Many hearty congratulations to the winner of our contest, Jenn Yantachka! We are in the process of working with the Office of Communications on the web feature on her research, and will post a link to that as soon as it is available. In the meantime, you can see her brief bio here (at the bottom of the page). Congratulations also to Anna Stewart and Roman Yavich, our runners up. To everyone who made it, the talent within the graduate student body was on full display.

Many thanks as well to our sponsors: the Office of Instruction and Graduate Studies, the Office of Communications, and the Department of Environmental Resources Engineering.

Many thanks to everyone who turned out and/or supported this years elevator pitch contest and research mixer. It was a smashing success, and an impressive demonstration of the good work happening on our campus.

A special thanks to Danielle Preiss, Erica Tauzer, Kapil Mandrekar, and especially Ben Ballerstein, for their inspired promotional videos. The GSA is in your debt! 

IAI Announcement of opportunity

The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), the Center of Excellence for Water Security (AQUASEC), and the Water Center for Arid and Semiarid Zones of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAZALAC) are pleased to announce the Training Institute on Adaptive Management of Water Resources under Climate Change in Vulnerable River Basins.

The Training Institute will be held in La Serena, Chile from 8-17 October, 2012.

For further information, please see flyer attached.


Applications are due May 30, 2012 at 17h00 São Paulo time, Brazil.


Applications must be submitted on line at http://iaibr3.iai.int/twiki/bin/view/TIAdaptativeManagementWaterResources2012

The GSA goes viral! Check out our promotional videos for this great event, read more about it and RSVP on the elevator pitch webpage.

Friday February 24th 12:00-1:00pm
110 Moon Library
Professional Development Panel Series:
Preparing for your Thesis or Dissertation Defense!
Join our panel of experienced faculty and students who will share insights on preparing for and getting through your defense. We have invited panelists from multiple departments on campus so you can get the answers you need about what your committee will be expecting, as well as tips from students who have completed the process.
Light refreshments will be served!

If you have any questions about this event, please feel free to email Whitney.

_We all plan on graduating sometime!

Whether you’re planning on graduating this semester, taking your candidacies, or just planning ahead 
for completing your degree in the future, there is a specific process and paperwork involved. 
To help you navigate this process, we invite you to join us for a

Lunchtime Learning Seminar: So you want to graduate?
Friday February 3rd 
12:00-1:00pm in 110 Moon Library

We'll go over the details of the timeline of requirements for completing your degree 
with Scott Shannon and Suzette Vandeburg of the Office of Instruction and Graduate Studies 
and open it up for any questions you may have. 
Light refreshments will be served, but feel free to bring your lunch!

This event is sponsored by the GSA Professional Development Committee and the Office of Instruction and Graduate Studies

Questions? Email Whitney at wglash@syr.edu 

Greetings Grads! If you are looking for a possible venue for presenting your research or artistic endeavors, our fellow SUNY school at Brockport is offering their first annual Master's Level Graduate Research Conference.

Where: SUNY Brockport
When: Saturday, April 14, 2012
Who (from Call): Graduate students across disciplines from Brockport and other universities in upstate New York and nearby Ontario, Canada. Students Enrolled in Master's and graduate certificate programs to present original research and artistic endeavors in poster sessions, panel presentations, and creative performances.

Visit www.brockport.edu/gradconf for additional details. 

Graduate Students see below for a message from Tim Volk about a great service opportunity. - JR

The MOST (Museum of Science and Technology) in downtown Syracuse is hosting a one day session on Saturday October 22 for boys scouts on various science topics. The scouts work on these topics and if they successfully complete all the requirements earn merit badges. I am running two session on Environmental Science and 60 scouts have signed up. I am looking for 6 volunteers to help with these sessions (three people in the morning (8:30 – 12:00) and three in the afternoon !2:00 – 3:30). Lunch will be provided for volunteers. I will have lesson plans and materials that I can get to you and go over before Saturday. The topics are fairly easy and include some exercises on global warming, acid rain, endangered species, environmental history etc. If you are interested in sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm with these scouts please contact Tim Volk.

Tim Volk, Department of Forest and Natural Resources Management

Learn about fellowships and funding opportunities due in November and December.
A panel of graduate students and faculty with success in grant writing ready to answer your questions!
Focus on graduate student grant writing, and how to overcome common mistakes and reviewer critiques.  

Thursday
October 13th 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
105 Marshall

Refreshments will be provided!
11:30 – 12:00: Establishing a timeline to get your application in (on time)!
12:00 – 1:00: Problems facing graduate students in obtaining fellowships and funding (Q&A with our accomplished panel)
Come for a few minutes or the whole time!