The "Education" Thread

I taught general chemistry labs, but study biochem stuff, more specifically the structure and mechanism of certain regulatory enzymes. Lots of kinetics stuff, measuring rates of catalysis, introducing mutations at predicted binding sites, attempting to restore activity, determining how a given complex may form and using models from that to build from there.
 
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Sounds interesting! My degree was a dual honours in maths (fuck you all who leave off the s) and chemistry. I fucking hated the organic chemistry parts and the organometallic chemistry module was the worst thing ever. I much preferred the modules that focused on physicsy stuff like sub atomic particles, energy and dynamics, bonding etc. Biochemistry seems fun.
 
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I used to study chemistry thoroughly and I recall having hated the part of chemistry which has more in common with physics than chemistry. Bad times with entalpia.
 
Bummer. I know that would've been a huge deal

I'll jump on the train, too. Just got rejected from a full time position. Didn't even make it to the interview...just got a form email. I have an iron in the fire at one of the colleges I teach at. Being an adjunct gets real old real quick.
 
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So, after getting to know a lot of the guys I work with/for, they're all really smart and have a strong educational background. The director for my department has an engineering degree and an MBA from Harvard ffs. My immediate boss went to West Point, his counter-parts in the various sections of our department all have masters degrees. It's ridiculous. I'm the only one that I know of in my position that doesn't have a degree. lol

One day I'll finish. meh
 
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Well you're a Hollywood Marine so you got that goin for ya. ;)

hehe. I guess I nailed my interview because I actually met a lot of them before being hired.

True story: My counter-part on day shift was a Marine Corps Captain so guess what we talk about all the time? =P lol He's cool though, only been out 8 months, not a typical know-it-all officer type.
 
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UMass just offered me an assistantship. God damn, time for some more heartburn over reconfiguring my decision. They're saying it's only granted for one semester, so I will have to inquire further into that. Syracuse, on the other hand, basically guarantees my assistantship for two years--but the only German historian there may be leaving next semester. UMass has a few German historians, so I wouldn't have to worry about that happening. Maybe I can try to leverage Syracuse's offer on UMass. Damn it. This is great and all, but damn it.
 
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Yep.
 
Hey gang. After a hectic semester I've decided that all work and no play makes Pat a grouchy grad student. Although I'm not sure posting here will change that... ;)

At this point I'm in the thick of dissertation writing, which is going smoothly thus far. In the meantime, I've been organizing conference proposals/papers, applying for grants/awards, and helping my advisor with some editing and teaching work. I got to teach a few sessions of his course on literary and humanistic theory, which was a blast.

I also presented at a conference last month on posthumanism, titled "Technology and the Human: Rethinking Posthumanism." It was really cool, lots of excellent presentations, and N. Katherine Hayles was in attendance (who, for those who don't know, wrote one of the most influential books on posthumanism - How We Became Posthuman, which has been a major source for my research). We ended up chatting and my paper came up, which is going to print in the July issue of Science Fiction Studies. Long story short, it's on a writer whom she discusses in her new book, and she asked if I could forward her my paper. So, fingers crossed, my first publication will also get a citation in N. Katherine Hayles's new book.

Here's hoping she doesn't hate it.

Good to be back.