NOAA Sea Grant

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What Ph.D. Graduates Want Strategies for building
successful interdisciplinary Careers
C. Susan Weiler Office for Earth System
Studies Whitman College http//aslo.org/phd.html
NSF OCE-0217056 NOAA NA16OP1435 ONR, NASA
N00014-98-1-05
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• Notes in this font size and color were added
• after the Ocean Sciences meeting
• to make this presentation understandable
• without the oral presentation.

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DIALOG Goals

• Interdisciplinary understanding
• and collegial networks

Target Aquatic-Science Ph.D. graduates
Biologically focused, 0 - 2 years post PhD.
Interdisciplinary research
interests Mechanism Symposia (40 - 43
invited participants) See
http//aslo.org/phd.html for application
instructions Electronic Resources
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Lessons Learned from 8 DIALOG Symposia 1993 -
2005
Dissertations Initiative for the Advancement
of Limnology and Oceanography
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Communication is Key
Field A
Field A
Well done!
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not emphasized enough
?
Field A
Field B,C,D Students Beyond Ivory Towers . . .
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Interdisciplinary The key is to bring together
faculty, students and postdocs from many
departments Seminars SHORT talks Group
projects Lunches TGIFs Inclusive Interactive Fun
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OUTREACH
Outreach is a fabulous way to enable students,
post-docs and faculty to communicate with
colleagues across disciplines as well as beyond
the Ivory Towers. Take it seriously, and choose
something you care about.
http//www.cosee.net/
Scientific Society pages
Dont reinvent the wheel COSEE and other
organizations resources are available to help
you get started. Be sure to check Scientific-socie
ty webpages.
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Team of Experts Vs
An Expert Team
Anyone who has sat through a faculty meeting
knows these are not the same thing! We have the
experts, lets train this next generation to work
more effectively as a team
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Organization, Teamwork
Provide students and post-docs with opportunities
to practice group/team skills.
And, give them some training to help them work
together more effectively.
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Townsend DonovanThe Facilitators Pocketbook
Tropman Making Meetings Work Achieving High
Quality Group Decisions
Roberts Rules of Order
These books provide an easy way to get started.
Read and discuss them with your students and
post-docs -- then practice in small groups,
alternating responsibilities.
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400 B.C. Hippocrates to Larson 4 types 20th
Century Jung 8 types Myers Briggs 16 types
Sanguine
Melancholic
Nobody likes to be typed but lets face
it, from Hippocrates to Larson, we all do it to
some degree. Training can enable us to
understand ourselves, appreciate the differences
in others, and work more effectively together
than any of us can alone.
Phlegmatic
Choleric
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• Laney
• The Introvert Advantage How to Thrive in an
  Extrovert World
• Berens et al.
• Quick Guide to the 16 Personality Types in
  Organizations Understanding Personality
  Differences in the Workplace

I have been using the Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator. It is the most frequently used
indicator and has been used effectively for more
than 50 years. If you are a skeptic, and even if
you arent, I recommend starting with a book
called THE INTROVERT ADVANTAGE Most of us
accept these two basic types/preferences. These
ARE preferences, as we use all of the types to
some degree. Learning more about
introversion/extroversion will help you ease into
the other preferences (how we take in/process
information, how we make decisions, and how these
preferences interact with each other). Use a
trained professional to help you identify and
understand your individual type.
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Mentors Needed
Advisors/Mentors need to do more to prepare
students, post-docs and new hires for the
business side of research -- everything from
getting a job to setting up a lab, hiring and
managing staff, grants, time, teaching, etc. etc.
Be sure everyone in your lab learns the
necessary professional skills to succeed.
Jobs Lab Set up Collaborations Students Staff Pape
rs Grants Teaching Service Tenure Time Mgt.
PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
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http//www.hhmi.org/grants/pdf/ labmgmt/book.pdf
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DIALOG Resource Page

• http//marcus.whitman.edu/
• weilercs/resources/

This page contains resources developed for, and
by, DIALOG and DISCCRS Symposium Scholars. They
provide a useful complement to the book mentioned
in the last slide.
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Interdisciplinary Success Common
Language Collegial Spirit Training
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Register your Ph.D. dissertation NOW http//aslo.o
rg/phd.html Once registered, you will be added
to the DIALOG/DISCCRS newsletter and receive
updates on Symposium dates, locations
and Application deadlines.
http//aslo.org/phd.html
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DIALOG
NSF OCE-0217056 Antarctic Biology and
Medicine Biological Oceanography Ecosystem
Studies International Science Engineering NOAA
NA16OP1435 Coastal Ocean Program National Sea
Grant College Program ONR N00014-98-1-05 Ocean
Optics Biology Program NASA Ocean Biology
Biogeochemistry Program
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• Special Thanks to
• Maarten Boersma
• Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine
  Research
• W. Monty Graham
• Dauphin Island Sea Lab
• 334 DIALOG Symposium Scholars
• For sharing their insights and their efforts to
  help this next generation of scholars be the best
  they can be.

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14 Co-sponsoring Societies In-kind Support,
advertising, international participants ASLO
American Society of Limnology and Oceanography
AFS American Fisheries SocietyAGU American
Geophysical Union ERF Estuarine Research
Federation ESA Ecological Society of America JSL
Japanese Society of LimnologyNABS North American
Benthological SocietyNALMS North American Lake
Management SocietyPSA Phycological Society of
AmericaSIL International Society of
LimnologySCL Society of Canadian
Limnologists OSJ Oceanographic Society of
JapanTOS The Oceanography Society WSN Western
Society of Naturalists