31 December 2014

As 2014 draws to a close, it is a time for reflection on what I have accomplished since I started at UNL and where I would like to see things go in 2015.
While I am still mentally processing the experiences, my research did not go exactly as I envisioned because I had to navigate a million new things. This is also confirmed by the reduction in the number of journal papers I read. According to my log, I used to read 17 articles per month on average in both 2012 and 2013, whereas the number drastically dropped to 7 in 2014. This obviously suggests that I have spent a large amount of my time on non-research activities. I have to move all ongoing work to my second semester To-Do list. I wish to allocate more time on reading papers, preparing for teaching materials, and conducting research. That being said, I am proud to mention that at least I was able to get this review article published during my turbulent first semester.

Regarding professional development accomplishments, I have successfully completed 2014 Just in Time Teaching (JiTT) workshop, a series of the biweekly meetings on Wednesdays between 11:30am and 1pm in the Brace Hall. This teaching workshop enabled me to be aware of a great amount of resources available to implement active learning.

On a personal note, my H-1B visa application has been approved by USCIS. This process was a no-brainer for me because my department took care of everything. All I had to do was to provide documents they requested. Over the last two weeks of December I was visiting Japan to obtain an H-1B visa sticker at the US Embassy in Tokyo. This trip gave me leeway to relax and allow myself to decompress after the end of busy 2014 period. I worked over the Pacific Ocean until before Christmas day to ease my load in the coming year and then took some time away from the desk to catch up with my friends and family.

2014 YEARLY SUMMARY STATEMENT

The followings are my accomplishments between August 1 2014 and December 31 2014.

  • started my own research group at UNL as a PI
  • engaged and interacted with potential graduate students over emails and Skype
  • published a review article in Frontiers in Genetics. This is my first paper from UNL
  • co-authored research article has been accepted in Journal of Animal Breeding & Genetics (In press). This is my second paper with my new affiliation
  • delivered an invited research presentation at a company in Hendersonville, Tennessee
  • submitted my first internal grant proposal (Layman Awards)
  • participated in Fall 2014 ARISE Professional Development Program (Just in Time Teaching)
  • wrote monthly reports of my lab from August to December


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