Holiday Reading List from Phdcomics

http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1262

Check it out!

Cool!

Seasons Greetings!

http://www.npl.co.uk/educate-explore/christmas/

The snowman is 10 µm across, 1/5th the width of a human hair.

The snowman was made from two tin beads used to calibrate electron microscope astigmatism. The eyes and smile were milled using a focused ion beam, and the nose, which is under 1 µm wide (or 0.001 mm), is ion beam deposited platinum.

A nanomanipulation system was used to assemble the parts 'by hand' and platinum deposition was used to weld all elements together. The snowman is mounted on a silicon cantilever from an atomic force microscope whose sharp tip 'feels' surfaces creating topographic surveys at almost atomic scales.

Student Recruiting Time!!

It's time to start recruiting students! We're working on our facebook page and sporatically try to update this blog. Let us know if you have any thoughts or ideas!

We appreciate it!

Pretty pictures!

Wired just came out with a selection of their tip microscopy photos.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/10/photomicrography/all/1

Pretty cool! It's also interesting to see how things have progressed in since the 80s!!

Pharmacology Retreat!

The Pharmacology Retreat is coming up! Be prepared!!!

Why white coats?

Here's an interesting little article about something I hadn't thought about before. Why do doctors/scientists wear white coats?

http://www.slate.com/id/2220925/?from=rss

Ohio's Brain Drain

According to a recent article (Click Here), Ohio is losing 6 out of 10 graduates to the brain drain.

“We need our best and brightest to invest their energy and future in Ohio to generate the economic vigor, new technologies and other economic development that will spur the progress we need to modernize and prosper,” said Terry Ryan, vice president for Ohio programs and policy at the institute.

Publish Post

Do you plan on staying in Ohio or leaving? What are your thoughts?

Prelim I - just around the corner

In July, several of our students will be taking the Prelim I. For everyone who has already taken it, please take the time to offer students help and guidance. It'd be greatly appreciated!

Students who will be taking it: Amanda, Debarshi, Charlotte, Peter, Casey (new transfer student) and Nui.

Good luck, guys!

Summer in the city

New MTTP Students

Remember when you were a new student? We have several new students starting rotations this summer so make sure you say "Hi"!

Andrea Boyd-Tressler
Michelle Mumaw
Ji Yeon Yang
Ryan Pritzlaff

They have a long road ahead of them so take a second, say hello and give them encouragement! It'd mean a lot.

thanks!

Blogs and Science

Do you follow any good science blogs?

http://2008.weblogawards.org/polls/best-science-blog/

Let us know where you get your information and what you find useful! Nature rated their top 50 blogs...but that was way back in 2006! What have you heard of that other students could check out?

A $50K a year stipend!

Ok, so maybe you don't...but adjust it to a Cleveland Standard of Living and maybe you do? According to America's Best Graduate School Stipends, CWRU is up at the top of the list!

http://www.wendychao.com/science/stipends/

According to this independent source, counting in the cost-of-living in Cleveland, CWRU Biomedical PhD students have one of the best stipend levels in the nation! It's equivalent to $52K salary in New York City! Try the comparison calculator and see for yourself! See how CWRU compares (we're number 42 on the list overall in 2009).

There's nothing to do in Cleveland!?!?

Not true!!!!





Here are some useful links to things that will keep you in the know!

http://www.coolcleveland.com/
*Weekly online newsletter that outlines what's going on, when and where. This is an essential guide for families, students, and anyone who's looking for something interesting to do! Make sure you subscribe to this!! Thomas Mulready (editor) also has a Twitter and Facebook account, btw.

http://www.positivelycleveland.com/
*Cleveland has a visitors bureau? Yep! This website (and their downtown location in Public Square) will help you plan sightseeing activities, will keep you updated on festivals and everything that is happening in Cleveland.

http://www.clevelandmagazine.com/ME2/Default.asp
*What do you mean you don't know where to eat dinner tonight? Cleveland Magazine always has news articles about what's happening around town but the great part of it is that it has a comprehensive guide to dining in every issue. Pick one up at a news stand near you.

There are so many other free guides like Scene Magazine (www.clevescene.com), Metromix (cleveland.metromix.com/), and of course there is always a concert to see at the Grog Shop, Beachland Ballroom, House of Blues or even over at the Barking Spider!

You spend lots of time in the lab, now go enjoy yourself in the city!

Presenting a Journal Club

By the time you present a Jclub, hopefully you've already attended quite a few that you can use as examples. Does anyone have any additional advice to new-presenters?

http://www.cop.ufl.edu/departments/pp/pep/buffingtonffw2008.ppt#256,1,Conducting a Journal Club

The above is just one PowerPoint presentation that I found from a quick search. Are there any resources that students would like to share that have found to be useful? What are some critical questions that should be asked in a good Jclub? How important is practicing the talk?