Brooke Fitzwater, PhD (she/her) 🐟🪱🏳️‍🌈♾️

Graduate Students’ NSF Fellowship Applications Are Being “Returned Without Review” - Eos Graduate students applying for NSF funding have had their applications returned without review—even though their proposed research appears to fall squarely within the fields of study outlined in the p...

Students applying for NSF funding are having their applications “returned without review” for being “ineligible,” despite their proposed research falling squarely within the application guidelines. eos.org/research-and...

FISH PEOPLE! Anyone know if Bay pipefish (Syngnathus leptorhynchus) exhibit any clear sexual dimorphism between males and females? Do females have ornaments? I'm having troubling finding this info in the primary literature.

Yesterday, five-year-old Liam and his dad Adrian were released from Dilley detention center. I picked them up last night and escorted them back to Minnesota this morning.

Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack.

A bowfin (fish) closeup in an aquarium. It appears to have a concerned expression on its face. Probably because Minnesota is currently occupied and there’s a lot of other crazy stuff happening.

Empathetic Bowfin asks “How are you doing?”

If you are a student whose NSF GRFP application was returned without review for vague 'eligibility' reasons:
1) Let your department chair & Graduate School know. Encourage them to contact NSF & congress
2) Write to your congressional reps.
3) Write to grfp@nsf.gov to request re-consideration;

I was told I slighty mispronounced "humuhumunukunukuapua'a" BUT it's a cool fish you should know about! #LetsChangeThat

Visual stories | Georgia Fort | Saint Paul Emmy Nominated Independent Journalist Georgia Fort is Changing the Narrative through Visual stories about race & culture that build equity.

They also arrested Minnesota independent journalist Georgia Fort.

www.georgiafort.com

Georgia Fort, an independent journalist and vice president of the Minnesota NABJ chapter, was also arrested by federal agents this morning

I was sent this video of agents at her door:

Look at this semiterrestrial #freshwater #crab! 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘪 is a newly described species from Tapah Hills in Peninsular Malaysia. See what makes it different from 𝘎. 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘦 and 𝘎. 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘢: doi.org/10.3897/zook...

#newspecies #biodiversity

They are kidnapping young children and murdering citizens in the street in broad daylight and lying to us when we can see what they are doing. This will be in textbooks and generations from now will ask us what we stood for. 🖕🧊

Josie Albertson-Grove Bystanders say man shot by federal agent in south Minneapolis this morning A large presence of federal immigration agents is at 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue where witnesses say a man was shot this morning. Scanner reports indicate a man was shot several times in the chest and has been taken to the hospital. Minneapolis Police Department officers are also on the scene there keeping more than 100 observers and protesters separated from the agents. An ambulance has left after CPR was seen being performed on the man

We have a masked death squad wandering our neighborhoods seemingly accountable to nobody but the President

Abolishing ICE doesn't go far enough.

Film photograph of Ophelia sneezing, there is a unique pattern of light behind her

I tried to get a pretty photo of Ophelia... Ophelia had other plans.

I’m getting married! Want to honor us? Here are some great charities you can donate to. Some, as they say, personal news: I’m getting married! I’d love to use this happy occassion to spread good news around. To that end, if you’re so inclined to make a donation &#822…

Folks, I'm getting married! Next weekend!

I'd love to spead the good news around. Here's a list of science, conservation, and education charities I love, and instructions on how to donate in our honor if you're so moved.

Please share!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry not sorry.

Gars and Minnesotans WILL outlast ICE👍

*sound, on NSFW
🎥remixed from TJ Jaskowski

Meet these wide-ranging cuties, the Snailfish! #LetsChangeThat

Colorful illustration of some sea creatures. Featured are mako shark, whale shark, sea bunny, sea turtle, manta ray, garden eels, seal, moon jelly, and hermit crab. Colors used are mainly shades of blue, pink, and white.

By the reef 🦈🐟🪸🪼
#art #sharks #jellyfish #seabunny

The key is not whether they do science outreach (not everyone has the gift or know-how), but whether they appreciate and value its place in science.

Also a sneaky one - Ask the PI what their opinion is on outreach. To me, their response tells me a lot about how they operate, how they think about science, the general public, and people in general.

Cost of living is also really important - again, you could have the coolest project in the world but if you are struggling to make ends meet, it could be a difficult experience.

Ask if they have tenure! I know students who had to Master out or transition elsewhere because the PI did not get tenure. Joining someone's lab who does not yet have tenure can be awesome for a variety of reasons, but it could also be bad for a variety of reasons. Weigh those pros and cons.

ASK ABOUT FUNDING. ALL FUNDING. Ask how your tuition and stipend would be paid, ask about how your research would be paid for. You SHOULD apply for some grants to gain experience, but if you need to provide all funding, huge red flag. If they dodge funding questions, also red flag.

if they feel supported, how quickly the get edits back, their attitude towards undergrads (if they are unkind to or don't like undergrads, red flag), and if they feel safe around their advisor alone. Ask if they feel like they can ask "stupid questions."

Your relationship with your advisor matters more than how cool the project is. Ask about the advisor's mentoring style, editing turnaround time, opinion on collaborations, and grad student expectations up front. Ask the grad students if the PI is respectful towards their students, (cont)

In this species, males can sometimes have asymmetrical arm like this, with one much larger than the other. This is actually the first time I have ever seen it!

None of the guidebooks I own show a photo of this condition, so if my ID is correct, I think this might be a pretty rare shot 🦐✨

Because I love cowries and their mantles,
I’ll keep creating the “Cowrie Before & After photobook.” 📖´-

A plea from an editor:

postdocs & grad students who want to review manuscripts, please (!) have an online presence with your current email. I try to solicit reviews from ECRs, but we all move a lot, and it's hard to know if we'll be able to reach you at the email address on your last paper 🧪🌍

Not an alien, they have been around here for awhile: Crinoids! #LetsChangeThat

Moss covered rocks with a tree base to the left

Rocks covered in moss

Tall pines with fog behind them

A trail leading into tall pines with fog behind them