Professional Plans:
The Fulbright grant begins in February or March of 2018, and lasts for nine months. Following the grant period, I would like to give myself as much freedom as possible in discerning the next professional and life move. Accordingly there are a couple things I would like to accomplish before I leave:
1. Complete my "Comprehensive Exam": this is another PhD checkpoint in which the student lays out research plans and hypotheses for the remainder of the degree. Completing this step would open the door for finishing my degree remotely (e.g. Patagonia, western slope of Colorado, Minnesota?)
2. Publish a paper: I have spent much of the last year building a powerful predictive tool that can be used to answer many different geophysical questions. Hari and I will soon be at the point of addressing some of these questions in a paper. Writing a paper would constitute the ultimate freedom move -- armed with a publication and a Fulbright, I would be unstoppable!
3. Prepare for the Fulbright: Unfortunately the grant does not pay for research expenditures. I will be spending some time in the next year applying for additional funding to pay for a weather station, data-loggers, and a Microsoft surface. In addition, I will be working on visas, paperwork, research permits etc.
If these things can be accomplished prior to December 2017, I hope to defer research funding from that point onward and spend the winter in Crested Butte, Squaw Valley, Whistler, or another epic ski destination. Quit your job and join me!
Friends & Family Plans:
The primary constraints:
- I am taking an evening class Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays in June that will provide me with another useful modeling tool that I can share with the Chileans. Sadly, I'll have to miss the family East Coast adventure!
- Field activities and workshops in July mean that I will remain tied to Colorado, but very available for a visit!
- Weddings in late August and October mean that I will likely make trips to Minnesota during those times... autumn BWCA adventure?
- As noted above, I would love to spend the winter in the snow shredding rad gnar with the homies every day. This is contingent upon completing my academic goals for the year.
What I am hoping to communicate here is that there are many things I hope to accomplish before I leave! But more importantly, that I want to maximize my time with y'all before leaving the country! These are definitely my last months at Chrysalis, and perhaps the last in Colorado.
