation on September 13. Of course, I do not have quite enough data to complete the scientific stories I am trying to tell. I presented an ambitious plan to finish all of my wet experiments (which for me includes those involving cells and animals) by July 1.
That puts me today at number 19 of a 40 day flood of experiments. Just like the one described in Genesis, this rain falls day and night. And while it may sometimes feel like I am in the wilderness, I am not fasting, nor do I expect at the end of it all to be tempted with world domination or anything like that. No, I will be tempted to embark on a second flood. One of words. That's right: I hope to have a draft of my dissertation, (and two accompanying articles for submission) by August 9.
Now that this information is out there for all 25 of you readers, I will have to commit to it. For you locals, here are the specs.
"Reducing Fibrosis and Cell Death in Transplanted Cardiomyocytes"
Thomas E. Robey
September 13, 2007
3:00 PM
Hitchcock Hall 132
Thomas E. Robey
September 13, 2007
3:00 PM
Hitchcock Hall 132
By the way, you could select another "40" for me here or here.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Progress in Science
The end is here!
The senior graduate student in our laboratory defended her dissertation this morning. Marilyn presented her thesis about her work to control differentiation and proliferation of endothelial cells and the use of such cells in tissue engineered constructs. It is a tradition in our lab (thanks to Hans Reinecke- shown at right) to make a doktorhut that represents the research and personal interests of the graduate. You can see the work in progress below. There is a better shot of the elaborate mortarboard (with descriptions) at my flickr site.
It's great that scientists can come together and contribute to collaborative art. It also helps that there are some art majors in our lab!
Awarding the PhD is a phenomenon that varies with the individual, department and university. Generally, the candidate slaves on the research, writes a 100+ page dissertation and finally makes a streamlined oral presentation; afterwards there's a luncheon or a party. Maybe the awarding department will have a group function, and PhD students are permitted to 'walk' at commencement, but my impression is that the main celebration is the day of the defense. In this case, Marilyn finished at about the same time as the academic year concluded. Most students defend whenever they finish, which could be at any point of the year!
Congratulations Marilyn!
The senior graduate student in our laboratory defended her dissertation this morning. Marilyn presented her thesis about her work to control differentiation and proliferation of endothelial cells and the use of such cells in tissue engineered constructs. It is a tradition in our lab (thanks to Hans Reinecke- shown at right) to make a doktorhut that represents the research and personal interests of the graduate. You can see the work in progress below. There is a better shot of the elaborate mortarboard (with descriptions) at my flickr site.
It's great that scientists can come together and contribute to collaborative art. It also helps that there are some art majors in our lab!Awarding the PhD is a phenomenon that varies with the individual, department and university. Generally, the candidate slaves on the research, writes a 100+ page dissertation and finally makes a streamlined oral presentation; afterwards there's a luncheon or a party. Maybe the awarding department will have a group function, and PhD students are permitted to 'walk' at commencement, but my impression is that the main celebration is the day of the defense. In this case, Marilyn finished at about the same time as the academic year concluded. Most students defend whenever they finish, which could be at any point of the year!
Congratulations Marilyn!
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