I'd never experienced a dissertation defense until today.
To be honest, I'd never had much interest in them - figuring they'd be full of technical or discipline-specific jargon so that I'd be sure to be lost in the first few minutes.
Today's observation changed my mind.
I can't remember (or find) the specific title of the dissertation, however, it was on the toxicity levels of TTX in rough-skinned newt eggs and something about coevolution of traits.
That this presentation, which lasted about an hour, was the culmination of 5 years of study and lab work simply blew my mind.
Now I'm all hyped up on attending dissertation defenses so I can learn, but also to see what interests people and to be amazed at their dedication to one particular research question. I don't know if I could ever pursue something like doctoral students do, but it's inspiring nonetheless to see students achieve something so great.
Congrats on a job well done, Liz!
1 comment:
In the comp sci dept at Taylor you have to do something similar to a dissertation defense. It's required before they let you graduate. We just had to present our senior project and stuff, and then the department grilled us on questions about all the classes we had taken over the past 4 years. It was a good experience.
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