I have finally finished my dissertation! Ask me anyting!

[Zodiak]

Woo Hoo!!! After five years and a mountain of debt...

MOLECULAR PHYSIOLOGY OF INSECT LOW TEMPERATURE STRESS RESPONSES....173 pages

The topic is irrelevent....the fact that I am DONE with it is NOT!!!

I apologize for the glory thread, but dangit, I had to tell SOMEONE!

Thanks for sharing this little moment with me.

(by the way, getting this done during the Bush years has sucked...it's like I got two dissertations done...one in science, and one on BushCo).

[XemaSab]

1. Fuck yeah!

:bounce:

Congratulations, Dr. Zodiak Ironfist! :D

[Zodiak]

3. Not yet...still need to pass the defense

but it sure does sound nice to hear that after pining for it all these years. Thank you, XemaSab.

[JVS]

2. Have you defended it?

[Zodiak]

4. Heck no, that is next month

One more hurdle, but this was the big one. Over half of the dissertation is already published and the half that isn't published is half-accepted (one more paper to submit). I'm first author on all of it.

When I get finished with the defense (and hopefully pass), I'll be sure to post "call me Doctor, dammit!"

I promise this obnoxiousness would be short-lived.

[nytemare]

5. Congrats!!

You must have invested quite a bit of your life to complete it. Interesting subject matter, as well.

[Zodiak]

7. Your sig line pic is hilarious!!

:rofl: You are so right...

Thank you for the compliment,as well. And yes, my brain feels pretty freshly-squeezed.

[nytemare]

11. You should be proud!

I have always had a great underlying interest in science and psychology. Unfortunately, aside from work, my attention span has never been steady enough for me to go to college.

It takes a lot of commitment to do what you did, be proud.

[mike_c]

6. congratulations-- you've got your union card now....

What are your plans? Staying in academic science?

on edit: BTW, where'd you do your doctoral work?

[Zodiak]

10. Well, not quite yet...still need to defend

I am a notorious "doesn't count until it counts" guy.

My plans are Research II institution in the South or Midwest. Preferably with at least a 50% teaching appointment.

I love research, but I love teaching more. I am a performer at heart and cannot get enough of an audience....and I get a charge out of imparting knowledge to others. Makes me cry thinking about having the opportunity to do it...it's been a long road. I can publish with anything I find around me, so the size of the research program matters little to me. As long as I enjoy my work.

My research began in molecular, but I could not pin down any processes involved with cold with these techniques, so I moved on to membranes and gas chromatography (published one paper). From there, I went to GC-MS based metabolomics....the first entomologist in the world to do it, and I got two papers out of it. I won my Physiology section at ESA with my metabolomics talk.

I am currently at The Ohio State University. My mentor is going to hire me as a post-doc for at least 6 months to do a couple of extra projects for him while I spread some CVs around. I hope this all works out because to be honest, this is a fairly scary part of my life. Exciting, but scary.

[mike_c]

19. yeah, that's more or less what I did, and it worked out great....

The nice thing about the research IIs is that you can work on pretty much whatever interests you, and you can do it at a reasonable pace. Presuming you can fund it, of course, but it's still a much nicer atmosphere, IMO. I usually teach two courses per semester, generally with TA's to cover the labs, although I teach my own entomology labs-- they're too much fun to hand off. My grad students are responsible for nearly all of the lab's productivity these days, but that's good too. I must say that in the years I've been doing this I've really come to appreciate the rewards of being at a university where teaching is highly valued.

I did a similar sort of post-doc. My adviser was unabashedly paying me while I looked for a job. It worked out pretty well in the end. I was at UGA in Athens from '89-'95.

Good luck to you. I'm sure your defense will go just fine!

[Rabrrrrrr]

8. Why did you spell dissertation incorrectly?

Hah! PSYCHE! Just kidding - :rofl:

MANY CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!

Hell of an achievement getting that done. I wish you the best in your defense!

:bounce: :woohoo: :party: :bounce: :woohoo: :party: :bounce: :woohoo: :party: :bounce: :woohoo: :party:




p.s. - you did spell "anything" incorrectly, though. :P

[Zodiak]

17. I spell a lot of things incorrectly

I am the worst typist in the world. Thankfully my science gets about 5 editorial passes before anyone else gets to see it.

My DU posts do not.

(edited for spelling...see!)

[wildhorses]

9. way to go !!! that is awesome

:headbang::yourock::applause::toast::party::toast::applause::yourock::headbang:

[Zodiak]

18. Thanks!

:headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:

[Catshrink]

12. Congratulations!

I can understand your relief. When I finished printing out my masters thesis I felt a physical weight lifted from my shoulders. One more step to go, Dr. Zodiak

[SPKrazy]

13. Congratulations!

and you deserve to get to toot your horn!

:applause:

[Zodiak]

15. only for a short while..

I promise.

Thank you for the congrats!

[zanne]

14. How many pounds lighter do you feel? n t

[Zodiak]

16. To be honest..it hasn't sunk in.

I'm kinda slap-happy, instead.

[EstimatedProphet]

20. Anything? OK...

Describe the possible anatomical and physiological strategies insects employ to aid in adaptation to the following environmental conditions:

Aquatic

Xeric

High temperature

Low temperature

High solar radiation

Subterrestrial facultative (ex. burrowing)

Subterrestrial obligate (ex. cave)

Aerial

Arborial

Highly competitive/low resource availability

Parasitic

You have 30 minutes. Feel free to diagram if needed. Citations should be in a standardized format, i.e. Journal of Economic Entomology, Environmental Entomology, Insect Molecular Entomology, etc.

[Zodiak]

22. Wow...this is good for preparing for my defense...are you my boss?

Man...talk about your mentor having eyes and ears everywhere!


(disclaimer: not all answers are complete or entirely serious...what do you want in 30 mins? The Taj Mahal?)

1. Large insects develop a plastron or a tube with a spiracle on the end with hydrofuge hairs. Small insects use hemoglobin or other oxygen-carrying molecules in direct diffusion across the cuticle.

2. Slower water-loss rates, higher cuticular hydrocarbons. Aestivation to avoid especially severe conditions.

3. High temperature can be countered by body compartmentalization of hemolyph and organs (like Hymenoptera), and expression of heat shock proteins, especially Hsp 70.

4. Low temperature...read my dissertation. Too many to name. In brief, cytoskeletal changes, polyol synthesis, heat shock protins, rapid cold-hardening, diapause, freeze-tolerance, ice nucleating agents, anti-freeze proteins, and a partridge in a pear tree.

5. Dark pigmention is thought to counter high solar radiation, but the hypothesis is weak, in my opinion. The best counter to high solar radiation is suproxide dismutases and catalases. If pigmentation were at issue, my best bet would be on reflective pigmentation having benefit.

6. You got me there. I have no idea what abiotic stresses are involved in burrowing other than osmotic conditions potentially changing. I do know that facultative burrowers have to develop a method to engage in said activity, but such changes would be morpohlogical. (e.g. fossorial legs). Such critters would probably want to be black or dark colored, but no one has asked them how they feel about it.

7. same as 6, although now we are introducing vestigial characters through lack of necessity.

8. Wings. Duh.

9. Colored like a tree? Larval stage carried out in a fruit?

10. Scare resources favor r-selected species, as evidenced by numerous succession studies. A good example is the imported red fire ant, much to many a yard-card givers' dismay.

11. Parasitic? Encapsulation. Gotta smother the little buggers.

All references are Head, O.T.O., 2007. My answers to an anonymous DUer. Pers Comm.

(13 minutes)

[EstimatedProphet]

25. Well answered. However:

1) You should leave off "Duh" in answer #8. That's not part of the answer.

2) I had intended parasitic in #11 to imply parasitic adaptations by insects, for example botflies.

Answer #9 requires more certainty.

Answer #10 is especially good. Well done.

Answer #5 is especially good. Well done.

You pass. Give this post to your advisor so that you won't have to defend.

:)

BTW congrats on finishing! Feels good, doesn't it?

[Zodiak]

26. Thanks a bunch!

:rofl:

If only it were that easy.

[EstimatedProphet]

32. Believe me, I know

And I don't envy you having to defend. It's never easy, for anyone.

But you WILL get through it.

[Midlodemocrat]

29. EP, refresh my memory. What is your doctorate in?

I think I remember it being something scientific that I can't even pronounce.

[EstimatedProphet]

33. Parasitology of fish

But I spent my studies mostly on statistical ecology of aquatic invertebrates.

[rug]

21. Why do roaches make a popping sound when you step on them?

[Zodiak]

23. Perhaps the collapse of the enlarged portions of their tracheae

and the air rushing out. Some big cockroaches have full-blown air sacs.

[Coventina]

24. Can you finish my thesis for me?

Actually, I finished writing my rough draft yesterday.

Today, I start on the revisions........

Is that light at the end of the tunnel the exit? Or the oncoming train?

[Zodiak]

27. I don't know, I'm only in the car in front of you

Best of luck on your thesis, too!

The draft is the hard part. The "birthing" is done for you, too!

You Rock!! :headbang:

[Coventina]

30. Well, that's good to hear! My heartfelt congrats to you!

:toast:

[Midlodemocrat]

28. Congrats!!! When do you defend?

I remember finishing mine. It was as though a long trudge down a dark tunnel was finally over.

Good for you!!!



Is it about gay bugs?

:hide:

[Zodiak]

31. I defend next month

Third week...date still not hammered down perfectly because my mentor is in Antarctica and crossing the Drake passage is an iffy thing schedule-wise. But it is definitely that week. Deadline is next week for the dissertation draft and scheduling. I'll be busy greasing plams this week, I'm sure.

Unfortunately, the dissertation is not about Afrocimex, but that doesn't make the little buggers any less interesting. :)