Friday, June 27, 2014

Happy 6th Month Anniversary!

The following is real footage of my telling my husband about my upcoming research adventures! There is some serious science explanation that follows!


Folks back in the US, please console my husband while I am away! Thank you! For the sake of science! Dinoflagellates! and mankind!

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Statement of Purpose & Introduction

Statement of Purpose

 This blog is to serve to document the scientific achievements and fantastic adventures of two teacher-scientists in their work at James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. In their short six-weeks there, these scientists will no doubt accomplish great things, and the Nobel Prize Committee has asked them in advance to log every detail so that future generations may honor these writings as much as Darwin's or Einstein's notebooks. This blog is to be completely serious for the sake of science. No tangents, personal anecdotes, or selfies are allowed to be posted. 

Introduction Part I: Justine, aka Mrs. McClellan

 Hello world. I know you have waited a long time for this moment. I am about to embark on the journey of a lifetime, to hemisphere where never-before-seen (to me) constellations will be seen, and some mammals nurture their embryos in small pouches rather than in their uteri. It is the strange and exotic land of Australia I shall soon encounter. There people speak with a different accent and use words not thought to be in the English language. 

For example, the local word for "redhead" in Australia is "bluey." Why do they call "reds" "blues"? Nobody knows. It is a perplexing mystery that not even the greatest of intellects cannot unravel. 

The continent was shocked and awed by the cascading curls of fantastical American bluey Tiffany May last winter, and this year they are about to experience double the ginger-power with the arrival of Katelin Corbett and myself, Justine McClellan.
Left is Earth Scientist rockstar Tiffany May. Center is phenomenal physicist Katelin Corbett. And right is budding algae expert Justine McClellan. Photo taken at the Partners in Science Conference, San Diego, 2014.
Yes, the Corbett-McClellan team is about to take JCU by storm. Katelin will be doing something highly technical and physics related. I will leave her to explain it, not because I don't understand it, but I just don't want to steal her spotlight or give away the secrets of her ground-breaking research.

As stated in the "Statement of Purpose," this blog is to be completely serious, so all photos and comments, no matter how seemingly inane, have a higher scientific significance. For example, in the photo below, it may appear that I am taking a selfie while dressing up as a pirate. But really the eye-patch is to allow my eye to become dark adjusted so I can better ascertain the color and luminosity of stars while doing astronomy.

Justine McClellan using scientific equipment.
To further show you my seriousness as a scientist. I have photographic evidence taken from research last summer at the cancer genetics lab at Columbia University.

McClellan testing radiation levels.

McClellan demonstrating to students what one should NEVER do in a lab.

McClellan testing the safety equipment to ensure the safety of her colleagues.

As you can see, I follow the highest standards of safety and work ethics, and have even sacrificed my own health for the sake of my colleagues. And I sacrifice my hair and good-looks to convey scientific concepts to my students, as shown below:


Finally, this blog would not be possible without the letter "J." No, not Justine, but Jay Dubner, who is the hidden evil mastermind who secures the funding to send fair-skinned blueys to the place on Earth with the highest rates of melanoma. Thank you Jay for continuing the legacy for another year and allowing Katelin and I to share our gifts with the Southern Hemisphere.