Instant Nostalgia! This past week at DIALOG VII

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Supported by
NOAA Coastal Ocean Program Sea Grant
College Program grant NA160P1435 NSF
DEB, OCE, OPP, INT grant
OCE-0217056 NASA Ocean Biology
Biogeochemistry ONR Ocean Optics Biology
grant N-00014-98-1-05 Grants to Whitman
College, C.S. Weiler PI Occasional travel awards
from EC, IAI, SCL, AFS, ASLO
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Goals

• Enhance interdisciplinary understanding
• and collegial networks to catalyze
• understanding and wise use of aquatic organisms,
  systems and resources

Target Aquatic scientists recently post Ph.D.
with interdisciplinary research
interests Mechanism Biennial, week-long
Symposia Electronic Resources
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DIALOG

• Symposia foster interdisciplinary understanding
  and
• collegial peer networks
• Weekly electronic newsletter distributes
  time-sensitive information of interest to recent
  PhD graduates
• Webpage compiles resources developed for
  symposium participants and reports from the
  symposium
• http//aslo.org/phd.html
• http//marcus.whitman.edu/weilercs/resources/

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Symposium Agenda

• Oral and poster presentations by each
  participant
• Overviews of Federal agency programs
• Perspectives by established limnologists and
  oceanographers invited to the symposium as
  mentors
• Discussions of emerging research, societal and
  professional issues
• Training in facilitation skills, teambuilding

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Symposia 1 Week 40 Participants
Eligibility 0 - 24 months post Ph.D.
any field relevant to aquatic biology/ecology App
lication PhD dissertation abstract
2-page resume statement of interdisciplinary
interests, career goals 2 letters of
recommendation Review 6-member committee
Select for excellence, interdisciplinary
interests and diversity (incl. discipline,
citizenship, institutions, gender, ethnicity.)
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Symposium Participation
1993 - 2004 (7 Symposia)
682 Applied 319 Invited (47)
39 Countries 38 Limnology 49 Female
8 U.S. Minority
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Brief, plenary-style addresses for a diverse,
interdisciplinary audience made by each invited
scholar. 8-minute limit forces focus and clarity
within individual talks
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Participants are able to meet informally with
Federal agency representatives. Shown at DIALOG
VII are John Wickham (NOAA COP) Beth Hinchey
(NOAA Sea Grant). Also present Phil Taylor
(NSF) and Jim Eckman (ONR)
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On-site training enhances organization, teamwork
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Facilitation skills taught on-site ensure
discussions are productive given the time
constraints. Reports are available
at http//marcus.whitman.edu/weilercs/resources/
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Topics are selected by participants. Discussions
are both relaxed and productive
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Small-group discussions enable graduates from
divergent backgrounds to discuss topics of mutual
interest and develop lasting collegial
friendships. In the years to come, familiarity
with distant specialties and connection to the
top young scientists in diverse fields will
positively impact professional success and expand
research frontiers.
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The short time limit pushed us, but the end
products were impressive"
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While the schedule is full, there are many
opportunities for informal discussions
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An isolated location with meals on site enables
discussions to continue over meals and into the
evening.
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• Impressions of previous
• Symposium Scholars
• Meeting a bunch of really bright aquatic
  scientists in similar positions with similar
  enthusiasm levels was fantastic.
• We discussed what questions we wanted to answer
  how to answer them what the field
  needed how to better train
  graduate students
  how to bridge fresh and salt water science.
• The interactions were at a high level and have
  kept me thinking for the past few years.
• All in all, DIALOG was probably the single most
  productive and memorable week of either my
  graduate or postgraduate training.
• Kim Schulz, DIALOG II

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• ... DIALOG marked a key transition between
  being a student and becoming an independent
  scientist
• This is one of the most important transitions in
  ones scientific career and yet, strangely, its
  also a transition that many of us have to go
  through alone, without any formal mentoring.
• DIALOG was great in that it gave me a chance to
  meet others in the same position, to learn from
  their experiences.
• John Dower, DIALOG I

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• I expect there are some participants who
  have established formal research ties and thats
  great.
• But an additional advantage, and one that should
  not be trivialized, is the linkages that form.
• One might liken this to fraternities, where a
  lifelong link is established that will have
  subtle, if not obvious, overtones for the careers
  of everyone involved -- A form of networking in a
  way that has no other mechanism by which it could
  occur.
• And the broadening of interests is very real,
  even if it is only manifested in reading papers
  that we might not have read otherwise.
• Paul Snelgrove, DIALOG I

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DIALOG facilitates Interdisciplinary Success by
facilitating collegial peer networks
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Future Symposia

• A proposal for future symposia is being prepared
  for submission to NSF, NASA, NOAA and ONR with
  the next symposium tentatively scheduled for
  2007.
• Graduates should register their Ph.D.
  dissertation at
• http//www.aslo.org/forms/phdform.html
• to receive updates on symposium funding and other
  information of interest to recent PhD graduates.

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Symposium Eligibility

• Those completing Ph.D. requirements after April
  1, 2005 are eligible for future symposia
• Graduates from all nations are eligible
• Acceptance rate varies by country and is
  highest for U.S. residents and American citizens
• Contingent on new funding, travel and on-site
  expenses will be subsidized through grants from
  NASA, NOAA, NSF, ONR

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Co-sponsoring Societies In-kind Support,
advertising, ASLO American Society of
Limnology Oceanography http//aslo.org/phd.
html AFS American Fisheries Society AGU
American Geophysical Union ERF Estuarine
Research Federation ESA Ecological Society of
America NABS North American Benthological
Society NALMS North American Lake Management
Society PSA Phycological Society of America
SIL International Society of Limnology SCL
Society of Canadian Limnologists TOS The
Oceanography Society WSN Western Society of
Naturalists These societies have occasionally
provided participant travel awards