Some colorful poster struggles: SWS Spring 2014 Meeting

Last weekend I presented a poster at the Society of Wetland Scientists Mid Atlantic chapter meeting at Penn State. I had some serious poster struggles. Firstly, because of some badly timed editing sessions with my adviser because our schedules didn't match up, we left printing the poster to right before I was planning on driving to Penn State. Secondly, the yellow ink of the printer wasn't working, so we stopped the job and replaced the ink cartridge. Thirdly, the ink still didn't work, so we decided to just print the poster with its blue hue. Then the yellow worked for a tiny strip and stopped again, resulting a green stripe down my blue poster. In the words of my research adviser I had a very retro poster! Although at first I was not happy with the poster, but I eventually came around to the idea of presenting it as is. Everyone has printing mistakes, and its not an error which can be avoided most times. I just had to have confidence in my work and not worry about a silly poster design error, which I had no control over anyways.  

After this poster fiasco, I started the drive to Penn State after 7:30pm. It was a 3.5hour drive, which became a bit longer as I stopped to grab dinner on the way. I didn't get to Penn State until after 11pm, and was ready collapse on my friend, Hope's floor, who was so sweet to have a sleeping bag, mat, and pillow all set up for me!

The meeting itself was different than I expected. The focus was on wetland restoration and management, not so much on direct research, rather what I would call applied research. It was interesting to hear about the other side of ecology; however, it confirmed my suspicion that I'm more interested in the direct research side. I want to be on the front-line of wetland research, doing new and fascinating work. P.S. Conferences are held in fancy hotels - look at that decorated lobby with an indoor gazebo!

It was a great relief to return to Bryn Mawr, back to my castle. The weather was warm, the sun was shinning, and I live in a "dorm like a palace." Life is good. My ultimate take away from this conference was the experience. I experienced a different part of ecology and I experienced poster malfunctions. In the words of the postdoc fellow in my lab, who experienced the poster struggles with me: "at least it happened while you were an undergrad, so if it happens again, it will not be a big deal."

BMC Lab Adventures to Ocean City: AERS Spring 2014 Meeting

This post is going to be a bit different than some of the other posts on this blog. It's not about field work or food or getting lost in nature. It's all about research.
WELCOME TO MY FIRST RESEARCH CONFERENCE!
Can you tell I had a fabulous time and am in love with the research community?

This past weekend, the postdoc fellow in my lab at Bryn Mawr College (Josh), my undergraduate lab mate (Caitlin), and I all drove to Ocean City, Maryland to attend the Atlantic Estuarine Research Society (AERS)'s spring meeting. There was lively conversation the whole drive as we took the scenic route along the coast - although we did have some trouble finding radio stations! After 3 hours, we arrived. The conference was held in a beach front hotel/condominium. Josh took the picture to the left of Caitlin and I, just arrived and eagerly ready to enter the conference.

 The indoor decor of the hotel was carnival themed, going along with the name of the hotel being Carousel. There's the Brass Ring Bistro with a large carousel horse mural in the background! And there was an indoor ice skating rink, we could hear the children having fun on the rink while presentations occurred in the meeting room.

Before entering the first session, Caitlin and I had a bit of fun. There was a mini carousel in the atrium of the hotel, and just because we're upperclass college students doesn't mean we don't know how to have fun! It may have also have been a way to make us more relaxed and comfortable in the conference atmosphere before I gave my oral presentation. 

The session room was  packed with people. So I got a bit nervous waiting until it was time for my presentation. But once, I got up there and started talking, all the nerves just went away. In fact, I loved speaking in front of this amazing group of scientists. I gave a talk entitled "Phragmites australis functional traits and carbon fixation are affected by anthropogenic climate change" Thank you to Dave Yozzo for photographing me during my presentation. To be able to share my experience and knowledge with the scientific community on an equal platform was an honor. And I am truly thankful for this opportunity!

As a final statement, I'm going end with this post with a really cute picture of a terrapin. There were several presentations about terrapins. Whether planned or not, two (or maybe it was three, I forget exactly) sessions specifically ended with talks about these cute animals. One in particular was cuter than the others - a presentation about the "Terrapin Storm Drain Rescue Program" Look at that adorable baby terrapin rescued from a storm drain! And so I leave you with that delightful thought, until the next update.