Our summer interns celebrated the completion of their program this week, with short presentations, a poster session, and a barbeque on the Comer deck. This was the 22nd year of the internship program in its current configuration, with Dallas Abbott in the lead. The program has evolved to include lectures on research methods and ethics, in addition to the usual menu of science entrees, and it should be recognized as one of the leading earth science intern programs in the country. This year, with the help of our Development team, we invited the parents of the interns and intern alumni to participate in last-day activities. One of the parents, a professor at a well-known college with an outstanding reputation, remarked on the excellence of our program and the enthusiasm of interns and mentors alike. Agreed! Thanks to the many folks who make this program the success it is, and thanks to the agencies, the PIs, and the Earth Institute for continuing their support.
As of this writing, the Langseth should be pulling into Dutch Harbor, having successfully completed the Shillington/Nedimovic leg. Donna’s blog is up on our website, as is the Team Diebold link to the blog site being written by the undergraduates from Maya’s and Donna’s spring class. Donna’s writing is a straightforward, and enthusiastic, tale of the excitement of discovery, something we’ve all felt when we make new observations and reveal for the first time another part of our planet. It’s what you would expect from someone with 10 cruises behind her and a thirst for exploration. The student blogs reveal something as well, what someone once called the “fieldwork epiphany.” It’s related to the well-known words from the Book of Job carved over the entrance to Schermerhorn: “Speak to the earth and it shall teach thee." Read ‘em. It’s no accident that our summer interns, as well as this crew, seem to be on the same high. (At least I think that’s the reason.)
Ben Holtzman received word this week that he has won one of NSF’s coveted CAREER awards. An important part of the CAREER program is the linkage between research and innovative education. Indeed, Ben has proposed some innovative education programs oriented around his main interests in rheology and deformation. I’m sure that many of you have seen – and heard and felt - Ben’s “performance art” piece linking seismograms with the perception of sound. If you haven’t, he does his bit at Open House to a large and appreciative audience.
To which I add: Open House is October 1st, only two months away! Are we in panic mode yet?
Art