NSF Comes A-Visiting

The NSF site visit was the highlight of the week.

One of the most impressive aspects of the NSF site visit was the intense interest the visitors had in evaluating the student experience at the center. They were interested in "big picture" issues, particularly whether we understand the role of our research in the center's goal, and how what we are doing here fits into our overall career plans. The lunch was full of questions and they were close listeners; obviously student feedback was important to them.

I particularly enjoyed watching the presentations. They were valuable in several ways. First, it was interesting to see how the CMOP "culture" is reflected in the slides. Many presentations contained a great number of visual elements and very few slides were solely bullet points. Second, the manner in which each presenter organized his or her talk was interesting. The most successful presentations focused on how their research meets the Center's initiatives. Third, listening to speakers respond to questions was educational. The questions themselves were sometimes a little tricky. Observing how presenters navigated potential pitfalls was my favorite part of each talk (and, probably each presenter's least favorite).

After watching the presentations, I have a better idea of how my project fits into CMOP's overall objectives. As an OBSERVATION and PREDICTION center for the coastal margin, observing and predicting changes in lamprey habitat opportunity caused by climate change and altered dam operations is an important part of understanding how the estuary and river system responds. Because Pacific lamprey require certain temperature, depth, velocity, salinity, water quality and sediment deposits to support the various stages of their life cycles, they can be thought of as a coal miner's canary for a changing system. Additionally, my project is a direct example of CMOP's knowledge transfer initiative. The collaboration between CMOP and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) is a conduit through which the Center's knowledge is able to flow into the community and benefit the region overall.

It was an honor to meet the NSF visitors and I was impressed by their knowledge and dedication. Thanks, CMOP, for the wonderful opportunity!