AGU 2010

[katerific]

American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2010. Who's going?

I'm going, but not presenting. I'm hoping to maybe meet with some potential advisors, though. Maybe. Aiee!

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Advice to anyone applying to grad school now or in the future:

Go to a conference. You need no reason to go, really. AGU and GSA are both spectacular, but local ones are pretty bomb, too. They're great places to meet other scientists and potential advisors (AGU is great for that because if you're across the country, it's like, the ultimate meetup place for geologists). They're also incredible places to have fun and learn a bunch of stuff. If you're presenting, you even have the opportunity to have travel expenses paid for you!

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* Disclaimer: this thread was really just an excuse for me to share my excitement for conferences.

[Kitkat]

American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2010. Who's going?

I want to go, but between the cost and the timing of them, can't/couldn't make it to the big GSA and AGU one. But I am going to go to the local one by me for GSA and a few other ones for fields that I am interested in.

[UnlikelyGrad]

I keep telling myself that I should go to GSA, which is in Denver this year--just a hop, skip, and a jump (~20 min bus ride) from my home. But alas, I have nothing to present and I'm pulling my hair out trying to get everything else in my life done.

[katerific]

I keep telling myself that I should go to GSA, which is in Denver this year--just a hop, skip, and a jump (~20 min bus ride) from my home. But alas, I have nothing to present and I'm pulling my hair out trying to get everything else in my life done.

Sorry to hear that. Hope you can get things sorted out (please don't pull out your hair, Unlikely! we believe in you!).

Speaking of GSA, I hear there might be some, um, fun fosstumes* at the social on Sunday. I won't be there, though... curse you, midterms on the first week of November!

(*fossil costumes)

[waddle]

American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2010. Who's going?

I'm going! (I'm supposed to be presenting a poster there, but I'll need to whip my data into shape real fast ... )

I've never attended a real academic conference before--and I don't mean those poster sessions they have on campus--let alone presented at one, so I'm going to be pretty nervous. 16,000 attendees is a big number.

waddle

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EDIT:

AGU and GSA are both spectacular, but local ones are pretty bomb, too. They're great places to meet other scientists and potential advisors (AGU is great for that because if you're across the country, it's like, the ultimate meetup place for geologists).

katerific, did you just ask potential advisors if they were planning to attend AGU, and if you could meet with them then?

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Sorry to hear that. Hope you can get things sorted out (please don't pull out your hair, Unlikely! we believe in you!).

Speaking of GSA, I hear there might be some, um, fun fosstumes* at the social on Sunday. I won't be there, though... curse you, midterms on the first week of November!

(*fossil costumes)

Yes, please do keep your hair. Hope it goes well, UnlikelyGrad!

And alas, won't be able to attend GSA. (Actually my school's so poor (read: *expletive* budget cuts) we don't subscribe to GSA journals, so I'm not in tune with the GSA side of the earth sciences.)

Edited October 20, 2010 by waddle

[UnlikelyGrad]

Speaking of GSA, I hear there might be some, um, fun fosstumes* at the social on Sunday. I won't be there, though... curse you, midterms on the first week of November!

(*fossil costumes)

Oh wow, sounds like fun! Maybe I can just go for the weekend. I wonder if who else in my program is going?

[katerific]

I'm going! (I'm supposed to be presenting a poster there, but I'll need to whip my data into shape real fast ... )

I've never attended a real academic conference before--and I don't mean those poster sessions they have on campus--let alone presented at one, so I'm going to be pretty nervous. 16,000 attendees is a big number.

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katerific, did you just ask potential advisors if they were planning to attend AGU, and if you could meet with them then?

wewt! When I presented last year, I had never been to a conference (not even a campus poster thing!), and I presented that Monday morning. I was really nervous, but it was so much fun. Especially since I got my poster out of the way and enjoyed the rest of the week grilling all my friends at their posters. And San Francisco is such an incredible city, too.

waddle, I have not asked anyone to meet.... yet, at least. Last year, a few people came by my poster, so I got to chat with them. Basically semi-random encounters. This year, however, my co-advisor told me to email people maybe a week or two before the conference, asking them if they were going and would like to meet. I think I'll do that for the one or two profs that are all the way across the country.

[Kitkat]

For those at the GSA conference how are the presentations going? Both yours and those that you have gone to. And any interesting new contacts through it?

Edited November 1, 2010 by Kitkat

[katerific]

So I'm not there, but I hear (er, according to my FB newsfeed, at least) that everyone is having a lot of fun and there's also a lot of cool science.

(yeah, I don't actually have anything useful to add, sorry. whoops!)

[waddle]

So I'm not there, but I hear (er, according to my FB newsfeed, at least) that everyone is having a lot of fun and there's also a lot of cool science.

(yeah, I don't actually have anything useful to add, sorry. whoops!)

I hear the beer is flowing freely. Not by any means a surprise, but I felt like I should add something, too.

[waddle]

A few questions for those of you who have been to / presented at the AGU Fall Meeting before:

1. How long did you stand by your poster? And how many people stopped by your poster while you were there?
2. Does anyone know anything about AGU travel grants? I applied for the Fall Meeting grant, and was (not surprisingly) rejected. Does anyone have any idea how many of these grants are available and what award rate is? The AGU website is very vague about the review and award process for their travel grants.

Thanks!

[katerific]

A few questions for those of you who have been to / presented at the AGU Fall Meeting before:

1. How long did you stand by your poster? And how many people stopped by your poster while you were there?
2. Does anyone know anything about AGU travel grants? I applied for the Fall Meeting grant, and was (not surprisingly) rejected. Does anyone have any idea how many of these grants are available and what award rate is? The AGU website is very vague about the review and award process for their travel grants.

Thanks!

1. I stood at my poster the entire time. No joke! I had originally planned on going to at least two talks (you only need to spend like what, an hour at your poster?), but there were a lot of people passing by. So mine was scheduled for the morning sesh (8 to 11 or whatever) and no one really showed up prior to 8:40, but after that it was a pretty constant stream of people. Of course, quite a few of those people were my friends/labmates, but I was still a lot busier than I thought I'd be. (I missed the talks I wanted to go to.) Yeah, so everyone who dropped by asked really good questions and gave me really good feedback (and only one person laughed at me!).

2. I have no idea. I didn't get it last year, and I don't think any of my friends have ever gotten it, so I guess it's pretty competitive? I honestly have no idea what they're looking for, either.

in other news, one month away, yay! I have a final exam at 8am on the 13, but after I finish that, I am going straight to the airport, and maybe I can make it before beer o'clock (that's really unlikely, actually....)

[waddle]

Any recommendations for sessions/talks to go to?

[katerific]

I highly recommend the keynote lectures. They're lengthier (1 hr) but they're by bigger names and the ones I've seen have always been pretty cool. I mean, all two that I saw last year (they were good at the Ocean Sci meeting too though!)

Last year I came up with an itinerary, but I barely stuck to it. I walked around and referred to it when I was trying to find friends, haha. Or when I wanted to see a talk by someone legendary in the field And at least twice I accidentally went to the wrong sessions for talks! I can't really recommend any specific sessions or talks (except when it comes to paleo), but I know I'm going to be missing a lot of cool stuff on Monday. Hopefully I'll be able to catch some of the afternoon posters and talks... !!

edit: oh, and two other things you shouldn't miss: (1) talks/posters by potential advisors and (2) the social events! ESPECIALLY (2).

Edited November 30, 2010 by katerific

[waddle]

Oops, apparently the luncheons are sold out. Sorry, I'm a bit clueless as to how the social events work at conferences. Could you fill me in?

I'm going for ~3.5 days, so I'll be missing some stuff too.

[katerific]

On Sunday there's an icebreaker reception open to everyone. Last year, no one I knew was there yet, but yeah.

I also haven't ever been to a luncheon, but they also have a lot of receptions going on. They had a joint Ocean Sci/Paleo reception/meeting last year (this year it's only PP though) where they had a slide show of student presentation summaries. Does your section have anything like that?

Schools tend to have their own receptions which aren't necessarily listed on the AGU site. (I hear people always crash the Columbia reception...) So your school might have one? Not the best for making new connections, but definitely a good time to have fun.

And coffee breaks/beer breaks (for those of age of course!) are a good time to stop and chat with people.

[waddle]

Thanks!

I also haven't ever been to a luncheon, but they also have a lot of receptions going on. They had a joint Ocean Sci/Paleo reception/meeting last year (this year it's only PP though) where they had a slide show of student presentation summaries. Does your section have anything like that?

I'm not even sure what section I belong to ... my research is in hydro but I'm applying to biogeochem programs. I suppose I could attend the Biogeoscience meeting/reception, but in any case I won't know anyone there.

Schools tend to have their own receptions which aren't necessarily listed on the AGU site. (I hear people always crash the Columbia reception...) So your school might have one? Not the best for making new connections, but definitely a good time to have fun.

That sounds like fun! My school won't have one, I'm pretty sure, since to my knowledge only two (maybe a couple more?) research groups here are attending the conference.

[UnlikelyGrad]

I'm not even sure what section I belong to ... my research is in hydro but I'm applying to biogeochem programs. I suppose I could attend the Biogeoscience meeting/reception, but in any case I won't know anyone there.

Go to the biogeoscience reception. Look around for a tallish guy (~6'3"?) with dark hair, ~50yo, named John Spear. Tell him you have an online friend named Robin who said he was really cool.

John is very friendly (and funny) and will put you right at ease. He'll tell you some really cool stories and talk about his awesome research, and very likely he'll introduce you the other people swarming around him...he seems to attract people like honey attracts flies. I wouldn't have minded working for him...

[waddle]

Thanks, UnlikelyGrad! I'll see if I can spot him.

[katerific]

waddle, is your current advisor going to be there? He could introduce you to people!

Go to the biogeoscience reception. Look around for a tallish guy (~6'3"?) with dark hair, ~50yo, named John Spear. Tell him you have an online friend named Robin who said he was really cool.

John is very friendly (and funny) and will put you right at ease. He'll tell you some really cool stories and talk about his awesome research, and very likely he'll introduce you the other people swarming around him...he seems to attract people like honey attracts flies. I wouldn't have minded working for him...

Oh dude, I've totally heard great things about him! Awesome!

[waddle]

waddle, is your current advisor going to be there? He could introduce you to people!

Oh, totally! But most of the groups I'm interested in (for grad school) are outside of the hydro & environmental geochem realms, so he doesn't know many of my prospective advisors.

[katerific]

I see. Well, maybe he knows someone who knows someone? But it's still fun to meet other people in different fields, of course.

[waddle]

What's the dress code for the conference & receptions? I'm assuming a leather jacket and jeans won't cut it?

[katerific]

Presenting: business casual, I'd recommend, although one of my former labmates (now a postdoc) gave his talk last year in ripped-up jeans and a button-up shirt.

Receptions: samesies. a little nicer than usual.

Walking around and going to talks/posters: jeans and leather jacket would be fine, although if you're tracking down someone, maybe sharpen up.

Honestly, considering the group, it's not that hard to look somewhat dressy compared to everyone else. Seriously, you will never see so many khaki shorts, hiking boots, and shoulder-length hair in your life. I'm pretty sure I've also witnessed socks and sandals. No suits allowed, ever! (Okay, some people do wear suits, but most don't...)

[katerific]

Well, that was a lot of fun. I'm exhausted. Anyone have any good stories/experiences to share?

I'll come back and list my highlights of the week after I take a nap.