Oh boy, once again it's been too long since I've written here. I have reached another milestone in my career - I officially have a thesis committee! In addition to my advisor, I have three other committee members who will help me out. I have two toxicologists, an ecologist, and a physiologist on my committee. This gives me an opprotunity to discuss how one should choose committee members:
Sometimes it's just logical for someone to be on your committee, either for technicality or other reasons. The ecologist is on my committee because he is on the grant proposal and will be helping with preliminary data collections. Another is on my committee because he is in the same lab group as my advisor and helped me come up wih thesis ideas. Other times it's about comfort and knowing someone. My last committee member is my former internship mentor. I know him very well and I know how he works. Additionally, my four members together make a well-rounded group with different but relevent areas of knowledge. I have heard suggestions of putting people on your committee with experience in the field and/or in your program. This could be especially helpful if your advisor doesn't have much experience or is new to the program.
I hope everyone had/is having/will have a great Spring Break! My breaks will be limited after this year, so a couple of friends and I went all out and took a cruise! I enjoyed visiting new countries like Honduras and Belize. I also got in plenty of snorkeling and we completed a SNUBA excursion. SNUBA is like SCUBA, except your tank is on a float at the surface and you are attached to it with a long hose. Therefore, no certification needed!
Next things on my list - present my thesis project in seminar and (gasp!) schedule my orals.
