Final days of AAS

We had a wonderful time in Arizona. Rob's talk was well received (considering it was finished less than an hour before the presentation time). Doug Keefe did comment on why was Rob giving the talk and not me (since I was listed as first author), Rob started his talk with a joke in that he was third author, he was the least important, and therefore was made to talk by the rest of us. Heh...

The closing reception was held at the Phoenix art museum, which was nice, but had a bit too much "American" art for my taste (I prefer classic religious art). They had a Dutch Masters exhibit running, but it was a pretty small exhibit for an 18 dollar price tag.
About 30 seconds after I took this picture (you can't really tell, but it is a bunch of hanging pieces of charred wood), a security guard came and insisted on searching my bag. I thought he'd tell me I wasn't allowed to take pictures, but then he said a nearby sculpture had been lifted, and they were locking down the museum to try to recover it. Seriously, who steals art? Thankfully, whoever it was, they were caught, and I assume now in BIG trouble.



In addition to the mystery theft, we had the opportunity to meet a very nice researcher from Poland, who was teasing Rob for picking on a young female student at her poster. She told him that he was too critical of her, and he could intimidate her out of continuing her studies. I think she was very frank (which I like, she reminded me of my aunt Anna), and I know Rob appreciated her comments. However, I'm not in total agreement. I worry about how women can be perceived as weak, frail creatures, especially in a time where we are all supposed to be equal. Besides that, I was quite looking forward to tough questions and critiques for my poster. Perhaps this it because I've been trained by Rob, who values this in our training. I have to say that part of presenting my work is looking for ideas that I missed, and this comes from people being extra critical. I feel very lucky to have Rob as my mentor, and I know, especially now, that I will be well prepared for a career in science when I leave IU. Rob has truly taught me the importance and joy of quality research, and of course recruited Kelly into the lab! Way to be the smartest guy around, Rob!
I am also grateful to the program committee of the American Auditory Society and to the NIH for awarding me a Mentored Student Travel Award so that I was able to make this trip.





With that I say goodbye, Arizona! See you next year!!!