A Day in the Life of a Grad Student

After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University in Geological Sciences, Landon K. Burgener continues his studies as a graduate student at BYU. Under the direction of Dr. Summer Rupper, he will research the Accumulation Patterns over West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide, both in the field and within the parameter of satellite images and lab results. Shallow (15 m) ice cores will be collected in conjunction with UHF radar images to confirm that radar echoed returns correspond with annual layers, and/or sub-annual density changes in the near-surface snow, as determined from ice core chemistry and stable isotopes. This project will additionally improve accumulation monitoring from space-borne instruments by comparing the spatial-radar-derived-annual accumulation time series to the passive microwave time series dating back over 3 decades and covering most of Antarctica.

All of that is a fancy (and, if you're like me, incoherent) way of saying that Landon began his graduate studies yesterday, August 30, 2010. What does the life of a graduate student look like, you ask? A little like this:

He has his very own "Grad Cube." We are working on getting it a little more personalized.

He does smart-people things here in the "Climate Dynamics" lab......

 AKA "HOTH"

(This is the walk-in freezer where they will keep all of their Antarctic samples)

I'm so proud of Landon and all of the work I know he's put in to get to this point. He deserves all of the accolades and opportunities he is now receiving. It's exciting to be starting out on the path to what we both know will be a rewarding and exciting career in academics. You can do it bud!