Lamont Weekly Report, May 7, 2010

ExCom this morning turned into a marathon, lasting almost three hours.

Three new appointments as DARS were considered and discussion topics ranged from addressing the neglected issue of the important role that Project Scientists play in the Observatory to consideration of new formal policies to improve the quality of mentoring that we provide for post docs.  Jim Cochran took over from Chris Small as the MG&G representative and Donna Shillington replaced Andreas Thurnherr as the Junior Staff rep.

This afternoon Randy Udall, the activist and energy analyst, presented the second annual Storke Lecture to a packed Monell auditorium. He talked about energy and the carbon problem but not from the perspective of a geoscientist - it was a very different view of several familiar issues.

Next Friday Kenneth Crews of CU's copyright advisory office will visit Lamont with other colleagues from Morningside to talk about 'New Publishing Possibilities for your Research'. Topics will range from discussion of ways to increase the impact of your research to ways to negotiate better publishing agreements. 230pm, Friday 14th in the Seismology Seminar room. Come learn about 21st century publishing before attending the last Colloquium of the semester in Monell - Doug Wiens talking about my favorite subject - seismology.

Have a great weekend,

- Mike