I hope you enjoyed a productive and relaxing summer. I managed to publish a research paper or two, have a couple of new grants funded, and still make time for some serious hiking—which was terrific. Now it’s back to the real world with classes to teach, seminars to engage, experiments to plan, qualifying exams to study for, breakthroughs to realize, manuscripts to finish, and hoods to don! In case you missed it, I wanted to mention to you the Dissertation Writer’s Room in Doe Library that we set up over the summer. This is a collaborative project with Tom Leonard, the University Librarian, and the staff of the Graduate Student Services offices there at Doe. It’s intended to be a studious space where you can focus on taming that wild beast that will one day be known as your dissertation. Also, in case you are a new student and missed the New Graduate Student Orientation, I wanted to mention two points I made. First is to suggest that you should take responsibility for your own preparations in case of an earthquake, fire or other disaster – I’m serious. There is a great web site run by the Berkeley’s city government. Have a look, and do the right thing! The second point I made at the orientation was to think twice before buying a car. I do without one, and make use of AC Transit, or BART or use car sharing when I really need a car. What is car sharing? You can learn about it here; the campus has special deals with a number of outfits, including the non-profit I make use of. So, that should catch you up on useful tips for the start of the semester. I wish you the best in your research, teaching and course work. Best, Andrew J. Szeri Dean of the Graduate Division
I hope you enjoyed a productive and relaxing summer. I managed to publish a research paper or two, have a couple of new grants funded, and still make time for some serious hiking—which was terrific. Now it’s back to the real world with classes to teach, seminars to engage, experiments to plan, qualifying exams to study for, breakthroughs to realize, manuscripts to finish, and hoods to don! In case you missed it, I wanted to mention to you the Dissertation Writer’s Room in Doe Library that we set up over the summer. This is a collaborative project with Tom Leonard, the University Librarian, and the staff of the Graduate Student Services offices there at Doe. It’s intended to be a studious space where you can focus on taming that wild beast that will one day be known as your dissertation. Also, in case you are a new student and missed the New Graduate Student Orientation, I wanted to mention two points I made. First is to suggest that you should take responsibility for your own preparations in case of an earthquake, fire or other disaster – I’m serious. There is a great web site run by the Berkeley’s city government. Have a look, and do the right thing! The second point I made at the orientation was to think twice before buying a car. I do without one, and make use of AC Transit, or BART or use car sharing when I really need a car. What is car sharing? You can learn about it here; the campus has special deals with a number of outfits, including the non-profit I make use of. So, that should catch you up on useful tips for the start of the semester. I wish you the best in your research, teaching and course work. Best, Andrew J. Szeri Dean of the Graduate Division