UROP Project
wave data, oceanography, Big Bend region, data analysis
Research Mentor: Cathrine Hancock, She, her
Department, College, Affiliation: Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Institute, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: chancock@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Department, College, Affiliation: Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Institute, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: chancock@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: No
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: STEM majors
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10,
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link: Not participating in the Roundtable
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: STEM majors
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10,
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link: Not participating in the Roundtable
Project Description
Organize, quality control and basic statistical analysis of four years of wave data from three moorings in the northern region of Florida's Big Bend. Data span the years 2008-2012 and are recorded with two different types of ADCP's (Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers). The goal is to present a report of the wave environment in this region to inform projects on High Frequency Radar, which uses waves to extract sea surface velocity.Research Tasks: Tasks will include: (1) organizing and quality controlling data, (2) saving them in netCDF file formats that can be submitted to national data repositories, (3) reading up on the current research completed in this area, (4) basic statistical analysis of the data, (5) completing a report on the wave environment to inform High Frequency Radar projects in the area.
Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Recommended: (1) MATLAB, python or some coding experience and (2) basic statistical analysis (mean, standard deviation, distributions, etc.)
Required: Good verbal and written communication
Mentoring Philosophy
Time – It is important to spend time with the mentee for mutual understanding. The more comfortable we are with each other, the easier it is to communicate within the mentor-mentee relationship.Listening – The mentor and mentee must be on the same page. To accomplish this, I strive to ask pointed questions and listen to the mentee’s responses.
Goals – Goals need to be definable. What will you do, how will you do it, how long will it take and what will the end result be.
Organization/Time management: I have weekly meetings where the mentee updates me on their progress, any difficulties they encountered, any issues/questions they currently have, any new ideas, and their plan for the next week.
Ownership: For success the student must take ownership of the project. This includes trying out new ideas, as well as offering thoughts and solutions. I will provide direction, but believe it is important for the mentee to attempt solutions on their own.
Independence: I expect the mentee to work independently and attempt to solve problems before coming to me.
Failure: In science you will have many ideas and some of them are bound to fail. This is fine. You learn from failure just like you do success.
Everyone is a teacher: I will learn something from the mentor-mentee relationship. I will also learn something from the mentee. You have a unique background with experiences I don’t have and my hope is that you will share some of these with me.