I shared this email with my department, the School of Biology and Ecology, on June 1, 2020. I’m sharing it here for two reasons: 1) I was inspired by an email written by Dr. Julie Libarkin at MSU, which she shared on her blog. I hope others feel empowered to […]
As a professor, journal editor, reviewer, and mentor, I review a lot of writing. I come from a long tradition of mentors who focused on writing — during my PhD, I often heard stories of my grand advisor returning his students’ work covered in red line edits, and then I […]
Yesterday was International Women’s Day. I didn’t say anything at the time, because I had no idea it was coming. I’m in the thick of the pre-tenure scramble, and a lot going on both at work and at home, and hadn’t prepared anything thoughtful or inspiring. I only knew something […]
Image: Feedback © Alan Levine CC BY 2.0 This post is jointly written by Steve Heard and Jacquelyn Gill, and appears in addition on Stephen’s blog Scientist Sees Squirrel. Early this summer, we asked for your experience and your attitudes about the practice of candidates asking for feedback on their […]
A couple of weeks ago, one of us (Steve) posted “How to write, and read, a (job) rejection letter”. One piece of advice to job candidates got some interesting pushback on Twitter, including from […] Ecologist Stephen Heard of Scientist Sees Squirrel and I are teaming up on a post about getting […]
Vermont wetland ecologist Charlie Hohn (@SlowWaterMvmt) had some intriguing thoughts about weirwood trees after reading my post about the impacts of the Wall on biodiversity (published last summer as part of a “science of Game of Thrones” blog carnival. He drafted this post in response. You can read more of […]
I gave these remarks at the Rally to Stand Up for Science today in Copley Square, to a crowd of several thousand scientists and science supporters. We had a wonderful, diverse group of speakers, which was so refreshing. I encourage others to post their remarks, because they were so wonderful. We […]
It’s been one week since the election, and I’ve started this post a dozen times. I write something, erase it, rewrite. I brainstorm in the shower. I think about it when I walk the dog, on my way to work, standing in line at the grocery store, and when I […]
The following is a transcription of a keynote lecture given by Maester Abelard, instructor of natural history at the Citadel, at the 219th Congress on the Natural Resources of the Seven Kingdoms. The Wall that separates the Seven Kingdoms from the wildlands beyond has long been lauded as one of humankind’s greatest […]
Climate change and human activity are going to combine to create new challenges to biodiversity in the coming century. Over the last decade, it’s become increasingly apparent that 20th century conservation strategies may be poorly suited to protect species in a changing world. Take the Endangered Species Act of 1973 — it’s a place-based, […]
The Contemplative Mammoth 