Student Oceanus articles

This past summer, 14 JP students took the course How not to write for peer-reviewed journals: talking to everyone else.  The course, taught by Chris Reddy (Chemistry) and Lonny Lippsett (managing editor of Oceanus), aimed to teach the students "how to write an article related to [their] research (or other topics in marine science) geared to non-scientist audiences and to develop engaging graphics to accompany it." Funding for the course came from the Henry L. and Grace Doherty Professorship in Oceanography. 

A unique aspect of the course was that it paired students with professional science journalists. These journalists helped the students edit their final projects, many of which have now been published online in Oceanus. Among these are articles by biology students Elizabeth Haliday, Kelton McMahon, Christine Mingione, and Kristen Whalen. The pieces by Elizabeth and Christine have also appeared in the Cape Cod Times. Annette Hynes has an article in preparation. Eventually, all of the articles will be collected into a complete Oceanus issue.

Update (Dec. 4, 2008): Annette Hynes' article has now been posted on the Oceanus website.

Discretionary Funds

Each year, for at least as long as I've been the Education Coordinator, the Chair of the Biology Department has set aside a small portion of her discretionary budget to help pay for student-related expenses. This year that portion amounted to $7,500. (Thanks Judy!) 

I've mostly been using the money to help support student travel to conferences, workshops and courses.  I've also been using it to pay for the lunches that are part of the peer mentorship program. But these are not the only things that the money could be used for. Publication costs, small equipment, supplies, etc. are reasonable requests.  

There is still money in the account for this year. To request the money, the student should send a memo to me, along with a supporting memo from the advisor.