July 6-11, 2010

1. WEEKLY SERVICES IN THE GLC

  • Walk-in counseling: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, 1:00-5:00pm, Green Room (across from G)
  • Writing support and career advising in the GLC will resume in the fall. For writing assistance in the summer, contact the Writing Center at 231-5436.

2. GSA GOES TUBING ON THE NEW RIVER
Saturday, Jul 10, 10:30am, meet in front of GLC
Join the GSA for a great day of fun and relaxation while tubing down the New River! Meet in front of the GLC (Otey St.) on Saturday car pool to the New River Junction. Spread the word and bring along your friends and family. Don’t forget your towel, sunscreen, and lunch. Parking costs $2 and tube rentals are $9 for a full day of tubing. Please register here to help organizers determine travel arrangements and arrange for a group discount (Note: a consent form and waiver will need to be signed before leaving the GLC). Learn more about tubing at the New River Junction here. Please send any questions to Jay Pembridge at jpembrid@vt.edu.

3. GSA SUNDAY FUN RUN!
Sunday, Jul 11, 6:30pm, meet outside the GLC doors facing downtown
Join GSA for a run on the Huckleberry Trail. All graduate students, family, and friends are invited. The run will be 1-4 miles based on your ability and water will be available at the 2 mile mark. Meet outside the GLC doors facing College Ave, rain or shine. If you plan on attending, please register here. Please direct any questions to Bobby Beaton at rbeaton@vt.edu.

4. ELIGIBILITY FOR IN-STATE CLASSIFICATION
Please review your student status for in-state or out-of-state classification. If you believe that you are eligible for in-state classification for tuition, please review our policies and submit the appropriate paperwork to the Graduate School as necessary. Contact 231-8636, gradappl@vt.edu with any questions.

5. ASSISTANTSHIP OPPORTUNITIES IN HYDROLOGY/HYDROPEDOLOGY
Two research assistantships are available for students in ag, engineering, science and natural resources, beginning January 2011 or sooner: for projects supported by the NSF at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire. The study focuses on feedbacks between hydrology, soil characteristics, and catchment biogeochemistry and is aimed at explaining the spatial and temporal variation in stream water chemistry at the headwater catchment scale. The project has an intensive field component that will require extensive travel. Students work with VT faculty, as well as with federal and other university scientists. Strong background in hydrology, forest soils, and/or geospatial analyses is highly desired; M.S. degree in hydrology, soil science, ecology or related field is required. The student may enroll in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation or in the interdisciplinary Geospatial and Environmental Analysis program in the College of Natural Resources and Environment. PhD assistantships will start at approximately $20,000 per year, plus tuition and health insurance subsidy. Graduate research assistants are actively involved in the departmental teaching program. If interested, contact Dr. Kevin McGuire, Research Assistant Professor of Forest Hydrology, 231-6017; kevin.mcguire@vt.edu.

6. PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR BIOMECHANICS STUDY – 3rd posting
Participants are sought for a study investigating the effects of flexion and lifting on the biomechanics and neuromuscular control of the human torso.  The study consists of five separate experimental sessions (each lasting approximately 1 hour) and participants will be compensated $10/hour.  To qualify you must be male, between the ages of 18-29, and regularly exercise at least 2-3 times per week.  For more information or to inquire about participation, please
contact Nima at neema@vt.edu.

7. iPHONE USERS SOUGHT FOR RESEARCH STUDY – 3rd posting
Computer science grad student is looking for iPhone users to serve as research participants for a project called ‘InstaRide’ to understand the perceptions of trust in a mobile software application that integrates collaboration and social networks. InstaRide is a ridesharing application that would leverage social networks to embed trust. Your participation will help researchers gain insight into the design of their application and user interfaces. The study will consist of two parts, including a set of scenario-based tasks using the iPhone and a short questionnaire. The whole experiment will last for about 1 hour. This study has been approved by Virginia Tech IRB (approval number 10-352). Please contact Vineeta (vineetac@vt.edu). You must be 18 or older to participate.

8. UPCOMING EVENTS:

GSA POTLUCK AND POT PAINTING
Tuesday, Jul 13, 5:00-6:30pm, GLC Room B
Join GSA for a potluck dinner and artistic escape! Use your creativity to paint a terra cotta pot and relax with friends while enjoying a potluck dinner. Pots, paints and brushes will be provided, but feel free to bring your own paint to add to the rainbow of choices. All guests are asked to bring a covered dish to add to the collective dinner.  Be sure to wear clothes you can paint in!  Please RSVP here: https://survey.vt.edu/survey/entry.jsp?id=1277851505796. Questions: contact Amanda Cronin Rumore (VP of Programs) at ajcronin@vt.edu.

SUMMER SHORT COURSES IN STATISTICS
LISA (Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Statistical Analysis) provides a series of evening short courses to help graduate students use statistics in their research. These two-hour courses teach practical statistical techniques for analyzing or collecting data.  Review  instructions on how to register and to learn more.  Refreshments will be provided at the end of each short course! All courses will be held in Fralin Auditorium from 4-6PM.
Summer 2010 Schedule:

  • Tuesday, Jul 13: T-test, ANOVA, and ANCOVA;
    Taught by Jennifer Kensler, this course covers the one sample, two sample and matched-pairs t-tests, one-way ANOVA (Analysis of Variance), two-way ANOVA and ANCOVA (Analysis of Covariance).  These techniques will be demonstrated using JMP. JMP is available for free download to VT students at http://www2.ita.vt.edu/software/student/products/sas/jmp/index.html. Participants may want to bring a laptop with JMP installed.
  • Wednesday, Jul 21: Regression Using Bayesian Statistics in R;
  • Tuesday, Jul 27: Linear and Non-linear Mixed Effects Models.