Student Community CISM Graduate Students Alabama A&M University, Boston University, Dartmouth College, Florida Institute of Technology, Rice University, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Colorado Broader Experiences Beyond their individual research areas and those emphasized in their own institutions, CISM graduate students Gain familiarity and experience with problems of the whole the sun-earth system Work with established scientists at other institutions Are exposed to leaders in the field through presentations at CISM all-hands meetings and professional conferences Form professional relationships with peers that will continue past graduate school Each year we hold a retreat for all CISM graduate students, lead by Jeffrey Hughes. The retreat is intended for students who are or will be engaged in CISM research and whom we expect to be within CISM for a few years, completing their thesis or dissertation on a CISM topic. Shared Research Students at different institutions work together on several research areas of CISM. The CISM Graduate Student Forum, monthly Access Grid meetings and the Graduate Student list server are used for a general call for help or information, while phone calls and s to individuals are a common occurrence. Monthly access grid meetings allow CISM Graduate students to share research, practice presentations, discuss meetings, and ask any questions of each other. On the left, Michael Wiltberger’s Working with Mark/Unmark 2004 tutorial on CISM DX. The right top image shows students in an AG meeting, and he right bottom, John Poynting Flux: Global Values Access Grid Pictures Graduate Student Retreat Graduate and Undergraduate Webpages A Graduate Student Webpage is constantly reworked. The site contains (or will contain) Access Grid minutes, a gallery of photos from the Graduate Retreat and scientific meetings, links to every student’s home page, and a list of student presentations and publications. Undergraduates also have a webpage devoted to them. Graduate Student Newsletter Regularly a newsletter is sent out to the entire Graduate Student community. This Newsletter provides, among other things, the minutes for the Access Grid that month, science new facts, helpful hints and reminders of dates and deadlines. Each newsletter also includes a section devoted to a brief summary of each Graduate Student’s work (both research and scholastic) over the past month. CISM list server and forum The CISM graduate student forum provides a simple way to keep an ongoing dialogue between CISM students, while the list server provides a means to send out reminders and distribute our monthly newsletter. Topics discussed on the forum range from programming problems to the location of the next Graduate Student Retreat. CISM Undergraduates also have their own dedicated list to facilitate communication. Conference Support CISM students can provide mutual support to each other at conferences. Graduate students make a point to attend each other’s presentations and posters. With this support, students find it easier to integrate within the scientific community. September 2003 Number of students: 7 Invited Speakers: Dr. Murr and Dr. Turner Session topics: “How to survive in graduate school”, “The Goals of CISM”, and “Getting along with your advisor” September 2004 Number of students: 10 representing five institutions Invited Speakers: Genene Fisher (American Meteorological Society) and Michael Wiltberger (NCAR) Session topics: “Careers in Space Physics” September 2005 Number of students: 12 representing five institutions Invited Speaker: Kile Baker Session topics: “Research Funding and Funding your research” Support for Undergraduate Education CISM encourages the involvement of undergraduates in research. In the last year there were 19 undergraduates involved in CISM research experiences distributed among 8 CISM institutions including 11 women and 6 US citizens from underrepresented groups. Center Activities for undergraduates include: mentoring by their research advisor and graduate students in how to be a scientist. exposure to current research topics that make their course work more relevant. opportunities on a case by case basis for summer research at CISM institutions (4 students were placed last summer) 10 CISM undergraduates have entered graduate school with the intent to study space physics What Graduate Students Think During individual confidential interviews, students expressed the following: One student commented that they like being a part of an intimate active research community. They feel that other CISM researchers know what they are doing and that they have a “unique identity in the group” and “a purpose in the group”. CISM provides an opportunity to interact with a diverse group of researchers at all levels. CISM provides a sense of being part of a big effort to develop something that can be useful. "CISM provides an opportunity to meet positive role models, a matter of particular importance for women, who are traditionally underrepresented in space physics." Graduate Student Monthly Access Grid Gagne’s presentation on indexing Auroral Ouflows. Both were presented during the monthly Access Grid meetings. The Wiki is a website that is designed to be edited by many people. The CISM wiki covers a wide variety of topics including, but not limited to, CISM_DX, satellites,code sharing,LFM, the Access Grid and Space Weather. CISM WIKI Students meet, work, and interact across institutions through CISM: STUDENT E-COMMUNICATIONS September 2006 Number of students: 15 representing six institutions Invited Speaker: Brian Anderson Session topics: “Writing and Publishing your research”