As part of the scientific community, one of our responsbilities is to provide service to the scientific community. I actively seek ways in which I can contribute in my own small but hopefully significant ways. This past week was particularly exciting since I had the opportunity to take part in two service activities. The first one was to serve as a judge in the Institute of the Environment's Grad Blitz event. I volunteered to serve as a judge for the poster session. Over an afternoon, this event brings together some very innovative, motivated grad students from fields as diverse as English, Creative Writing, Environment, Economics, and Art History , to name a few. The students pesent their research work through talks, posters, and even art! The idea is to highlight the human component of enviroment that we so oftern forget. I got to judge some very creative posters, ranging from "Heritage Conservation in an age of Sustainability Planning" to a rather intriguing title of "Bomb Eating Microbes: Biodegradation of the Munition Compound 5-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-3-one." I had a hard time convincing people that I indeed was a judge (my appearance was that of a grad student!). But the whole concept of Grad Blitz was very different from anything I had ever attended in life. It reallymade us stop and appreciate the connection with nature that we have and that sometimes, we should just take a moment to pause and appreciate that beauty around us!
The second opportunity I had was to sample the tropical rainforest biom in Biosphere 2. A drought experiment is being performed and I suggested that we collect some soil samples over the period of the experiment to study the microbial community and identify how and if microbes are respond changing precipitation patterns. It was indeed an experience collecting samples in a tropical setting. Least to say, I have new found respect for all the researchers who collect data in diffucult field conditions, and yet do excellent science. Phase 1 of my sampling is over and I will head back in a month to sample some more. While sampling, once in a while, I would look up to the sky and realize that I am actually inside a glass structure and not a real tropical rain forest. It is fascinating every single time! I end with these two photos of soil pits in the rainforest in which I climbed down and sampled!
