AGU: American Geophysics Union 2011

[sweet_schist]

Anyone attending this year? Planning on meeting potential advisers? Or just have any advice on what I should talk about when I do meet them?

[InquilineKea]

Yeah - I'm coming. My plan is to meet potential advisers, but ugh, I'm having a major issue:

I'm seeing a lot of cases where a presentation only has two authors, and where neither of them show up on the list at http://sites.agu.org...strant-search/. Do a lot of people come without registering, or what? And if that happens, is their presentation/poster entirely cancelled?

A lot of potential advisers have their names underlined, but I can't find their names among the registrants anywhere. For example...

P23F-01. Hydrogen escape from waterworlds and H2 greenhouse habitable Super-Earths (Invited)

Raymond Pierrehumbert; Eric Gaidos

Edited November 29, 2011 by InquilineKea

[katerific]

I'm going. Last year (when I was applying) I met a few profs. I recommend emailing them ASAP to see if you can meet with them. It's okay to just go up to them when you see them, but oftentimes they'll be distracted with other hotshots. Make sure to tell them your name, school, etc, and give them a brief overview of your background. Also make sure to indicate what sorts of things you're interested, and ask about their labs and such. If you just walk up to them, prepare to be very concise (~5 min max). People are pretty laid back at AGU, so don't stress about it--I think the most important part is that you convey your interest and excitement.

Other random advice: take a notebook. Plan out your schedule beforehand, and prioritize. Bring running shoes so that you can easily dart between Moscone West (talks) and South (posters). (okay, that last part was a joke, but it's not a BAD idea...)

The underlined author should definitely be there. If they don't plan on it, they should have withdrawn their abstract (it's very bad form to say you'll present when you won't). I do know professors who register on-site. My advice is to email them, saying, "Hi prof so and so, I'm a prospective grad student, and I saw on the AGU site that you're presenting on x topic. I am excited to hear about this kind of stuff, and I would be very interested in meeting with you. You dig?" Obviously phrase it better, but yeah.

okay that was my late night ramble hopefully it helps whee

[waddle]

Other random advice: take a notebook. Plan out your schedule beforehand, and prioritize. Bring running shoes so that you can easily dart between Moscone West (talks) and South (posters). (okay, that last part was a joke, but it's not a BAD idea...)

Yes. All of this. Also bring a raincoat or an umbrella. It may be wet (it certainly was last year!). Also if you're shy, don't just camp out at the talks. Make sure to go to the poster sessions and just go up and talk to people, even random people whose posters/topics just look cool. (If you feel awkward talking to people you don't know, set yourself a goal of talking to the presenters of x # of posters a day.) Who knows? You might learn something(s). I sure did! Also, be sure to have fun! There are some great places to eat around (not in) Moscone ( ... though I think half of the attendees somehow end up at the Westfield mall for lunch; not sure what that says about geologists, but hey, food court food isn't half bad!).

Edited November 29, 2011 by waddle

[waddle]

P.S. There is already another topic on AGU 2011 () .

[InquilineKea]

Oh cool - thanks! Are any of the professors willing to eat out with prospective students? Or even possibly meet with prospective students outside of normal hours?

They already know who I am (and some seem impressed) so I'm not some random person.

==

Also, does anyone else want to meet another undergrad or something? I'm scared that I'll feel lonely, especially after the hours.

PS: Is anyone else checking an Airbnb hotel for this?

Edited November 29, 2011 by InquilineKea

[sweet_schist]

Thanks for the advice about what to talk with professors about. I was a bit anxious about that. And also nervous about navigating the conference (mostly) alone, even though about 100 other people form my college are going... (Penn State)

Btw, what's the attire? I hear more casual... so cargo pants and a rock hammer?

[waddle]

Btw, what's the attire? I hear more casual... so cargo pants and a rock hammer?

Make sure to pack that rock hammer in your checked luggage and you'll be fine.

[waddle]

P.S. here's a video showing people (+ EtOH) at AGU, FYI

Edited December 3, 2011 by waddle

[mandarin.orange]

P.S. here's a video showing people (+ EtOH) at AGU, FYI

Why did the author of that article use so many words to ruminate on "Why Geologists Love Beer" ...? Isn't that just a universal, unquestioned law?

Beer is infallible. Like God.

[katerific]

I forgot how much my liver hates AGU.

[InquilineKea]

Do atmospheric scientists drink lots of beer too? I pretty much stuck to planetary atmospheres and saw virtually no beer around.