9 August, 2002

Good evening, my friends. Today began with a lively discussion 
about the somewhat daunting long-term mentoring process. Our 
supervisors, Deb Meese and Stephanie Shipp, assured us that 140 hours 
of mentoring was indeed a serious requirement. True, we had read about 
the required work previously, but it may only be sinking in today. 
Fortunately, the 12 new (and ever resourceful) TEAs developed some 
wonderful ideas for long-term mentoring. I have become truly 
impressed by my colleagues this week. Each has brought much talent, 
initiative and a wide variety of experiences to the program. In a 
way, I wish that we could embark on a polar project together. And 
speaking of projects...


Geoscientist Nancy Chabot spoke to us this morning regarding her 
work with ANSMET, the Antarctic Search for Meteorites. Her talk was 
quite informative and interesting, but what struck me most was the 
elegant simplicity of the search techniques. More impressive was 
the extent to which humans can perform the searches more effectively 
than robots. I was also really surprised by the relative youth of 
the lunar and Martian search and identification program. Perhaps 
because I have read about these dated meteorites in astronomy texts, 
most recently the handful of Martian specimens, I assumed that the 
research was much older. Another myth dissolved.


During the afternoon, we ahd an enlightening discussion on arctic 
culture by Nick Flanders, an arctic cultural anthropologist who has 
spent much time in Alaska. I must admit, his description of Arctic 
peoples was mesmerizing - a future home, perhaps? Don't think I can 
convince my wife.


In addition, TEA veteran Ethan Forbes presented his own research 
in Wales, Alaska, a mere hop, skip and 50 mile jump from Siberia! 
Ethan also discussed hard lessons learned, both cultural and with 
his PI.