Emails to Life Science undergraduates: field trips and research

Sent to AY2014/15 Sem 1 students reading LSM1103, LSM2251 & LSM3261.

Field assistants for honours students
Sign up at: http://tinyurl.com/hons-fieldwork

Our undergraduate research students are engaged in a variety of field observations following monkeys in the forest, studying freshwater streams, mapping the distribution of fruit trees important to civets, exploring trash in mangroves and a variety other work.

This is an important period in their lives when they grapple with field work very seriously, examine the literature, evaluate their methods and collect data with specific objectives. It is a steep learning curve and educational for undergraduates to be exposed to.

Hence Life Science undergraduates are encouraged to sign up as volunteer student assistants to gain exposure to field work, learn about nature areas in Singapore and observe how science is conducted in the field. You will learn a lot from conversations with research students whom you follow.

That’s pretty much how I started – I was a first year undergraduate when I responded to an invitation to carry heavy stuff for a mangrove research team.

After you register, research students will contact you with their field trip schedule. It is not a blanket period, you will be able to pick and choose dates.

Once you respond to individual researchers, you must commit to the appointments you sign up for, turn up early rain or shine and be communicative with the researcher. You reputation depends on this. You can also ask the research students for recommendations to secure your own projects in future.

Cheerio!

Sivasothi a.k.a. Otterman

Invitation to a post-exam conversation with EVB Graduate students: Mon 08 Dec 2014: 7.00pm
Sign up here: http://tinyurl.com/dec-chalk

Dear undergraduates,

I am pleased to announce that three graduate students from the Environmental Biology (EVB) track are inviting you to an informal discussion about interests and concerns you might have about research in the Department of Biological Sciences. This is relation to the Honours year thesis (FYP), UROPS, lab attachments or techniques, experiences, constraints and philosophies.

Conversation with EVB grads about research in NUS DBS
Mon 08 Dec 2014: 7.00pm – 8.30pm
Sign up here: http://tinyurl.com/dec-chalk

Undergrads should think about and discuss these issues early in your journey. There are few formal opportunities to do this so these graduate students are extending an invitation for you to join them in just such a conversation.

While Darren Yeo (Evo Lab), Ian Chan (Marine Lab) & Jerome Kok (Freshwater Lab) are in the EVB track, this invitation is extended to all undergraduate biologists.

Cheerio!

Sivasothi aka Otterman

NUS Cat Talk 2014 – “Cats in popular culture and our urban environment”

NUS Cat Cafe presents “Cats in popular culture and our urban environment”.

• Rebecca Ho (Lingcat Feline Services), “Cat myths and creating the ideal environment for indoor cat”.
• Samuel Isaac Chua (Cat Cafe Neko no Niwa), “Singapore’s cat cafe scene and the challenges of running one”.
• N. Sivasothi (NUS Dept. Biological Sciences), “Cats: A wild carnivore on our streets”.

Tue 14 Oct 2014: 6.30pm – 8.30pm
@ University Town, Town Plaza, Level 2, Seminar Room 9
Registration is FREE but you must sign up at tinyurl.com/nuscattalk2014.

E-waste recycling & hard disk shredding! NUS U Town, Fri 12 Sep 2014: 10am – 4pm

NUS’ Office of Environment Sustainability is organising an inaugural electronic waste (“e-waste”) recycling drive in NUS on Friday 12 Sep 2014: 10am – 4pm. Anyone can drop off their e-waste at the NUS University Town near the bus stop and if you are driven through, there is a drop-off point at the Stephen Riady Centre.

This e-waste drive ensures your unwanted electronics / electrical equipment and accessories are disposed off in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. Let your friends know. and make good use of this inaugural e-waste recycling drive in NUS.

This free recycling is provided courtesy of Apple.

I see they offer shredding of hard disks, so peace of mind ensured for your data on old hard disks. See OES’ Facebook page for more.

If you are unable to make the date, there is existing e-waste recycling locations in Singapore offered through Funan Digital Mall and Starhub – see details at the NEA webpage.

Don’t give talks on Week 0 – there is module prep!

We are scrambling to get things in order for the start of semester – almost immediately, in first few weeks of semester, some 250 first year students in LSM1103 Biodiversity will head out from Kent Ridge to Bukit Chandu, and 150 (so far) second years will cross over to Pulau Ubin for LSM2251 Ecology, and the Environment.

We need to sort out logistics, transport, safety, student group allocation and introductions, preparation of the TAs and students. We like to randomise student allocations, get them to know each other a little, have the first lecture well coordinated with the practical briefing and what the TAs will say. It will work but we can be relaxed. And it’s best phylogeny updates are all sorted out – the books can’t keep up these days.

It’s really not the time for giving talks.

Yet when the department coordinators asked early in the year, I said, “sure!” unthinkingly. Well, last year’s session was interesting – and these days the diversity of biologists in the department do struggle to understand each other. It is a wide discipline which includes chemists and physicists. The fragments from my undergraduate biology barely help me cope, but its enough for an inking of what our undergrads wrestle with before specialising in environmental biology.

Since it’s just 15 minutes, I thought what harm, and threw “Negelcted Tropical Species” as a title in the bag. It is pretty much what some 50 students and I have been doing this past decade. They want my slides by noon tomorrow but I am the third last speaker in the midst of session 4.

So I’ll think about it tomorrow night – random thoughts will stitch together subconsciously by morning and I will hammer something out at 7am. My students have been agonising over a variety of public talks these past few weeks for NUS, Science Centre Singapore, Nature Society (Singapore), Jane Goodall Singapore and NParks, so they know what its like.

For now, though, its back to module preparations and the National Day Mangrove Cleanup.

How you know the students are gone

When students are gone after exams, those of us left behind in campus get to enjoy the space in canteens at 12pm. And there are other signs that they are gone.

Aerobics at NUS Block S2 stairwell is in order for a month while the lift is fixed. This is a really good thing because this lift has had me call Campus Security at least four times this academic year.

Once I was stuck in the ground floor with no handphone signal and with no power in the lift. Eventually I prised open the lift doors when some people outside happened to do so as well I advised staff I knew on the 5th floor to walk down the stairs in the evenings instead. Yes, time to get this fixed!

Early morning espresso (note not expresso!) coffee at Spineelli’s is still available at the Science Canteen but not later in the afternoon, argh!

Grade free semester in National University of Singapore in AY2014/5

See NUS News:

“NUS will be implementing a grade-free first semester for first-year undergraduates who are on the modular system, starting with the Academic Year (AY) 2014/2015 cohort. This new initiative, announced today, is one of several key changes being made to further enhance the quality of NUS’ education and better prepare its graduates for the evolving nature of work in the future.”

See also the Provost’s Blog.

Semester-end and the Farewell FTTA Amanda Tan party

We had an end of Semester party at the S2-04 office last Friday and the potluck session served as a farewell to Full-time TA Amanda Tan, who will be moving on to MOE.

I am not even sure who organised it, I just added my contribution of pesto pasta to the list on the white board and sorted out postal code woes so that the delivery man would get to me in time.

It was the last day of the Reading Week and a stop work order for safety review was in place in NUS. The sight of the many of us in a room for the first time this semester, was an unusual sight, as was the spread of food.

Squeezing us all into a single shot was a bit of a challenge, but even a selfie was possible once we were clustered. We must make this a regular exercise!

What’s the postal code at our department? Good enough for pesto to find us?

NUS postal codes have never been aligned with the correct building for years. I have used a variety of codes to bring delivery men to the vicinity Science Drive 4 and then to call me to get zeroed in. This is very important for pizza but sometimes pesto too.

Last Thursday night, I emailed my LSM1303 animal behaviour students about their exam next Wednesday. I insert a map link just in case there are location-challenged students and checked a few online maps just in case. I liked how streetdirectory.com highlighted the MPSH5 building in red and with a caption pointed to the building with a “Right Here”.

How satisfying!

As I clicked on buildings, I saw that an address complete with postal code was suggested.

On Friday we had a pot luck for our very first end of semester/farewell party. FTTA Amanda Tan picked pesto from Spizza as my contribution and since their deliverymen might be whonew to our part of campus, I decided to check the 117543 postal code I’ve been using for the past few years. To my surprise it points to Block S16 at Science Drive 1!

So I turned to Street Directory.com and looked for Block S2. After trying a series of six-digit numbers, it was 117557 which was closes and indicate it to be 14 Science Drive 4 which we put on out letter heads. That location actually plots onto the S2 backyard, facing the ridge, but I figured an enterprising delivery man would be able to find me at Level 4 of Block S2.

And lo and behold, the delivery man did indeed turn up at my table!

Well he was slightly flustered after some apparently hopeless wandering. But he turned up at my table! Having fed years of Coastal Cleanup Zone Captains with pizza after our annual cleanups in August and September, I can attest to the fact this has never happened before! He sure did earn his tip.

So the 117557 postal code might not be accurate enough for a drone strike, but it is good enough for pesto!

P.S. Sing Post has a postal code finder (on smart phone too) which validates this address and points it at our backyard. As long as the pesto gets to us.

Job: Full-time Teaching Assistant (FTTA) for Undergraduate Courses for Life Sciences (deadline: 23 May 2014)

Full-time Teaching Assistant (FTTA)
Undergraduate Courses for Life Sciences (Biodiversity and Ecology)
Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore (NUS)
Application Deadline: Friday 23 May 2014
===================================================

The Department of Biological Sciences is inviting applications for the post of Full-Time Teaching Assistant (FTTA) for Life Sciences undergraduate modules, in field of Biodiversity, Ecology and Basic Molecular Biology.

The FTTA will be working as a team with professors and laboratory officers to achieve holistic goals for undergraduate education in NUS. The FTTA must possess familiarity with administration and data management, be digitally competent, be consultative and exhibit leadership with peers, understand undergraduate student issues, be communicative and a team player and be passionate about teaching.

Applicants must read the Selection Criteria carefully and address each of the points stated.
Incomplete applications will not be evaluated.

The specific duties of the FTTA include:

• Teaching undergraduate students in biodiversity, ecology and animal behaviour,
• Manage communication and administrative needs of modules,
• Recruit, train and supervise Part-Time TAs,
• Oversee scheduling of field trips and laboratory practical sessions,
• Undertake and manage all continual assessments (CAs),
• Initiate improvements to management and pedagogy with advice and support from module coordinators.

The appointment will commence in July 2014. This appointment is a one-year contract, and is renewed based on performance.

Selection Criteria

• A Bachelor (Honors) Degree in Life Sciences or in a relevant field, practical related experience is desirable;
• Demonstrated understanding of the department’s research focus and teaching environment;
• Strong interpersonal skills to provide high quality student-focused services;
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative and work independently, prioritizing workload and meeting deadlines with minimal supervision;
• Evidence of experience in the successful supervision of undergraduate and/or postgraduate research students;
• An ability to convey information in both teaching and research in a clear, concise and interesting manner;
• Demonstrated ability to work cooperatively as a member of a team and manage groups at the undergraduate level;
• Experience in administrative processes, with high attention to accuracy and detail;
• Demonstrated skills with the Microsoft Office Suite and Google Docs.

Closing Date: Friday 23 May 2014

Applications are accepted via email only. Applicants must send a cover letter, a note addressing the selection criteria and curriculum vitae stating three referees. Reference letters will be required only after applicants are shortlisted for interview. Send all applications to:

Mr. Laurence Gwee
Department of Biological Sciences
National University of Singapore
Email: laurence@nus.edu.sg

Announcing the Science Communication Symposium 2014 at Singapore Science Centre, Sat 26 Apr 2014: 10am – 4pm

Students from the MSc Science Comm (MW5202) programme at NUS have organised a symposium to showcase their projects about science communication with demo.

This creative and organised group have introduced a superhero theme to their symposium through rapid exchanges over What’s App, GDocs and action on the ground.

Organising a symposium is an important skill to promote science communication. There are fewer competent Organisers than there are science speakers. Putting a symposium together in a short time is thus an important final exercise of the module. And it’s always lovely seeing the feeling of intrigue and smiles on the faces of the audience!

Join them at this fun and interesting event this Saturday, at the Science Centre Singapore.

Meet the superheroes here!

To register, please go to http://tinyurl.com/xscience-registration

And yes, there’s lunch!