Thermal shock experiment: part 4
Friends, it is nearing the end of my current travels in Norway, and I can report some of the results of my personal thermal shock experiment. The Arctic winter doesn't actually feel that cold anymore! I acclimated after just a few days, despite having so recently been in the tropics. The human body is resilient, and to be perfectly honest, I prefer this temperature.
The conference I'm attending, Arctic Frontiers, is really two conferences in one. The Policy section during the first two days attracts politicians, diplomats, businessmen, and bureaucrats. The Science section during the last two days is frequented by researchers and academics like myself. Gone are the security guards; gone are the three-piece suits. The conference is now more my speed.
I've compared conferences to family reunions before, but this one feels a bit different. Even though the politicians have gone, the conference subject matter is still pretty broad - everything from social science to the effects of plastic litter in the Arctic. The group of attendees is so varied, it does not feel like one family. It feels more like meeting up with a few relatives in a large city. The people I'm interested in speaking to are here, but they are embedded in a matrix of other professionals.
Thankfully, I was able to find my relatives in the matrix and reconnect with my collaborators in Tromsø. I stopped by the Fram Centre to speak with Paul, a researcher who has offered me plenty of opportunities and guidance over the years. I met with a physical oceanographer to discuss the recovery of my samplers in an upcoming cruise. I had dinner with my colleague, Melanie, who is continually a source of inspiration and friendship. I ran into two of my fellow students from the Benthic Ecology course I took in Svalbard and a technician who helped with one of my projects in 2015. I met with a professor and her PhD student from the University of Tromsø to compare results of our Arctic larval projects. Each of these conversations will be helpful in maintaining my foothold in Europe and building up my research program. It was good to see my collaborators again, and I was left feeling connected and warm.
On the last day of the conference, I gave a presentation of my own, focused on my results from two experiments in Svalbard waters. I spoke about the fjord settlement project I did during my PhD and also the long-term recruitment experiment I completed with German collaborators in 2017. Giving public presentations is a valuable means to stay visible in the research community, but it's also an exercise in synthesizing my results. I was actually grateful for the pressure of explaining my findings in 12 minutes or less, and I'm proud of the presentation I delivered.
Friends, I have had a wonderful time in Norway, and am glad I got to return to a place so dear to me. It's been a valuable trip!
The conference I'm attending, Arctic Frontiers, is really two conferences in one. The Policy section during the first two days attracts politicians, diplomats, businessmen, and bureaucrats. The Science section during the last two days is frequented by researchers and academics like myself. Gone are the security guards; gone are the three-piece suits. The conference is now more my speed.
I've compared conferences to family reunions before, but this one feels a bit different. Even though the politicians have gone, the conference subject matter is still pretty broad - everything from social science to the effects of plastic litter in the Arctic. The group of attendees is so varied, it does not feel like one family. It feels more like meeting up with a few relatives in a large city. The people I'm interested in speaking to are here, but they are embedded in a matrix of other professionals.
Thankfully, I was able to find my relatives in the matrix and reconnect with my collaborators in Tromsø. I stopped by the Fram Centre to speak with Paul, a researcher who has offered me plenty of opportunities and guidance over the years. I met with a physical oceanographer to discuss the recovery of my samplers in an upcoming cruise. I had dinner with my colleague, Melanie, who is continually a source of inspiration and friendship. I ran into two of my fellow students from the Benthic Ecology course I took in Svalbard and a technician who helped with one of my projects in 2015. I met with a professor and her PhD student from the University of Tromsø to compare results of our Arctic larval projects. Each of these conversations will be helpful in maintaining my foothold in Europe and building up my research program. It was good to see my collaborators again, and I was left feeling connected and warm.
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| Presenting my research at Arctic Frontiers. Photo by Morven Muilwijk. |
On the last day of the conference, I gave a presentation of my own, focused on my results from two experiments in Svalbard waters. I spoke about the fjord settlement project I did during my PhD and also the long-term recruitment experiment I completed with German collaborators in 2017. Giving public presentations is a valuable means to stay visible in the research community, but it's also an exercise in synthesizing my results. I was actually grateful for the pressure of explaining my findings in 12 minutes or less, and I'm proud of the presentation I delivered.
Friends, I have had a wonderful time in Norway, and am glad I got to return to a place so dear to me. It's been a valuable trip!
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