DIALOG: Fostering Early Career Development Across the Aquatic Sciences

Abstract

A total of 447 dissertation abstracts were received for the DIALOG V Program, with 146 individuals applying for the DIALOG V Symposium; 47 were invited and 45 have accepted. This represents a significant increase compared to the DIALOG IV Program in which 221 abstracts were registered and 124 applied for the symposium. The importance of the dissertation registration service is indicated by the increasing number of individuals who take time to register their dissertation even when they are not interested in applying to the symposium. The number of visits to the webpage has also increased significantly over the years. This also reflects graduate interest in being part of the on-line Dissertation Registry and receiving the weekly electronic DIALOG Newsletter. See http://aslo.org/phd.html for details. The DIALOG symposium reaches approximately 40 new PI's at a pivotal point in their research careers. Based on their comments, the symposium changes the way participants think, communicate, and approach their research. The science community and the general population will benefit from the perspectives these new PI's bring back to their home institutions and share with their students and colleagues. This group should act as a catalyst to move the entire field in exciting new, interdisciplinary directions.more » To reach more graduates, plans are underway to establish the symposium on an annual basis. By facilitating the development of close collegial ties, symposium participants come away with a network of colleagues from around the globe with interests in aquatic science research and education. Past participants are collaborating on research proposals, and all have noted that participation has enabled them to develop a more interdisciplinary view of their field, influencing the way they interpret, communicate, and approacli their research. The dissertation registry provides a unique introduction to the work of this most recent generation of aquatic scientists. Each year increasing numbers of graduates take advantage of the opportunity to be part of this international collection, and more scientists, employers and administrators use this resource to identify recent graduates and get an overview of their work. Dissertation abstracts are submitted on line and immediately posted on the ASLO web site in a format that can be searched by year, name, and key words (www.aslo.org/phd.html). In addition to the recognition, program participants receive a compilation of abstracts, a directory, and a demographic profile of their cohort. An electronic distribution list keeps recent grads informed about job opportunities, resources, recent advances across the aquatic sciences, and-other research and professional news. Finally, the interdisciplinary symposium offers a unique opportunity for grads to get to know each other and share common experiences, and address the challenges and opportunities facing new professionals. The DIALOG Program is a long-term investment in human resources and science infrastructure. The most interesting and important questions in aquatic and other sciences are increasingly interdisciplinary and this program brings together scientists from across the full spectrum of biologically relevant aquatic science. The DIALOG database will become increasingly useful as more graduates participate. While the full impact of the program will probably not be realized for many years, there have already been many tangible results. Several interdisciplinary (including some international) research collaborations have been started; an international student exchange program has been set up at two institutions; several workshops and meeting sessions have been organized; and the entire group continues to communicate about research, education, and science policy issues via an electronic distribution list. The goal of the DIALOG symposium is to foster cross-disciplinary and international understanding and interactions at an early career stage, so that interdisciplinary perspectives and collegial relationships can build over a full professional lifetime. Participants come from a variety of institutions, including some of the most innovative and productive aquatic research programs in the world. The international mix provides valuable insight into the research strengths and concerns in different parts of the globe. Unlike so many professional conferences where multiple concurrent sessions force us to attend narrow sessions on select topics, the DIALOG symposium affords the lUXury of listening without distraction to a diverse array of topics, to look for relationships and develop a broader context for their work.« less