The Doc Report - June 2017

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs has moved to Regent Administrative Center 340 on June 1^st. The new office is located on the 3^rd floor of the Regent Administrative Center, and can be entered through Suite 330; it is the second office on the right.

If you are an employee that receives your paycheck on a monthly basis, please expect CU to issue your June paycheck on July 3^rd due to the fiscal year end.

Please be reminded that employees are responsible for reviewing their financial obligations to accommodate this change; the university is not responsible for any overdraft charges or fees incurred by employees as a result of this change in pay date.  If you have any questions, please direct them toward Human Resources.

By Leah Colvin │ Office of Postdoctoral Affairs

Dry. Proscriptive. Wordy. Jargony. Boring. Many words have been used to describe scientific writing, very few of which would excite a reader to take a closer look into the contents of a paper. With the rate of scientific advancement increasing exponentially, an increasing focus on multidisciplinary research, and a critical need to share discovery with diverse audiences, effectively communicating scientific results has never been more important.

Scientists can greatly benefit from harnessing writing techniques from novelists, journalism, and even Hollywood. Employing such storytelling techniques can make your science more accessible not only to the public, but also to peers and, notably, reviewers (thus helping to avoid the dreaded, “the results do not support the conclusion” comment).

The argumentative or five-paragraph essay is one such technique.

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By Tess Eidem │ Postdoctoral Association of Colorado

Growing up in Nebraska, aside from exploring the prairie, I spent a surprising amount of time adventuring the Great Wall of China, sailing the Arctic Sea, and visiting the hot springs of Japan—all because PBS was one of the only channels that came in on our TV. I was a public TV kid, and I spent a lot of time thinking about how sweet it would be to be David Attenborough, chasing down wild creatures, and making great discoveries. These shows inoculated me with a healthy dose of biology and scientific curiosity. In many ways, they took me down the path of scientific research, eventually leading to my current postdoc.

So when I heard of the opportunity to share science through film—the medium that got me hooked on scientific inquiry—I jumped at the chance to apply for the first-of-its-kind International Wildlife Film Festival’s (IWFF’s) Science Filmmaking Workshop.

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By Brian Aguado │ Postdoctoral Association of Colorado

CU Café and the Postdoctoral Association of Colorado had the pleasure of co-hosting Ruthe Farmer and her mentee Alexa Adams on Wednesday, May 31^st.

From her biography: “Ruthe Farmer has focused her efforts on diversity and inclusion in tech and engineering since 2001. She served as Senior Policy Advisor for Tech Inclusion at the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy focusing on President Obama’s call to action for Computer Science for All, and previously served as Chief Strategy & Growth Officer and K-12 Alliance Director at the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT).

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OITE Careers Blog

In 2014, to recognize Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride month, the OITE Careers Blog published a post addressing job search and work environments for LGBTQ scientists called Happy Pride!  This blog issue provides useful resources for scientists, their families, and allies in support of inclusive career decision-making and work environments.

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By Joseph Barber │ Inside Higher Ed

Reaching out to people you don’t know to get information can feel difficult. Part of what makes it feel that way is that it can trigger a whole range of uncomfortable, negative emotional states in some of us: mild fear of the unknown, frustration, social anxiety, an awkward sense of embarrassment and so on.

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