Post #19 gearing up for AGU 2017 Fall Meeting: New Orleans

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting is in New Orleans, Louisiana this December. This is a change because typically it is in San Francisco, California. The Moscone Center (the conference complex that holds the 25,000 scientists for the meeting) is under construction, so AGU had to find somewhere else.

This December we are in NOLA, and next year we are in Washington, DC. AGU has had meetings in NOLA before, but after so many years at the Moscone Center in San Fran, it will be interesting to see how, and if, the conference has a different feeling in NOLA.

What is good about all the destinations for AGU is that I have been to all of them in a non-conference capability, albeit had been 5 years between my first time in San Fran to my first Fall Meeting in San Fran. I went to NOLA for Easter 2016, so I am familiar with the area. Washington, DC has been my home for the past 5 years at this point, so it's safe to say I know where I am going.

Enough about the past and future meetings, this is about gearing up for #AGU17. Abstracts were due on August 2nd, I got mine in before then, but there is a lot of work to get done before December.

My topic is generally the topic I have been focused on since early last year, see Post #3 and others scattered. More FTE analysis and more cold ion analysis. I can't share too much on this topic, but I will post a more comprehensive post on AGU after it happens.

Post #4 Well... At least I am writing something

Fact: I am procrastinating.

GT: I have plenty of material to write my first first-author paper. No more discovery necessary.

I was about to Google "tricks to sit down and write". I would predict that the first tip would be:

#1 Get off the internet and start writing!

I am not going to search for that list though. I am going to write here and hope that just the act of writing something, anything, gets me motivated to work on my paper. I have started it. I wrote up a very rough draft of the previous work. That was written over a month ago though. My outline looks great (Fig. 1). I have even listed the authors and written up some of the reference I know I will be citing. 

Fig. 1 My outline

So looking at the list, I know I know all of it. I've gone as far as to think that I should use voice to text, just so I can get it out of my head and on to paper. Once I do that all that is left is editing, albeit A LOT of editing, but hey, that is what my coauthors are for.

Fact: This isn't helping.

PTM: I will get this done, and by this time next week I will laugh at myself and this blog, because I will have successfully written a working draft of my first first-author paper. 

GT: The weather has continued to be fall like, which is AWESOME!! 

I have been not only making good progress (at least research and education related progress) at work, I am nearly finished with my Halloween costume. Seeing as it took me >2 weeks to write this post after Post #3, Post #5 will include a picture of me in my costume. I am excited about it, and I have high hopes that people are going to like it (Fig. 2). 

Fig. 2 Not Telling

I suppose I should also put in a follow up to my follow up from Post #3: At this point, 13:31 EDT 10-14-16, I have completed the runs up to, and including, Week 7 Day 1 of C25K by Zen Labs. Wednesday's run was a 5-min warm up walk, followed by 25 minutes of running, no walking!! I had moments of doubt before and during, but I did it. I am also 5 runs away from completing the 8 week program. So...

PTM: Post #5 will also include a follow up to this follow up, saying that I graduated the Couch to 5k running program. 

Fact: I run for health, not weightloss, to be clear, this isn't a physical transformation blog.

FPI is still wowing the scientists as we progress through Phase 1B. I haven't picked any new data yet, but it is still early. I won't get nervous until mid-November. Though, even if I do get nervous, you won't read it. This is a positive thinking blog! 

Positivity in, Positivity out.

Post #3 You is kind. You is smart. You is important.

Fact: I am smart.

Yes, it may not be grammatically correct (though that could be said for some of my blog posts) but it is certainly a good message. For those of you who don't know, the title is from the book The Help. It is a good quote to recall when I am feeling down. Here I am, four years into my graduate school career, thinking how I got here. 

Fig. 1 Al had it right.

PTM: I got here because I am smart! 

I was eating lunch with a classmate and we both agreed that in physics graduate school you shouldn't waste time thinking you are not smart. I should not waste time thinking I am not smart, I got this far. I passed my comprehensive exams. I am smart! 

I have to work a bit harder because my plasma knowledge was non existent a year and a half ago; plus I am not as math savvy as some of my peers. I am working though.

PTM: I will get there. 

Fig. 2

In other news, in roughly three hours the MMS team will be able to look at the first FPI data for Phase 1B. I am excited about it because I am on the hunt for more events that are like the ones I have already been working on, but better and actually get them down off the spacecraft in burst mode. Below (Fig. 3) is an example of one of my events. 

Fact: I am only a year and four months into my research.

SubFact: I have only been doing active research since January.

So far I know that these cooler ion beams that you can see clearly on the left and right sides of the bottom plot are not often looked at. As of now they don't appear to be located near a reconnection site, or at least not near enough for the majority of plasma scientists to care. I care. I care because these ions are looking to have origins at the earth. A couple questions arise with this, 1) How did they end up out near the magnetopause if they are from the earth's upper atmosphere? 2) Once out at the magnetopause are they effecting their surroundings? There are more questions but these two are a good start.

Fig. 3 Fast (4.5 s) vs. Burst (150 ms) data from MMS

GT: It appears to be officially Fall in the DC metro area (Fig. 4). As a follow up to last post's GT, I am done with Week 4 of c25k and will be starting Week 5 tonight! 

Fig. 4 Temperature-wise anyway

Post #1 Start positive. Stay positive.

Fact: I am in LA this week for the first public Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission Science Working Team (SWT) meeting.

This meeting is a chance for those working on the teams to interact with scientists that are using the MMS data, which went public back on March 1st. 6 months people have been working with the Phase 1a data. (Phase 1a was MMS's first dayside past of the Earth's magnetopause [Fig. 1]. Phase 1b, MMS's second pass of the dayside, starts on September 26th)

Fig. 1 MMS orbit plot for Dec. 1, 2015. The Sun is to the left,.

Fact: I gave a 12 minute presentation on the cold ions that appeared on the leading and trailing edge of an apparent flux transfer event (FTE).

This was my first talk given in a public setting. I have given talks to the greater Fast Plasma Investigation (FPI) team via telecon. This was for sure different. I was nervous, as per usual, but I wasn't ripped to shreds. Then again, I wasn't even poked. No questions or comments from the peanut gallery.

Positive Thinking Moment (PTM): They were stunned silent by my awesome presenting skills, [Fig. 2].

Fig. 2 This might be a bit dramatic

I have found that in the course of my graduate school career I have had moments of absolute dread. The moments where it is hard to believe that I am going to make it out alive.

Fact: The goal of this blog is to focus on the good things and keep my mindset positive [Fig. 3].

Good Thing (GT): LA really does have beautiful weather.
It has been the mid to upper 70s all week, with sunny skies. I wouldn't say this trip is making me a "LA Devotee" but I am enjoying the break from East Coast humidity.

Fig. 3 Idea courtesy of my friend, Lo.