Posted on by lbarron

July 22-28, 2024

To see full descriptions for any item in the summary list please click on the continue reading link below the summary list. 

  1. Ongoing Services – updated 5/13/24 

This Week’s Events:  

  1. INSIGHTS ON THE FACULTY JOB MARKET: PREPARING FOR THE FALL APPLICATION SEASON AND BEYOND – Monday
  2. GLC CAFÉ – Thursday
  3. SCIENCE ON TAP: WHAT MAKES A HOME? ENVIRONMENTAL MODELING TECHNIQUES HELP US UNDERSTAND WHERE THREATENED SPECIES LIVE – Thursday

 Administrative Announcements:

  1. CHANGES COMING TO CREATION OF MICROSOFT 365 SHAREPOINT SITES, TEAMS, GROUPS – 1st  posting
  2. APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR THE FALL 2024 GPSS TRAVEL FUND PROGRAM – 1st posting

Jobs:

  1. APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR GPSS RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM CO-CHAIR POSITION FOR 2024-2025 – 2nd   posting

Funding Opportunities:

  1. FULBRIGHT POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS FOR U.S. CITIZENS – DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 16, 2024

Volunteers and research participants sought:

  1. PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR VIRTUAL REALITY USER STUDY – 1st posting
  2. MIDDLE-AGED/OLDER ADULTS NEEDED FOR COMPENSATED RESEARCH STUDY (4 STUDY VISITS) – 1st posting
  3. EVALUATION OF RECOMMENDATION SYSTEM FOR DEPENDENCY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM – 2nd posting
  4. EXPLORING STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF THE COMMUNITY OF INQUIRY IN ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS WITH GENERATIVE AI – 3rd posting

Upcoming Events:

  1. CIRTL WORKSHOP: NAVIGATING THE ACADEMIC HAND-OFF: GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCS AS SCIENTIFIC TRAINERS – July 31
  2. GLC ICE CREAM SOCIAL – August 1
  3. INTRO TO EXCEL AND OPENREFINE WORKSHOP – August 15
  4. INTRO TO UNIX AND GIT WORKSHOP – August 16
  5. INTRO TO R AND RSTUDIO WORKSHOP – August 19
  6. INTRO TO PYTHON WORKSHOP – August 20
  7. GPSS WELCOME BACK BBQ PICNIC – FREE FOOD! – August 23

  1. Ongoing Services – updated 08/28/23   
  • GRADUATE SCHOOL: Graduate School summer hours: In-person advising, drop-off or pick-up of documents and materials, and a space to study and take a break! Visit 120 GLC, summer walk-in hours will be held on Monday and Thursday 9:00-4:00pm. The Graduate School offices will be open from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. for the summer. Staff will be available by phone 540 231-8636 or email grads@vt.edu.  If you prefer Zoom advising: request one-on-one assistantship or academic advising by using our online request form to set-up a Zoom session.
  • CAREER ADVISING: Schedule career advising appointment via https://career.vt.edu/job-search/Handshake.html ; GLC drop-in hours in GLC 120 will not be held in the summer and  will resume Fall 2024.
  • COOK COUNSELING: COOK COUNSELING: Drop-in hours for Summer: Tuesdays 10 am to 12 pm. Location: Room 49 at the GLC. For consultations by Zoom e-mail hkatie19@vt.edu. Students seeking services can schedule a triage appointment by calling 540-231-6557.
  • WRITING CENTER SERVICES: Schedule an appointment at https://vt.mywconline.com/
  • GRADUATE OMBUDSPERSON: contact for appointment at gradombud@vt.edu, 540-231-9573

This Week’s Events

1. INSIGHTS ON THE FACULTY JOB MARKET: PREPARING FOR THE FALL APPLICATION SEASON AND BEYOND
Monday, July 22, 3-4:30pm, Zoom
In this talk Chris Smith, postdoctoral affairs program administrator at Virginia Tech, will speak about resources and insights that could be useful to graduate students and postdoctoral associates planning to apply for faculty positions in Fall 2024. He will share data from a faculty applicant survey ran annually from 2018 to the present and highlight a data dashboard the team created to assist applicants in benchmarking their competitiveness for faculty positions. https://www.research.vt.edu/about/postdoctoral-associates/postdoctoral-events-programs/2024/insights-on-the-faculty-job-market–preparing-for-the-fall-appli.html

2. GLC CAFÉ  
Thursday, July 25, 3:30-5pm, GLC Reading Room 
GLC Café will be held on Thursdays only during the summer. Casual drop-in social hour for graduate students to take a break! Enjoy coffee, tea, cookies and conversation with graduate students and Graduate School staff. Bring your own mug if you can.  

3. SCIENCE ON TAP: WHAT MAKES A HOME? ENVIRONMENTAL MODELING TECHNIQUES HELP US UNDERSTAND WHERE THREATENED SPECIES LIVE
Thursday, July 25, 5:30-7pm, Rising Silo Brewery
Find out how satellites and math can be used to answer questions about where threatened species live and how we can protect their homes. Ph.D. student Conner Hughes from Virginia Tech’s Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation will help us learn about some of these species that might be our neighbors and what they need to thrive. Then we’ll get to try finding homes for some picky house hunters.

Administrative Announcements

4. CHANGES COMING TO CREATION OF MICROSOFT 365 SHAREPOINT SITES, TEAMS, GROUPS – 1st posting
In response to Microsoft’s license model changes, Virginia Tech will be modifying procedures regarding the creation of collaborative spaces within Microsoft 365. Beginning Aug. 16, only employees will be able to request and create new Sharepoint Sites, Teams or groups. Students will no longer be able to create new Microsoft365 collaborative spaces, but may be added to these spaces by an employee. Existing Sharepoint sites, Teams, and groups are not affected at this time and may continue to be used. Please contact 4Help at 4help.vt.edu or by phone at 540-231-4357 with questions. https://news.vt.edu/notices/2024/07/it-ccs-microsoft-collaborative-spaces-require-approval.html 

5. APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR THE FALL 2024 GPSS TRAVEL FUND PROGRAM – 1st posting
Graduate students presenting research conducted at Virginia Tech are eligible to apply for the Fall 2024 Travel Fund Program! Grants may cover registration, lodging, meals, abstract fees and other costs of presenting at an in-person or virtual conference with a start date from Oct. 1- Dec. 31. Students from all disciplines are invited to apply, even if your conference abstract has not been officially accepted. Be sure to carefully read the instructions. Applications are due August 19th at 11:59 PM. Please e-mail Julia Shapiro at juliams22@vt.edu with any questions, and visit https://gpss.vt.edu/programs/tfp.html for full details and instructions.

Jobs

6. APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR GPSS RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM CO-CHAIR POSITION FOR 2024-2025 – 2nd posting

Prior to the event, held in the last week of March, co-chairs will work together to hire a speaker for the event, handle the bulk of necessary planning, and coordinate the event. Planning will include coordinating the keynote speaker, providing food for attendees, collecting abstracts, finding judges, and marketing the event. Applicants must be currently enrolled in a graduate education program and able to complete work over two semesters: Fall 2024 and Spring 2025, the period of appointment for the position runs September 15- April 1. Applicants must be able to attend the Graduate Research Symposium (last week of March). This position is not an assistantship, but does offer a stipend. To apply: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=hGiVYK0Q-kCGPU8yweOjeqI0_MNCpRNGsmooGXbKsw9UQlZaOTAxQjZQRllTVVNLRzQ5NUtDVTBDMi4u

Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities sponsored by the graduate school can be found here:
https://graduateschool.vt.edu/funding/funding-sponsored-by-the-graduate-school.html
All external funding opportunities that we are aware of can be found here: https://graduateschool.vt.edu/funding/scholarships-and-fellowships.html.

7. FULBRIGHT POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS FOR U.S. CITIZENS – DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 16, 2024
Fellowships are open to researchers in all academic disciplines and support research programs in Israel for up to 20 months (two academic years). These are the primary benefits of the fellowship:  $95,000 scholarship ($47,500 per academic year).  Basic health insurance for the grant, Reimbursement of up to $1,700 for airfare expenses for Fulbright fellows (and spouses), Partial reimbursement of education expenses for children.  Visit the program page: https://fulbright.org.il/USPostdoc. For further information or inquiries, please contact: Noa Turgeman, USprograms@fulbright.org.il.

Volunteers and Research Participants Sought

8. PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR VIRTUAL REALITY USER STUDY – 1st posting
The 3D Interaction Group is looking for eligible participants for a research study with virtual reality (VR) technologies. Our team is investigating the influence of interactivity in guided tours in immersive virtual environments. The study will make use of VR technologies. Participants need to be proficient in reading and writing in English, at least 18 years old, able to walk and stand for long periods, and have normal or corrected vision. Fill out the screening questionnaire here: https://forms.gle/aiMTZoQDPkFDAkqHA.   

9. MIDDLE-AGED/OLDER ADULTS NEEDED FOR COMPENSATED RESEARCH STUDY (4 STUDY VISITS) – 1st  posting
Researchers are seeking participants 40 years or older to participate in a study (IRB Protocol # 22-507) to learn if consuming artificial sweeteners have any impact on glucose levels in middle-aged/older adults. If you qualify, you will be compensated up to $75 upon successful completion of all study visits. This study involves 4 visits to the Virginia Tech Campus, over 3 weeks. Total time commitment will be about 10 hours. The study will include a screening visit to determine eligibility, and 3 visits where you will eat breakfast and undergo a blood draw. For more information, please contact us at NNS_Study_2-g@vt.edu or fill out the screening survey here: https://virginiatech.questionpro.com/acuteNNS

10. EVALUATION OF RECOMMENDATION SYSTEM FOR DEPENDENCY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM – 2nd posting
The Code World-no Blanket group is looking for participants for a user study on a recommendation tool. The tool is related to the Python library dependency management system. The study will take up to 30 minutes to complete. If you want to participate, please contact Dibyendu Brinto Bose at brintodibyendu@vt.edu. The study is in person and will take place in Gilbert 4102. To participate, you need to be 18 years or older, have Python programming experience or familiarity with Python libraries. Participation in this study is entirely voluntary. This study was approved by the Virginia Tech Institutional Review Board (IRB #24-624).

11. EXPLORING STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF THE COMMUNITY OF INQUIRY IN ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS WITH GENERATIVE AI – 3rd posting
The purpose of this survey is to explore students’ experiences and perceptions of the Community of Inquiry framework in online computer science courses, as well as their views on using generative AI in these courses. We are seeking participants who have previously taken online computer science courses. The survey includes multiple-choice and Likert scale questions, along with optional open-ended questions for additional feedback. Completing this survey will take approximately 7 – 15 minutes. By completing this survey, you will have a chance to win one $10 Amazon gift cards, with the odds of winning being about at least 10% (1 in 10 participants will be selected). Access the survey through: https://virginiatech.questionpro.com/AXib7Z3RGq.

Upcoming Events

12. CIRTL WORKSHOP: NAVIGATING THE ACADEMIC HAND-OFF: GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCS AS SCIENTIFIC TRAINERS
Wednesday, July 31, 1-2:30pm, Zoom
Passing down scientific knowledge is a common but often overlooked part of work for advanced graduate students and postdocs working with more junior student researchers. In this one-part online workshop, you will apply teaching and learning strategies to streamline your research training, develop training resources, and assess your trainee’s learning. Together, we’ll explore how to identify knowledge bottlenecks, how to articulate training needs and goals, and how to improve collaboration on training with the various trainees you’re guiding through these processes. Cap: 40; registration closes when capacity is reached. Register here: https://uwmadison.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEscOisrTkuGNBdTURq2ydl_llGEEFySwzr#/registration.

13. GLC ICE CREAM SOCIAL
Thursday, August 1, 3:30-5pm, GLC Lobby and Lawn
Summer is flying by! Stop by the GLC lobby for an ice cream social. Enjoy ice cream bars, fruit bars, ice cream sandwiches, lemonade and coffee. Pick up your frozen treat in the lobby and head out to the GLC Lawn to enjoy and play lawn games. The Ice Cream Social will be held in place of the GLC Café. Register here to help us plan how many frozen treats we will need: https://forms.office.com/r/J0rfccWPqV.

14. INTRO TO EXCEL AND OPENREFINE WORKSHOP
Thursday, August 15, 9am-5pm, University Mall 2104 (Blacksburg) or Zoom
Clean up messy real-world data in Excel spreadsheets and level up your skills with the power of OpenRefine. This free hands-on workshop covers cleaning, standardizing, and combining spreadsheets in Excel and OpenRefine, plus tools to improve initial Excel data entry quality and APIs to enhance data with external sources in OpenRefine.  You do not need any experience with the software to participate but you will need access to a Windows, Mac or Linux computer. Lunch and refreshments will be provided for in-person participants. Instructions for accessing course material and installing software will be sent in advance. For questions, contact Data Education Coordinator Nathaniel Porter (ndporter@vt.edu). Register here: https://profdev.tlos.vt.edu/browse/researchdiscovery/courses/lib167-081524

15. INTRO TO UNIX AND GIT WORKSHOP
Friday, August 16, 9am-5pm, University Mall 2104 (Blacksburg)  or Zoom
Learn how to automate repetitive research tasks by working at the Unix command line and track your personal and collaborative work with Git. This hands-on workshop is open to anyone and based on lessons from Software Carpentry. You do not need any experience with the software to participate but you will need access to a Windows, Mac or Linux computer. Lunch and refreshments will be provided for in-person participants. Instructions for accessing course material and installing software will be sent in advance. For questions, contact Data Education Coordinator Nathaniel Porter (ndporter@vt.edu). Register here: https://profdev.tlos.vt.edu/browse/researchdiscovery/courses/lib166-081624.

16. INTRO TO R AND RSTUDIO WORKSHOP
Monday, August 19, 9am-5pm, University Mall 2104 (Blacksburg) or Zoom
Learn how to work with data hands on in R and RStudio, whether or not you have any experience with coding or data analysis. You do not need any experience with the software to participate but you will need access to a Windows, Mac or Linux computer. Lunch and refreshments will be provided for in-person participants. Instructions for accessing course material and installing software will be sent in advance. For questions, contact Data Education Coordinator Nathaniel Porter (ndporter@vt.edu). Register here: https://profdev.tlos.vt.edu/browse/researchdiscovery/courses/lib165-081924.

17. INTRO TO PYTHON WORKSHOP
Tuesday, August 20, 9am-5pm,  University Mall 2104 (Blacksburg) or Zoom
Learn the basics of Python hands-on using the JupyterLab interface, including coding and working with data.
You do not need any experience with the software to participate but you will need access to a Windows, Mac or Linux computer. Lunch and refreshments will be provided for in-person participants. Instructions for accessing course material and installing software will be sent in advance. For questions, contact Data Education Coordinator Nathaniel Porter (ndporter@vt.edu). Register here: https://profdev.tlos.vt.edu/browse/researchdiscovery/courses/lib164-082024

18. GPSS WELCOME BACK BBQ PICNIC – FREE FOOD!
Friday, August 23, 5-7pm, GLC Lawn
:Welcome and Welcome Back, Y’all! The Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) of Virginia Tech will be hosting our 2024 annual Welcome Back BBQ Picnic on August 23, from 5-7pm on the GLC Lawn. All VT graduate and professional students are invited! Enjoy free catered BBQ dinner from On-Site Culinary and lawn games++ with your fellow grad students. Come hang out, make new friends, catch up with old ones, and have a blast before the semester begins! Kindly be aware that food will be served on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last. Submit your RSVP today at https://forms.office.com/r/sYczKEk2QB. Please email: gpss@vt.edu  if you have any accessibility needs. We look forward to seeing you at the event!