See post for notes from my check-in meeting with Steven today.

Crab Paper

Got desk-rejected again from another Wiley journal, so this effort is paused for now.

Chapter 1

It has been accepted by Wiley Ecology and Evolution!! The process of it getting published is underway and I’ll hear from them if there is anything else they need from me/us coauthors.

Multispecies

I’m aiming to have a rough draft written by next week to hand over to Drew and Steven to read through with current results.

qPCR project

I’m continuing onward with the labwork.

Oyster Tasks

I’m taking over Jesse’s water quality chemistry tasks while he’s out of town - this involves using API test strips to test water for pH, nitrates, nitrites, and also an ammonia checking thing… I also will be making seawater and replacing it in tanks (likely 9/14).

I’m also helping with oyster mortality observations (more details coming in a separate notebook post) that Steven and I set up today.

And! I get to help improve the set-up in the wet-lab space with tanks and plumbing in FTR, which I’m super excited about because that was a fun part of the sea star work I’ve done the past several summers! Currently, I’m looking for tubing and valve replacements, as what’s in there currently is quite old and some aren’t working.

Meeting with Drew Next Week

Steven, Drew and I are going to meet next week to talk about my chapters. I’ll have notes, slides, and an agenda ready to help guide the conversation, but essentially I am hoping that the three of us can touch base on my progress and my chapters.

General Exam

I’m going to see if I can schedule my general exam the second week of November (I’m a coordinator for the Graduate Student Symposium and it’s going to happen the first week of November, so I will be stretched thin that week, hence the second week of November goal).

For that, I need to make sure all committee members are able to attend (3-hour time chunk).

For preparation, I need to have:

  • A final draft of my PhD proposal sent to my committee members 2 weeks prior to the general exam so that they have time to review it (this is where chatting with Steven and Drew about my chapters next week will come in handy!)
  • Have a 30-45 minute presentation ready about my proposal and chapters (during the presentation, committee members are welcome to ask any questions at any time)
  • Review my written exam answers and committee members’ comments - prepare some ideas of responses to their comments –> they can ask me questions about my writtens at any time during the general exam as well