HackDartmouth 2015

This interesting email came in today and I’d like to encourage any undergrad to attend!

On April 11-12 (the second weekend of spring term), Dartmouth will be hosting its inaugural student-run hackathon! HackDartmouth is a 24-hour event where you’ll get the chance to build cool software and hardware projects, meet engineers and recruiters from companies like Google, Ionic Security, and Palantir, and get tons of free gear. We’ll have a whole host of events lined up for the weekend and loads of awesome prizes! All food and snacks are provided as well.

Register now and check out our website at www.hackdartmouth.io. Feel free to reach out to DartmouthHackathon@gmail.com if you have any questions or ideas or would like to help out with the event.

Polish your skills before the big day with the following resources:

Lynda — short video tutorials on topics such as 3D Animation, Audio, Business, Design, Home Computing, Photography, Video, Web + Interactive, etc.
Safari Books Online — latest books in technology, digital media, and business books and videos.
Git/GitHub — learn how to use it for codesharing.

Email me if you need help with finding something more specific!

Filed under: Astronomy, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth Sciences, For Fun, Math, Physics, Science

Mathematica and Wolfram Alpha Pro

If you haven’t yet heard, Dartmouth has a site license to Mathematica 10 and Wolfram Alpha Pro (supported by ITS)! I attended a demo two weeks ago and there are a number of cool new features in the new Mathematica, including integration with the Cloud.

Download the software here. For reference, my Macbook needed about 5G of space and an hour for installation.
Explore Wolfram Alpha and check out the Demonstrations Project!
You can even embed graphics/code with the file format CDF.

Filed under: Astronomy, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth Sciences, Math, Physics, Research, Tech Tips

Open Access Week 2014

Learn about new tools and opportunities during Open Access Week with information tables and workshops around campus all week long!

	Mon 10/20	Tues 10/21	Wed 10/22	Thurs 10/23	Fri 10/24
Info Tables	Open Source Thayer MacLean Atrium 10:30am-12:30pm	Open Arts Baker Library Main Hall 2-4pm	Open Data Fairchild Tower Pendulum 10:30am-12:30pm	Open Science LSC Gallery 9-11am	Open Education Novack Café 9:30-11:30am
Events		Know Your Copyrights DCAL 12-1:30pm			Pathways to Open Research DCAL 12-1:30pm

Stop by the information tables to learn about open access, publishing, copyright, author rights, open education and more; pick up materials; and make something Open! We will be talking about support for open access journal publishing fees (which is provided by the Compact on Open Access Publishing Equity fund), the Dartmouth Author’s Amendment, the Faculty Open Access Policy Resolution, and current trends in publishing and scholarly communication.

In addition, the Know Your Copyrights workshop will help you answer the question: “Can I post my publications in full text on….my web site, my departmental website, the institutional web site, my course site, sharing sites such as Mendeley, Academia.edu, ResearchGate or.. ?” Please sign up here as lunch is provided.

In Pathways to Open Research, Dr. Kes Schroer will wrap up Open Access Week events by sharing her experiences at the “Open Science for Synthesis” program and offer insights on the power of open access, open data and open source for rapid, reproducible scholarship. Following Dr. Schroer’s remarks, we will have a roundtable discussion about all things open, including music, art, literature, education, and more. Please sign-up as lunch is provided.

More details: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/schcomm/OAWeek2014.html

Download the flyer here.

Filed under: Astronomy, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth Sciences, Math, Physics, Workshops

CV & Resume Writing Help for STEM Students

This series of events is brought to you by the Center for Professional Development and Kresge Library! All events will take place in the Kresge Library Conference Room.

Applying to Graduate School Programs: CVs for Science Storytelling

Interested in applying for STEM-related positions or programs that ask for a CV instead of a resume? In this fast-paced workshop, Neukom Fellow and postdoc Kes Schroer will provide you with an overview of what to include and what to leave out — as well as tips for how to share your skills and experience in terms easily understood by scientists and non-scientists alike.

When: Thursday, October 23 at 12-1pm
Register by 10/23 at 10am! Click here.

Kresge Face Time

Chat with CPD advisor Chandlee Bryan and get all your questions answered!

When: Wednesday, October 29 at 5:30-8:30pm

Formatting Your CV/Resume in LaTeX

Join Physical Sciences Librarian Shirley Zhao for a hands-on workshop to format your CV or resume in LaTeX. Use what you learned in the previous events and come away with a working document.

When: Thursday, October 30 at 12-1pm

Filed under: Astronomy, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth Sciences, Math, Physics, Science, Workshops

Get Started with LaTeX

By now, you’re convinced that writing your documents using LaTeX is the way to go. Your papers, presentations, and even homework assignments will look publication-ready with its fancy headers, section numbering, and beautifully typeset mathematical equations. You’re ready to make the leap from MS Word, but how do you begin?

First, you have to decide between online versus offline use. There are pros and cons to each, but the major difference is if you plan to have internet access while you’re working on your documents.

Certainly if you don’t want the hassle of downloading the software and choosing an editor, go with one of the web options (all of these allow for collaborative writing as well):

writeLaTeX — instant updating of your new content or edits
ShareLaTeX — watch your collaborators type (like google docs)
Authorea — version control through git

But if you do want your own installation, start with downloading the right software distribution for your operating system here and follow the instructions to install. You should allow for at least 30 minutes for the whole process. Factors to consider: internet speed, size of the software (varies), speed of your computer, etc.

You may notice that your distribution may or may not come with a starter editor, which is your interface to writing. For example, MacTeX comes with TeXShop. You’re not obligated to use it and you are free to choose whatever editor you want. You may already be using an editor to code in other languages; e.g. Vim or Emacs. Check out this table for comparison.

Now you’re ready to make your first document! If you’d like a suggestion, try writing your CV/resume. I will be holding a workshop on formatting tips for your CV/resume in LaTeX on Thursday, October 30 at noon in Kresge Library. Save the date and bring your document!

Filed under: Astronomy, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth Sciences, Math, Physics, Publishing, Tech Tips, Workshops Tagged: LaTeX

Lora Leligdon Joins Kresge Library

Wondering who’s the new face in Kresge? It’s Lora Leligdon, who began work in Kresge on Monday as Physical Sciences Librarian with liaison responsibility to the Physics and Astronomy department.

Lora joins us from the University of New Mexico Library in Albuquerque, where she was the Engineering Research Librarian since early 2012. Before moving to New Mexico, she worked as a Reference Librarian at Washington State University in Vancouver. She has an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from Iowa State, as well as an M.S.L.S from Emporia State University. Before going into librarianship, Lora worked for several years for engineering firms in Portland, Oregon and in Aurora, Illinois, near Chicago. Lora brings experience and insight into the characteristics and research needs of scientists and engineers, and has particular interests in information literacy in the workplace, communication and relationship building with faculty, and data management.

We’re very excited to have her join our staff. Please stop by and say hi to her on your way through Kresge!

P.S. I am now the official subject librarian and liaison to Mathematics and Computer Science. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Filed under: Astronomy, Computer Science, Kresge, Math, Physics

Add to our Graffiti Wall!

Graduating? Got some advice to pass along? Kresge Library has a wall and some colorful sharpies for you to share it on! Stop by and post your best tips (about research, science, or life in general!) for other science majors and Kresge regulars. Feel free to get creative! If you’re looking for inspiration or ideas on what to add, read last year’s messages!