Amanda Patrick

A lot depends on specific residence/person, but general things include:

Shower caddy, trash bags & basic cleaning supplies (Swiffer + Clorox wipes), easy-to-carry laundry basket, earplugs, basic meds/first aid (pain, cold, bandaids, etc.), flashlight & portable phone power bank, snacks.

Long, short brown (kind of sable) dog with floppy ears, a broad head and a fluffy, curly tail "smiling" at the camera.

Super adorable little tan pit bull. She has bright eyes, cropped ears, and lots of wrinkles. Almost looks like a little cartoon dog, but she's real!

Gorgeous black lab lays in a kiddie pool full of water, resting her chin on the rim of the pool.

Little black pitbull stands, looking at the camera. He has the biggest, goofiest ears. One sticks up and then flops over and the other sticks up nearly completely with only the very tip flipping a bit.

So many great dogs at the shelter today! #DogsOfBlueSky #RescuePups

Are you an early-career biologist or ecologist who would benefit from an invited seminar? Would you like to come to UMaine next fall or spring to give a talk? Leave a brief comment with some info about what you do. I'm co-hosting our seminar series again, and am filling out our rosters.

Cultural anthropology freshman year led to an anthro minor and related coursework (such as Latin American history) for me. Definitely enriched my experience in college and helped shape my outlook.

Though relief is on the horizon, HeatRisk will still be in the Major and Extreme category for the next few days for broad swaths of the eastern portions of the nation. If you're not inside in AC, make sure to hydrate well and take frequent breaks in the shade. Heat illness can sneak up on you.

Dragonfly up close. Green and black face/eyes and dusky blue body. Wings partially visible. Denim visible in background.

Same dragonfly from the side, with a green foliage blurred background.

Dragonfly pics from this morning’s walk!

To paraphrase current speaker:

Industry cannot "pick up the slack" in funding science and science training. The government should have a vested interest to maintain national competitiveness.

Smaller class sizes (where oral & in-person exams and discussions are possible) and authentic experiences (research, lab practicals, internships) seem to be pretty straightforward! 🥽

Discussion on AI cheating/misuse challenges to higher education and a review of the insufficiency of technological solutions to combat it.

Perhaps that's because a human solution is what is needed.
🥽

Lots of new perspectives gained yesterday. Looking forward to Day 2!

There's definitely a fine line between improving prof. dev. and balancing overall workload and building core technical competencies required by the graduate-level degree.

Good points raised about the need for cultural shifts around professional development in graduate school. If professional development is seen as antagonistic to research/programmatic success, opportunities won't be embraced. Important to work toward getting various stakeholders on the same page.

Need for positively incentivizing mentoring & teaching better brought up in the Q&A.

Behavior is driven by reward structures!

Screenshot of the NASEM "Reimagining STEMM Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Career Development: A Summit" intro slide for virtual attendees.

Excited for some interesting conversations around STEM graduate education! 🧪🥽

Several 4-petal, pinkish-purple flowers.

White flowers with yellow in the middle. Lake in the background.

A single purple flower

tiny clusters of purple flowers on long stems. Lake in the background, with a rocky shore.

Mississippi wildflowers from this morning's walk! #BloomScrolling #Wildflowers

So pretty!

Blue heeler lays in a kiddie pool.

Blue pit splashing about in a kiddie pool.

Blue pit standing in kiddie pool, looking at the camera.

It's very hot out, so some of the pups enjoyed a nice cool pool!

Blue heeler with black and tan head stands facing the camera with tongue out.

Blue pit bull very close up (as he sniffs the camera).

White dog with black around his eyes is near the camera and a smaller black dog with white chest sits further back. Both have their tongues lolling out.

A blue pit bull with white chest sits and "smiles" for the camera.

Today's shelter pups! #DogsOfBlueSky

Some interesting discussions this week about mid-career mentoring of post-promotion faculty. I would love to see some similar initiatives at my institution!

#SparkBYN

Compact little pocket pic sits and looks at the camera. He is gray with a white face and has big ears that stick up then flip over at the tip.

Bruno the shelter pup is too cute! He’s a compact little ball of muscle. #DogsOfBlueSky #ShelterDogs

Thank you! It's really pretty!

A big fuzzy bee on a stalk of purple flowers.

Two big fuzzy bees on a stalk of purple flowers.

A closeup of a big fuzzy bee on purple flowers.

So many bees on this flowering plant on campus!

#BloomScrolling

Sure! I've enjoyed these!

(and apparently copy/pasting from LinkedIn made me look silly saying "hashtag" before the hashtag, lol)

SPARK: Building Your Network 2025 Welcome to the fifth annual summer SPARK program, Building Your Network: Mentors, Coaches, and Sponsors for Faculty Success. This year NC State will embark on a partnership with Georgia Tech to provid...

PS: You can still sign up if you want to follow along with hashtag #SparkBYN
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

"No matter what stage we are in a career, we are looking for people who can help us understand...how to uncover the hidden agenda and rules of each level of a career."

#SparkBYN

First-gen students, speaking from my own experience, I know how overwhelming and frustrating it can be when your first career choice doesn’t fulfill your whole self. Just know — it’s completely okay to change direction as you discover paths you never knew existed. #FirstGen

Blue heeler dog, wearing a hi-vis bandana lays in the grass with a firey sunset in the background.

Pretty sky on the evening walk! #AustralianCattleDog #DogsOfBlueSky

(Written as I slog through a peer review...manually.)

Couldn't read the article for the pay wall, but my gut reaction:
1) Dislike AI for peer review (also for writing, editing, art, etc.).
2) This is an attempt to circumvent critical review and seems integrity-violation-esque to me.
3) If you wanted to "catch AI" you would ask for a smoking gun.

A large cream-colored dog with a toy in his mouth runs full stride past the camera.

A fawn-colored dog sits in a person's lap and looks at the camera. She is wearing a red and white chevron patterned collar.

A black dog with a white chest is trotting past the camera with a plush toy in his mouth. He has floppy ears and the wrinkliest of foreheads.

This week's shelter pups enjoying time out of their kennels! #ShelterDogs #RescueDogs