1. WEEKLY SERVICES IN THE GLC
Weekly services are on hiatus until the spring semester begins. Except for the GLC café, which is always on (except Dec 27)!
- GLC Café: 3:30-5:00 every Thursdays, Reading Room
2. FINALS WEEK OPEN STUDY ROOMS IN GLC
Through Thursday, Dec 20, all day, Rooms F and G
Rooms F and G have been designated as open study rooms during finals week. No reservations are required; feel free to take advantage of the various study spaces in the GLC as you prepare for exams and complete final projects! All the best for everyone!
3. EXTERNAL FUNDING FOR GRAD STUDENTS IN SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES
Monday, Dec 17, 7:00pm, Blacksburg (Norris Global Technology Center) + 2 extended campus locations
Information will be shared by Tom Ewing, Associate Dean, CLAHS (etewing@vt.edu) about external fellowships and grants available to graduate students, with particular attention to opportunities in the humanities, social sciences, education, human sciences, and creative arts.
4. GLC CAFÉ & BOOK SWAP – Note the special location!
Thursday, Dec 20, 3:30-5:00pm, GLC Lobby
The GLC Café is offered throughout the semester with free coffee, tea and cookies in the company of your graduate-student and Grad-School colleagues. This is the final café of 2012, so we are going out in style with hot cider, hot chocolate, and cookies galore in addition to the usual coffee and tea. Bring your own mug if you can. We also want to make sure that grad students have something good (and not mandatory) to read during the winter break, so the café will also serve as a venue for a book swap. Share your favorite read with others, bring a book (if you can), and take a book or more to read during the winter break.
5. GRADUATE COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY
Friday, Dec 21, 3:00pm, Cassell Coliseum
Join the celebration of 300+ master’s and doctoral students graduating this semester! Learn more>>.
6. GRADUATE SCHOOL WINTER BREAK HOURS
- The Graduate School will be open with regular business hours this week, closing at 5:00pm on Friday, Dec 21.
- The Graduate School will be closed, along with the rest of the university, Dec 22-Jan 1. No services will be available during this time. Regular business hours will resume on Wednesday, Jan 2, 9:30am.
7. COMMENCEMENT NEWS: DVD SALES
A DVD of the Fall 2012 Graduate Commencement Ceremony will be available from the University Bookstore for a limited time. Click the Graduation button on the bookstore’s homepage for ordering information: www.bookstore.vt.edu or contact the Bookstore with any questions.
8. WINTER 2012 PHOTO CHALLENGE
You are invited to submit photos of your winter break experience (wherever and whatever that might be) to be displayed in the GLC and on the Grad School Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Virginia-Tech-Graduate-School/348802603577 ) in January and February. Each student may upload up to three photos here. Submission deadline is Jan 18, 2013.
9. GLC WINTER RENOVATIONS
A couple of the first-floor public areas of the GLC will undergo some renovations during the winter break, including new seating and flooring in the auditorium and new painting in the back corridor and meeting rooms corridor. Residents and graduate students in active status will continue to have access to the GLC (use your Hokie Passport for entry) 24/7. However, the Bookstore side entrance will be closed and the corridor in front of the auditorium will be blocked off for the contractors. Check out all the updates after Jan 17!
10. CALL FOR ABSTRACTS FOR STUDENT CONFERENCE IN FEB 2013
The VT Institute for Policy and Governance and Department of Religion and Culture is organizing a student conference on "Religious extremism and its impacts on Culture and Civil Society" on Feb 15-16, 2013, including a film festival and student panels. Papers are invited that cover any of the following topics : Intra-religious/church institutional discourse and politics; the roles of media and technology in religion-based movements; how adherents of extreme religious views conceive of the role of the state and of faith within it, including what their perspectives portend for accepted understandings of human rights; how leaders of groups view and use history, culture and contemporary religious discourse in structuring their beliefs and motivating their adherents; how humanitarian and peace building NGOs can/should navigate such movements in the course of their efforts to ameliorate suffering and bridge social differences. Send an abstract of max. 300 words describing the topic, contribution and methods underpinning your proposed paper to Sabith Khan at khanpgg@vt.edu by Jan 4, 2013.
11. NOMINATIONS FOR GRADUATE STUDENT AWARDS NOW OPEN
A number of prestigious awards are granted to graduate students each year, carrying a monetary prize ($500-$1000 each) and award certificate. Consider applying or discuss the possibility of your nomination by your advisor/department for any of the following awards that will be given out during the Graduate School’s annual awards banquet on March 28, 2013:
– Outstanding Dissertation in (1) math, sciences and engineering, and (1) in social sciences, business and humanities
– Graduate Student Teaching Excellence
– Graduate Student Service Excellence
– Graduate Man and Woman of the Year
– Outstanding master’s and doctoral student in each college and in interdisciplinary programs
More information about criteria, forms, and process for nomination>>.
12. SPRING COURSE: GRAD5304 PREPARING THE FUTURE CAREER PROFESSIONAL
Tuesdays, 1:00-3:30pm, spring 2013
This class is designed to provide graduate students with knowledge, skills and abilities to prepare for employment in industry, business, government, research development and non-profit worlds. Topics will include communication, collaboration/teamwork, motivation, workplace and community ethics, leadership, building relationships, starting a business, managing change, writing a resume and cover letter, and working in a diverse environment.
13. ALUMNI TRIP TO EUROPE – 2nd posting
The Virginia Tech Alumni Association invites you to celebrate your college successes with an unforgettable voyage through Europe. Travel with fellow grads, see the world and make friends for life. The trip takes place May 28-Jun 15, 2013; extended tour ends Jun 20. Seats are limited. For more information or to book your trip, contact the VT Alumni Association, 540-231-6285; alumnitravel@vt.edu.
14. SOCIETY OF WOMEN ENGINEERS SURVEY – 3rd posting
The Society of Women Engineers(SWE) at VirginiaTech wants to know more about you. SWE is an international organization that strives to aspire, advance and achieve. At VT, they participate in several events which are directed towards the community, future engineers and members. They are looking for your input to help serve graduate students at VT better. You can help by filling out this quick and short survey: https://survey.vt.edu/survey/entry.jsp?id=1353003602607. You can also write in to Graduate Liaison Officer, Sreyoshi Bhaduri (sreyoshibhaduri@gmail.com) with your ideas, questions, comments and suggestions. For information about SWE and the work they do, please visit: https://sites.google.com/site/swevatech/about-us.
15. GSA EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT – HALF ASSISTANTSHIP OPENING – 3rd posting
The GSA is searching for an executive assistant for the remainder of the 2012-2013 academic year. Must be a full-time graduate students in Blacksburg. The ideal candidate will be self-motivated, exercise sound judgment, function efficiently in a fast-paced environment, have a commitment to providing professional administrative support and a constructive, team-oriented approach to work, and a genuine interest to be part of the Graduate Student Assembly. All submitted applications (letter of interest, and curriculum vitae) shall be reviewed by the GSA Executive Board, and interviews with the finalists will be held. This is a 50% assistantship (10 hrs/wk); check the GSA website for details. Please send any applications or questions to Shaimaa Abdallah, GSA President, at shaimaa@vt.edu. Application deadline: 8:00am Dec 18.
16. STUDY PARTICIPANTS SOUGHT – 1st posting
Volunteers are needed for a research study on how diet influences muscle metabolism. Participants must be: males between the ages of 18-40; not currently taking any medications; non-smokers; free from major medical issues; willing to eat a high fat diet for 4 weeks. You may benefit by receiving extensive help information and up to 200$ to compensate you for your time. Please contact the following if you meet the above criteria and are interested in participating: Nabil Boutagy or Kris Osterberg at the Human Integrative Physiology Laboratory at Virginia Tech by email at heartlab@vt.edu or call (540) 231-8299.
17. VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT FOR 2ND CANCER SYMPOSIUM – 3rd posting
Cancer Research Scholars is an interdisciplinary student organization that brings together cancer researchers represented across various departments, colleges, and labs at Virginia Tech. They organized the first cancer research symposium 2 years ago (http://www.cancerresearchscholars.org.vt.edu/) and now are looking for motivated and committed volunteers to organize the second one. The symposium gives researchers an opportunity to learn from one another and network for potential future collaboration. It also promotes the visibility of cancer research within the community. If you are interested in getting involved, please fill this doodle poll http://www.doodle.com/2hxvagc2rmti5d5v to attend the first general meeting and email Alireza Salamzandeh (alireza@vt.edu) your contact info as well as your questions and suggestions.
18. PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR PAID VIRTUAL REALITY STUDY – 3rd posting
Researchers are looking for participants for a study on Virtual Reality for Sport Anxiety. The study is investigating the potential of virtual reality to be used as a training platform to prepare athletes for high-pressure situations. No sport experience is needed. The study will consist of defending simulated soccer penalty kicks in a variety of conditions. All participants will be paid a base rate of $10, plus $0.10 per ‘SAVE’. The maximum potential payout is $30 ($10 base + $20 performance). The study will take place in the VisCube in Torgesson 3050. Participants must be over the age of 18. The study will last 60-90 minutes. Contact Cheryl Stinson for details (cstinson@vt.edu).
19. PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR BALANCE/GAIT STUDY – 3rd posting
Subjects are needed for a VT study investigating balance and gait. The study will take place in Kevin P Granata Biomechanics Lab in 208 Norris Hall. The study will take about 1.5 hours to complete, and subjects will be paid $20 for their participation. If you are interested, please email your name, age, height, and weight to biomechanics.esm@gmail.com. Overweight individuals are especially needed.
20. UPCOMING EVENTS:
GLC CAFÉ 2013
Thursday, Jan 3, 3:30-5:00pm, GLC Reading Room
The GLC Café is offered throughout the year with free coffee, tea and cookies in the company of your graduate-student and Grad-School colleagues. Come to the first café of 2013 and enjoy an edible surprise. Bring your own mug if you can.
DATA BOOT CAMP: COMBATING THE DATA DELUGE: register now!
Tuesday-Wednesday, Jan 8-9, Torg 1100C
Register before Dec 21 for this free two-day workshop offered by the library to help you learn best practices in data management, which is an important topic for researchers and scholars across domains. Requirements by funding agencies for data management plans encourage researchers to plan ahead for data management and help to promote practices that facilitate reproducible research, data use and reuse, and interoperability among distributed systems. Instructors at both Virginia Tech and UVA will cover topics such as understanding research data; the graduate student research lifecycle, organizing data, file formats and transformation, documentation and metadata, storage and security, data protection, rights and access, and preservation, sharing and licensing. Space is limited to 15 students at each campus location. Light refreshments will be provided. RSVP to Associate Dean for Research and Informatics Julie Speer at jspeer@vt.edu by December 21.
GLC BOOK CLUB
Open to all graduate students! The next book is “The Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Read the book during the winter break, then meet with other grad students on Jan 22 at 8pm in the GLC Fellows office to discuss it and pick the next book as well. Contact Emily or Mark at eceskew@vt.edu or esmark86@vt.edu respectively for any questions.