31 August 2014

I am thrilled to announce that I have started a new lab at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) since August 1, 2014. My lab is located in the Department of Animal Science on the East Campus. My brand new furniture has delivered to my office on the 26th. Along with my triple monitor iMac, I’m now equipped with minimal items I need to get my lab up and running. I thought it would be a good idea to reflect upon what I have done each month, so I decided to take the time to chronicle my life on the tenure-track. Thereby, here is my first monthly report.

I have spent a month as an Assistant Professor getting involved in a slew of things I have never experienced before: setting up my own lab, exchanging email correspondence with students who expressed interest in joining my group, and attending a monthly faculty meeting. Indeed, the transition from graduate student to tenure-track faculty is a big change.

I already traveled to two places this month. I made a one day visit to the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) on the 12th of August by accompanying my colleague and his student. I had one-on-one or two-on-one meetings with research geneticists including Drs. Pollak, Snelling, Keele, Thallman, Rohrer, Nonneman, Kuehn, and Bennett. The other one was the 10th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production (WCGALP) which took place in Vancouver from the 17th to 22nd of August. This was my second in total and my first animal genetics conference I have ever joined. Introducing myself to new people as much as I can was on the top of my to-do list and I also enjoyed catching up with my old friends. I would like to thank the Gordon Dickerson fund ($1500) for supporting my travel to Vancouver.

I took an introductory training session for new hires hosted by CASNR on Wednesday, August 13. In this workshop, I was acquainted with the electronic tools used within UNL such as MyRED, MyPLAN, WebNow, and MyDegreeAudit. I also visited the Parking & Transit Services office and the Benefits Office on the City Campus to get some paperwork done. I had my official faculty profile photograph taken by University Photography Services at Nebraska Hall on the 27th. Unfortunately, I was not able to participate in the New Faculty Orientation hosted by the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs on Wednesday, August 20 because I was joining the WCGALP.

Many things were going on during my first month at UNL and I would not been able to survive without Google Calendar and Remember The Milk! Last but not least, my first payday on the 29th saved my life as I was earning zilch since I finished my Ph.D. three months ago. My tenure clock has started ticking and I am excited to dive into this new challenge.



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