Growing our Program

We are living in a time of financial uncertainty and shrinking budgets. The scientific community has watch in agony as NSF budgets have been repeatedly slashed (down to the lowest point in history) and still certain members of congress are not happy with giving science even that much for new research. We have also born witness to the near abolishment of scientific research at one of the largest scientific institutions in the USA - the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, IL. Let's also not forget the growing replacement of emptied tenured faculty positions with adjunct or 'visiting professor' spots - or having them completely dissolved. I could go on with horror story after horror story on the current state of science in the USA and other places in the world (anti-science/anti-evolution legislation, for one example), but instead I would like offer up some good news. Let's face it, we all need some good news these days.

So, I am pleased to announce that the Anatomy & Vertebrate Paleontology program at Oklahoma State University-Center for Health Sciences is growing! Yes. That's what I typed: Growing. Not Shrinking. We are welcoming two new faculty (yes, full time and tenure track) members this fall: Dr. Paul Gignac and Dr. Holly Woodward-Ballard. We have, in fact, doubled the number of vertebrate paleontology faculty at OSU-CHS! How many institutions can say that these days? I'm very excited to see our program blossoming under such a supportive department. Including myself, we can now boast to have five Ph.D. vertebrate paleontologists. We have boldly stepped into the big stage of VP research, and I am eager to see us move our way onto center stage.

This next year will be wonderfully busy as our new faculty arrive and set up their research labs. I'm eager to assist and collaborate with both of them on projects and see what new science we can delve into. As faculty grows, so grows other things - graduate students, volunteers, etc. I am so proud to be a part of this program and I hope I won't be so busy this coming year, that I can't stop to blog about all of our wonderful new adventures!

~ JB McHugh

Salvage Operations

First off, my apologies. It's been a while since my last post. I do try to post once a week, but the last couple of weeks have been pretty busy here. But I now have a window cleared to blog. Yay!

Construction has been moving right along in the labs. We're still waiting on a few things (e.g., fume hood being fixed, tables being ordered, moving book shelves etc.), but the actual construction is starting to wind down.

Earlier this week, there was a treasure trove uncovered upstairs. Several of the other labs on campus have been storing old equipment for years, waiting for surplus. All of this was piled together in a spare room and an email circulated - FREE lab items! Take what you want.

I grabbed the paleo cart and was upstairs in less than 5 minutes.

There were a lot of nice items that I had no use for, but I did manage to snag a few treasures for the paleo labs. My favorites are the white board/cork board combo that I plan to dedicate exclusively to volunteer news and things, and the slide boxes. There were about thirty wooden boxes with metal inserts to hold 1" x 3" biological microscope slides. On the surface, they appeared to be junk, but to someone who has a research interest in paleohistology, they were treasure! Normally, petrographic (geologic) thin section boxes are only 25 ct. and made out of cardboard (usually $3-6 each), and also run the risk of being crushed under the misguided trajectory of a heavy object. New 100 ct. 1" x 3" slide boxes on the Ward Scientific's website run $49 each. Mine were free, and I'll say were quite a bargain!

The glue holding the metal inserts in place was old and brittle, and thus the inserts were easily removed. The boxes were perfectly sized too - two 50-slot rows that would hold a total of 100 1" x 3" bio slides were easily converted into three 50-slot rows that would hold a total of 150 1" x 2" petrographic/paleohistologic slides per box. I was able to make 19 petrographic/paleohistologic slide boxes out of the lot. The empty wooden boxes I am also re-purposing. One is sitting by my office door, waiting a light sanding, painting and polyurethane coating. Then it'll be moved over to the Sunny Lab (aka Dr. Weil's lab - which is aptly named for the gigantic windows) to hold all of our 'sharps' (e.g., X-acto knife, spare blades, needles). The other boxes are shelved for future needs. There are probably more boxes like these to be found, but right now we are sitting on storage for 2800+ petrographic/paleohistologic thin sections. I think we are good for now.

~ JB McHugh

 

Lab & Things

Quiet has returned to the VP lab as renovations have slowed down here at OSU-CHS. Right now we are waiting for the electrical work to be done before things can move forward with the rest of the renovation. Dr. Smith and the guys from physical plant are sill hopeful that the fume hood can be made to work, but so far nothing definite has come out of the endeavor. So far, we have seen two doors come down (one of which was replaced), creating a much more open hallway; two work stations and an entire wall of upper and lower cabinets have been relocated; the tall cabinet that stores all of our screen washing concentrate was also relocated into the new lab space; one sink was removed and another was re-plumbed; and two rows of "chemistry"-style student benches were removed to make way for new tables. We still have a long way to go, but for now the sound of drills and hammers has subsided.

In Dr. Weil's lab we've begun our microvertebrate molding and casting. I'm still tweaking our set-up and procedure to make the process as streamlined as possible. I have been training some of our volunteers and one of the graduate students on the method, and even though it has been a little rocky in the instruction as we are just beginning the whole process in the lab, our first batch came out quite nicely. Batch #1 had no air bubbles in the tooth crowns, excellent morphological fidelity at low powered magnification, and no unsealed areas with rubber penetration. I am very proud of us. We do need to work on the finer points of numbering/lettering, speed, footer size, and general appearance, but that will improve as we move through more batches.

We patterned our methodology after that of the VP prep lab at the Sam Noble Museum. Kyle Davies (Sam Noble Museum Preparator) graciously trained myself and one of our volunteers on the method. Right now we're using small mammal teeth from owl pellets as our practice specimens. Because these teeth have passed through the digestive track of an owl, they have a higher porosity. Each tooth was sealed in a thin mixture of Butvar-76 and acetone prior to molding and casting. Once we get things perfected we will move onto the actual horde of fossil specimens that we need to mold and cast for SEM imaging. The quality of these casts is so detailed that you can perform SEM micro-wear analyses on teeth as small as a couple of millimeters. By casting, you also don't have to sputter coat original specimens in gold to run them through an SEM, which makes conservators and collections managers very happy. I highly recommend the process.

Below is a brief list of the equipment needed to start a micro-vertebrate molding/casting operation:
 
Centrifuge with swing out trays
Vacuum pump & chamber
Van Aken clay
Rolling Pins
Spatulas of various sizes
Probes
Butvar-79 & acetone
Polyurethane casting resin (we use TC-892 A & B from BJB industries), Anti-foam, & pigment
Platinum Cured Silicone Rubber (we use GT-5092 & CA-5275 from GT Products)
Butcher paper & waxed paper
Needle-nosed pliers
X-acto knife
Clear 16 oz. plastic cups
Unwaxed 4 oz. paper cups
Cardboard working trays
Gloves
Vials for "cookie cutting" clay

~JB McHugh

Teeth set up in clay waiting for molding compound.

Our centrifuge.

Construction Zone

Renovations of the OSU VP lab spaces has begun!

As my office door is only a few steps down the hall from the labs being renovated, I get a  ring-side seat to the construction. Luckily, so far I've been able to ignore most of the noise and chaos. Though, our faculty are finding out that having me so close to the action is very handy - as I can let them know in an instant when issues come up. I feel like a spy, under the guise of a paleontologist... there's two movie genres that if they ever came together could be an instant blockbuster regardless of plot. Think about it... high tech gadgets, subterfuge, fight scenes, and dinosaurs. How could it not make money?

But before I start planning my next alternate career, perhaps I should get back to the blog post at hand.

So we are under renovation. Why? Well, there are a few reasons why now is a good time to restructure (physically). First, we're in the process of hiring a new faculty member, who will be needing some swanky new lab space - granted the final renovation of the new hire's lab space is in freeze mode until we actually hire someone. But in anticipation of our new addition, one of our existing faculty members is taking the opportunity to move lab spaces, and most of our construction so far has had to do with this relocation.

So far, the best part of this relocation has directly effected my own office. Previously, my office door was off the main lab wing hallway, only sandwiched in an 8 foot strip of hallway closed off by two sets of doors (that lead along the same, single hallway). It was beyond ridiculous - good thing I'm not claustrophobic. But now the second door has been removed! Hooray, I am part of the rest of the wing! The second door is going to be switched out for the old door to the lab under remodel. Why? Because it swings into the lab and not into the hallway - which has access to the fire exit, and fire safety requires the door to swing toward the fire exit.

We've also had cabinets and doors torn out and moved into the new room. The room was an old classroom, set up similar to a college chemistry lab. The old gas lines for burners were taken out and one of the three sinks removed. There's a very nice fume hood in the lab, but we are still trying to get it to work. If physical plant can't fix it, then we will ditch it for more grad student or volunteer space. Dr. Weil has a working fume hood in her lab, so we won't be totally bereft without this one. This week, they've been mostly working on re-routing the electrical for the new layout and finishing up moving the doors.

We are also kicking around ideas for some new communal vert paleo lab equipment and space. But all of that is still in idea mode, and I will post about it when it becomes a reality. Right now the fore-runner in the list of ideas is a 'dirty' prep lab, but more on that later.

~ JB McHugh

Abstract Time

It's just about springtime again, which means it's time to start reviewing research projects and begin thinking about what to present at professional meetings and conferences this year. Many of the fall conferences won't have deadlines for abstract submission for several months. But summer and late spring conferences will have deadlines in the near future. If you are planning to present in a prize session (such as the Romer or Colbert prize sessions with SVP) those will also have earlier deadlines.

I have decided to present research at two international conferences this year: the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) annual meeting in Los Angeles, CA and the International Symposium for Paleohistology meeting in Bozeman, MT.

Unfortunately, here in the US the government travel freeze has made it impossible for any scientists with federal jobs to travel to meetings this year, handicapping them in terms of networking, collaborating, and disseminating research results. This will undoubtedly impact meeting attendance this year, and depending on the meeting, could negatively impact meeting logistics. Keep an eye out for updates on scientific conferences this year - and if you'd been planning to meet with colleagues from the USGS, BLM, US Forest Service, US Fish & Wildlife, NPS, etc. at a conference this year, you might consider a Skype meeting instead.

But if you are lucky enough to get to go to a conference or two, and even better, have funding to go to your conferences, you will soon be faced with the classic dilemma: should I present a poster or give a talk?

There are advantages to both options, and many people have strong opinions as to the presentation forum, but in all honesty - some types of research are best presented as a poster, and others as a talk. Posters often are better suited to research with large, complex graphics that will not be easily read in a large conference room with a PowerPoint  projection screen (especially by those not seated in the front row). Talks allow more visibility of a researcher (you have the spotlight for 15 whole minutes!), and allow you to show animations much more easily. However, that spotlight can feel like a 15 minute pressure cooker, especially if you have a full 3 minutes in there with heated questions from the audience. Poster sessions are often more relaxed and you have more time to convey your point to colleagues - however, if you are very unlucky, you could be stuck with a long time to argue with someone who just can't stand your research. Talks tend to reach a wider diversity and number of ears (some of which may just be waiting for the next talk), while posters can offer more in depth dialogues with interested individuals - which can more effectively translate into collaborations or even jobs than a talk, where someone will have to do the leg work of tracking you down afterwards.

Regardless of the format you chose (and you may not always get the format you prefer when submitting an abstract), you need to make your presentation as effect as possible. If you have the opportunity, a seminar in graphic design will go a long way into improving your presentation "art" for the rest of your career. The right software is also a key tool in preparing yourself - PowerPoint is great for a talk, but dreadful for putting together a poster - I have no idea why people do this. Adobe Illustrator, or another graphic design software, is what you need for a poster. If you are new to the software, have a buddy give you a quick run through, take a seminar, or find an online tutorial to get yourself started. Chances are you will need this skill for scientific illustrations for the rest of your career - so don't shy away from a new skill that will make your life easier. Be sure to have your poster/slides proofread by someone other than you - preferably someone unfamiliar with your research, who can point out what you need to better explain. Also, be sure to practice! A minimum of 3 rehearsals for a scientific talk can make a world of difference in confidence and presentation effectiveness.

Here are some helpful links to putting together effective scientific presentations. There are many more websites out there to help you, so surf around and see what you can find. Good luck!

Dazzle 'em with Style: The Art of Oral Scientific Presentation

http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~wilkins/writing/Supp/dazzle.html

Ten Secrets to Giving a Good Scientific Talk

http://www.cgd.ucar.edu/cms/agu/scientific_talk.html

The Art of Scientific Presentations

https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~scranmer/vanmarle_talks.html

Scientific Poster Design

http://www.cns.cornell.edu/documents/ScientificPosters.pdf

Ten Simple Rules for a Good Poster Presentation

http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.0030102

Poster Presentation of Research Work

http://lorien.ncl.ac.uk/ming/dept/Tips/present/posters.htm

~JB McHugh

The Publishing Marathon

Publishing is much more like a long distance marathon than a 100m sprint. This is ever as much a truth for scientific publishing as it is for writing the "great American novel". Veterans in their academic careers will look upon this post as old news, or perhaps with a half-amused smirk as they see another early career worker coming to grips with reality.

Graduate students are told (often repeatedly) to write early and often, and to start submitting manuscripts as soon as they are ready. Yet, it is all to common for grad students to fall into the illusion of safety that is being a student, and put off writing until all projects are complete and the Great Tome of the Dissertation/Thesis can be written in its entirety. This usually results in a flurry of writing within the last semester, trying like mad to finish a complete draft before first deposit - which also results in high blood pressure, stress eating, stress drinking, anxiety attacks, insomnia, heartburn, nausea, and many many existentialist crises. But hey, that's grad school, right? To be fair, even if the Great Tome is finished with time to spare, the pressure of an impending defense will also cause all of the above symptoms.

So what? Either way the Great Tome gets written. The defense, when all is said and done, is just one day of your life. Then it is parties, graduation, job, and sweet sweet relief as the great beast that was the Great Tome becomes a thing of the past. Not quite...

You see, the problem is that most people who go through the meat grinder of a Ph.D. end up in a career that requires them to continually prove themselves - in writing. This is particularly true in Academia, and even more so in the sciences. The fall out of the mad-dash to the Great Tome finish line and the fairly short few weeks until the cap & gown and hooding of commencement is a reinforcement of the short turn around time we had for our written work in grad school: write a paper, turn it in, a few weeks later you get it back with feedback/grade and then it's over. This is a farce, a cruel deception of what writing post-graduate school will be.

How you write, and the time it takes you to complete a manuscript will likely not change very much over the course of the average person's career. Speed and style may improve, but there will always be set backs and delays during a project to offset any speed obtained in the actual writing portion. No, it is the turn around that most often hits the new grads by surprise.

Here's how it works: write a paper, submit the manuscript, have it instantly kicked back to you for a minor formatting error, fix the error and re-submit; the manuscript goes into admin processing. Now you start waiting; after a few weeks to a month (or more), the manuscript is sent to professionals in your field for review; now you can eagerly change the pub reference on your CV from [submitted] to [in review]. Wait some more. Within a few weeks or a month (or more), you get a decision letter from the journal, you will then most likely be requested to do some revisions - which can be minor and take only a few days to complete, or extensive and take several weeks to months to complete - your manuscript can also be outright rejected at this point, or accepted with no revisions (this last one almost never happens). After your revisions are complete you re-submit your manuscript, and start waiting again. Depending on the journal and the revisions you were requested to make, the manuscript will either be accepted or sent back out for a second review. Wait wait wait. After a second review you may have more revisions, or have your manuscript accepted (some manuscripts go through 3+ reviews). Hooray, you made it to an accepted manuscript! - now you can change the CV from [in review] to [in press] - but you're still not through with the paper. You can go back to waiting now - but at least you are waiting for actual publication. You may be requested to provide additional images for the journal (cover photo or online content). Once the issue is in press, usually a few weeks or a month before, your article will be sent out electronically as an advance online release - you are now widely available to be cited, and soon after the official publication is printed, reprints are delivered and you live happily ever after (well... until the next submission).

Depending on the journal, this entire process can take only a month or two, or up to a year or more (this is the norm for several journals). Turn around time may not matter to many tenured professionals, but to someone just starting their career, this can be ghastly. Until tenure is secured, there needs to be a flood of your articles hitting the journal pages - this means that journals with long turn around times can truly be a hindrance. This is something early career workers should weigh carefully along with impact factors and appropriateness when selecting a journal. And it's not just tenure-review that will demand lots of publications in a short amount of time post-grad school - funding agencies will also judge your grand proposals by your publication record, and even landing the tenure-track job to begin with requires a healthy pub record. And that Great Tome you spend so many years bringing to life? It only counts in your CV's pub section for about 6-12 months after graduation. After that, it only matters what is published in the peer-reviewed literature.

"Publish or Perish" comes to early career folks first. And continually having multiple manuscripts at some stage in this process is really the only way to survive. If you can get a jump start on your pub record in grad school, you will be ahead of the game. Sadly, reading this post and agreeing with it, and doing it are separate things. Get motivated, keep your lab mates motivated, and get your ideas down on paper. Every publication is essentially a progress report on what your research has told you so far - the book never closes on good research. Too many grad students (myself included) get tripped up in the concept of a glorious, perfect debut manuscript into the field, and drag out perfectly publishable results by fussing over a tiny bit more data that in the end doesn't change the results or conclusions by all that much. And if it does? Well, that's another paper (so, win-win). The first publication can be intimidating, but once you've done it - you sit back and wonder why you were so nervous in the first place. Pop that publishing cherry and claim your spot in the world. After all, isn't it about time your colleagues knew your name?

~ JB McHugh

A Paleontological Blog

 

 

Welcome to The Wandering Apatosaurus.

This is a new blog, and I hope you will enjoy it. I'm an early career vertebrate paleontologist, meaning that I have recently completed my graduate education, but have not yet achieved a tenured position at a university or museum. This blog will focus on my journey and discoveries as I try to establish myself in the field of paleontology.
 
I'm currently working as a research assistant in the medical school of Oklahoma State University. I feel very fortunate to have a position in my field at a time when the job market for paleontologists is very competitive and small. And even though I enjoy my job, I am still working hard to move up into a faculty position, where I can establish my own research lab and beginning taking on my own graduate students.

Stay tuned for postings about adventures in lab work, volunteers, field work, conferences, publishing, and of course - job hunting in Academia. Let's hope my life lives up to the hype. Until then... I leave you with the Wandering Apatosaurus and sunset at Point Reyes National Seashore.

 

 

- JB McHugh