EES Grad Handbook

Section 1. Introduction

1.1 The Handbook

This handbook is intended as a guide to the policies and procedures of the graduate programs in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (EES). It explains our rules and procedures, gives you some idea of the way things work in this Department, and describes what we expect of you while you are a graduate student here. We urge you to read this entire handbook because we think it will help you in acclimatizing to the culture of graduate school and the EES Department.

Much of the information in this handbook is available other places, such as the College of Arts and Sciences Graduate Student Handbook, the University catalog, or the Department office. However, or EES policies and procedures, this web document and its pdf representation are the document of record. We hope that having most of this information in one place will help you get a quick start and give you a convenient reference when you have questions and you're tired of asking other people. Updated versions of this handbook can be found following the links provided on our home page at http://www.ees.lehigh.edu.

Lehigh University and the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences reserve the right to change at any time the rules and regulations governing or otherwise affecting graduate students. In the event of programmatic changes, a student may adopt the revised curriculum or to the extent it remains possible, retain the program to which they matriculated.

1.2 The EES Department

The Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences (EES) is intermediate in size (currently 14 faculty and ~25 graduate students) and boasts a high level of research funding and instrumentation. Faculty research programs include ecology, aqueous biogeochemistry, geochronology, geomorphology, glacial geology, hydrogeology, petrology and stable-isotope geochemistry, microbial ecology, paleoclimatology, paleoecology, paleolimnology, paleomagnetism, seismology, structural geology, and tectonics. Our size and active research programs provide a stimulating atmosphere in which graduate students receive extensive experience with diverse analytical and theoretical approaches to study of geological, ecological, and environmental processes.

1.3 EES Graduate-Program Mission

The mission of the graduate program in Earth & Environmental Sciences is to advance knowledge, promote scientific discovery, and educate professional earth and environmental scientists. We design our course work and research requirements to help all students achieve these goals.

The general mission of EES is to stimulate enquiry and learning about the fundamental physical, chemical, geological, and biological processes that shape Earth's natural environment. We seek to promote understanding of Earth systems and their components by integrating geological and biological views of how these systems function and interact. The fundamental mission of the department lies in basic research and field-based, experiential, and multidisciplinary education, but we actively cooperate with other students and scholars at Lehigh to examine the broader ramifications of human interaction with the environment.

Section 2. Faculty and Staff

2.1 Faculty

Below, we list the full-time faculty and their main research interests. More detailed information about faculty and staff research interests, faculty publications, research facilities, and course work and training can be found throughout the EES web site, e.g. at www.ees.lehigh.edu.

David J. Anastasio

(Johns Hopkins University, Ph.D. 1988), Structural geology and tectonics.

Gray E. Bebout

(University of California, Los Angeles, Ph.D. 1989), Metamorphic petrology and stable isotope geochemistry

Robert Booth

(University of Wyoming, Ph.D. 2003), ecology, paleoecology, paleoclimatology

Edward B. Evenson

(University of Michigan, Ph.D. 1972), Glacial and Quaternary geology.

Bruce R. Hargreaves

(University of California, Berkeley, Ph.D. 1977), Environmental physiology.

Kenneth P. Kodama

(Stanford University, Ph.D. 1977), Paleomagnetism and tectonics.

Anne S. Meltzer

(Rice University, Ph.D. 1989), Reflection seismology.

Donald P. Morris

(University of Colorado, Ph.D. 1990), Chemical and biological limnology, Microbial ecology.

Frank J. Pazzaglia

(The Pennsylvania State University, Ph.D., 1993) Fluvial and tectonic geomorphology.

Stephen Peters

(University of Michigan, Ph.D., 2001), Low-temperature (bio)geochemistry.

Joan M. Ramage

(Cornell University, Ph.D., 2001), Remote sensing.

Dork L. Sahagian

(University of Chicago, Ph.D. 1987), Tectonics and environmental change

Zicheng Yu

(University of Toronto, Ph.D. 1997), Paleoecology and paleoclimatology.

Peter K. Zeitler

(Dartmouth College, Ph.D. 1983), Geochronology, tectonics, and isotope geology.

2.2 Research Scientists

Research scientists play an important role in the department, as their duties are fully devoted to research. They serve as an important resource for graduate students, and can provide additional perspectives about research and career oportunities.

Eva Enkelmann

(TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Ph.D. 2005), Thermochronology and tectonics.

Bruce D. Idleman

(SUNY Albany, Ph.D. 1990), Tectonics, and Ar-Ar and U/Th-He geochronology.

Josh Galster

(Lehigh University, Ph.D. 2006), Watersheds, fluvial geomorphology, environmental science

2.3 Support Staff

The Department has four permanent support staff: Laura Cambiotti and Nancy Roman in the main office, Joe Seem for general departmental support, and Bruce Idleman for support of three research labs. George Yasko and Mike Chupa, affiliated with the Environmental Initiative, also have lots of interaction with people in EES.

Joe Seem (Departmental Support Technician) - Joe's duties amount to providing support for the Department's infrastructure and teaching mission. This includes keeping an eye on the Department's collections, coordinating or doing the maintenance on equipment (including departmental A/V), assisting with some fabrication of new equipment, coordinating departmental safety, coordinating use and upkeep of shared labs, and keeping an eye on our facilities and appearance in Williams Hall. And more. Joe's approachable and a great resource, but he's got a lot to do, so don't cry wolf unless your situation is truly desperate!

Bruce Idleman (Senior Research Scientist) - Bruce has the primary responsibility of providing technical support to the geochronology lab (Zeitler), the stable isotope lab (Bebout), and the paleomagnetism lab (Kodama). He's a fabulous source of informal advice about programming, digital electronics, hardware interfacing, equipment fabrication, and high vacuum techniques, and he's a good geologist, too. There's a good chance he can point you to the person or place or catalog that will solve your problem, or give up some technical tips.

Laura Cambiotti (Academic Department Coordinator) - Laura is responsible for managing the department finances and coordinating the flow of paper and information into and out of the office. She handles payroll, making sure you get paid. She's the person you go to for all the dozens of forms you will fill out during your stay at Lehigh, she makes sure you get paid, she wrangles with Banner, and she makes sure you get paid. Get the picture?

Nancy Roman (Academic Department Coordinator) - Nancy handles most of the front-office business including things important to you like copy cards, mailings, supplies, etc., and she schedules meetings, meeting rooms, and the like. Nancy will make your life go smoother.

George Yasko is the Lehigh Earth Observatory technician and is primarily responsible for the equipment maintained by ongoing LEO projects. George knows a great deal about most of the equipment in the Department, and when something belonging to LEO breaks down, George should be consulted before you call for service.

Michael Chupa works for the EI and LTS, and has an office in WIlliams Hall. Mike provides expertise in scientific computing with an emphasis on *NIX systems including Mac OS X.

Collectively our staff represent one of the finest, most professional group of people you are likely to find in the academic environment. Laura and Nancy run the front office in a helpful, welcoming way, and the technical staff are a great help. The faculty ask that you keep your interactions with the staff professional and respectful. The investment of kindness and respect will help you considerably in the long run. And you will get paid on time.

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Section 3. Graduate Programs and Procedures

The Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences offers graduate programs leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. in Earth and Environmental Science. We offer one degree to emphasize and reinforce what we feel is an important and growing trend in ecology, environmental science, and ecology, namely the blending of expertise and perspectives from many disciplines. In the end, it is the strength of your training, the quality of your performance, and the significance of your research results that do far more to distinguish you than any degree name.

Research is an integral component of all EES graduate programs and leads to an M.S. thesis or Ph.D. dissertation prepared under a research supervisory committee and chaired by a departmental faculty research advisor. An advising commitment by one or more faculty members is required for graduate admission; if you do not know who your advisor is when you matriculate, goodness knows how you got here, but it's time to ask! Graduate students may change advisors only with mutual consent of the current and proposed advisors.

3.1 General Requirements and Procedures

The University has outlined the general academic requirements for M.S. and Ph.D. students in its Graduate Student Handbook, and EES has additional Departmental requirements that must also be fulfilled. It is the student's responsibility to insure that all graduation requirements are met. This is really for your own protection - most of the faculty have only a perilously incomplete recollection of all the graduation requirements.

3.2 Graduate Credit

In order to be counted for graduate credit, courses from other departments must be at least 200-level. For Ph.D. students, courses in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department that are below the 200-level do not count for graduation; for M.S. students, courses below the 300-level do not count. Note that your committee may require you to take courses that make up for deficiencies in your preparation even though you cannot receive credit for them.

No course for which you receive a grade lower than C- can count towards the graduation requirement, and you will be barred from registration and dropped from the program if you accumulate more than 12 credit hours of grades lower than B- (the four C rule). For graduate students, the University requires a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.75 for graduation.

3.3 Time Requirements

Graduate school is expensive and life is short; we expect a professional and dedicated effort from each student. EES faculty are committed to helping students finish within the shortest amount of time consistent with sound graduate training.

M.S. An M.S. student has a maximum of six years (!) in which to finish the thesis. Extensions may be requested from the University Graduate and Research Committee, but you do not want to have to go through that hassle, and there is no guarantee that an extension will be granted. We expect that an M.S. thesis of typical scope should be completed in 21 to 24 months (four semesters and one or two summers), and financial aid awards are based on this expectation.

Ph.D. A Ph.D. candidate entering with a B.A. or B.S. has a maximum of ten years (!) to complete the requirements for the degree. If a student begins Ph.D. course work after an elapsed period of at least one semester subsequent to obtaining an M.S. degree, the work must be finished in seven years. However, the EES Department places much more stringent limits on the amount of time a student can receive financial support. A Ph.D. student beginning with a B.A. or B.S. should finish in four to five years, while a student beginning with an M.S. should be able to finish in three to four years.

3.4 Committees

Each M.S. or Ph.D. student must have a supervisory committee, one member of which is the adviser, who must be a member of the department faculty. The committee functions as an advisory board for the thesis or dissertation research and should be formed as early as possible after you and your adviser have settled on a general research problem; generally speaking, you should assemble a committee and have a meeting no later than the middle of your second semester. You must meet with your committee at least once a year to keep them informed of research progress and to get input from them. We would advise meeting with your committee at least once a semester, and also to consider serving out some progress reports or research news by email. All committee members must hold doctoral degrees; EES graduates are excluded from supervisory committees for five years subsequent to graduation.

At the M.S. level, the committee must have at least three members, at least two of who must be Lehigh faculty or research scientists. Ph.D. committees consist of at least four members. One member must be from outside the EES Department, and at least two must be Lehigh faculty or research scientists. Adjunct faculty are considered outside members rather than Lehigh faculty when serving on graduate supervisory committees. The Ph.D. committee composition is approved by the Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies and Research (Dr. Barbara Traister) on authority of the University Graduate Committee as part of the process of admission to candidacy (see below). Quoting from the Graduate Student Handbook, the Ph.D. committee has six specific functions: 'The committee is responsible for assisting the student in formulating a course of study, satisfying specific Departmental requirements, preparing for final examinations, submitting a suitable dissertation proposal, overseeing progress in research, and evaluating the completed dissertation.'

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3.5 Requirements for the M.S.

Note: Be sure to review general EES and Lehigh requirements and expectations for all graduate students (see above).

3.5.1. Academic requirements. Course work for the M.S. must include a minimum of 30 credit hours in courses numbered 300 or higher (200-level or higher from other departments). Eighteen of those credits must be at the 400-level, of which three to six credits must consist of thesis research. You will not be allowed to register for more than six thesis credits; recognize, however, that your overall thesis effort is likely to far exceed normal credit-hour compensation for course work (i.e. 3-4 hours of effort per week for 14 weeks per credit hour). Note also that until you have an approved thesis proposal, you may not register for more than one credit of thesis research per semester.

Eighteen credits must also be within the major department, and 15 of these credits must be 400-level (this group of 15 may include the six thesis credits). You may petition the Department to waive the last two requirements for the purpose of taking classes in other departments that are necessary for your program. Each student and the student's adviser should plan the program in time to make the petition if such action is anticipated. All M.S. students are required to take two of the Department's three core courses: Tectonic Processes, Paleoclimatology, or Aquatic Ecosystems (all three are 400-level courses).

3.5.2. Program. At least 3 weeks before the end of the second full semester, the M.S. student must

1. complete a form listing the courses that are proposed to satisfy the degree requirements, signed by the advisor (called the 'program;' forms available in the EES office),
2. prepare a thesis proposal approximately 10 pages in length detailing the hypothesis, scope, and methods of their thesis project,
3. obtain supervisory committee approval for the program and thesis proposal by having them sign both documents and
4. submit both M.S. program and proposal to the GIC for approval.

After approval by the GIC the proposal and program are submitted to the Office of the Registrar. The GIC provides departmental oversight and may offer nonbinding comment to the candidate and committee on the course program or research proposal.

3.5.3. M.S. thesis regulations. M.S. students in this Department are required to complete a thesis in order to graduate. The typical M.S. thesis should yield the equivalent of one manuscript suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The thesis work carries a maximum of six 400-level credits. The final thesis must be in the form specified by the University, and they are very picky (about form, not content). A copy of the thesis must be prepared for the EES Department chairperson and the thesis adviser. A final signed copy of the thesis is submitted to the registrar. It is also appropriate to offer a copy of the thesis to each member of your supervisory committee. When the thesis is completed, the following steps should be followed by the student:

1. File an application for the degree in the Registrar's office by the deadline listed in the academic calendar (around March 1 for June graduation).
2. The Master's thesis must be approved and signed by the student's thesis advisor and the department chair.
3. A microfilming fee of $25 must be paid at the Bursar's office. The receipt must be attached to the thesis.
4. The thesis is delivered to the Registrar's office by the stated deadline (early May for June graduation).
5. The Registrar will verify the receipt of the thesis and clear the student for graduation (provided all other requirements have been met).
6. The thesis is then forwarded to the library for microfilming. A bound copy will be kept in the library.

3.5.4. Thesis presentation.

There is no formal defense for an M.S. thesis. However, the department requires the student to give an oral presentation about their thesis research at a department research seminar. This presentation should be about 45 minutes in length to permit time for questions and discussion. Thesis presentations must be moderated by a committee member other than your primary adviser, and it is your responsibility to contact this person in advance. The moderator introduces the speaker, monitors talk length, and manages audience questions at the conclusion of the seminar. The presentation is required prior to final approval of the thesis (by adviser and department chairperson), which means that the seminar must be presented well before the deadline for submission of the completed thesis to the Registrar. The student should meet early with the committee responsible for scheduling the research seminars and arrange a date for the presentation.

The required seminar is a presentation of your major thesis findings and is typically your last opportunity to interact with your entire committee prior to completing your thesis. Committee members must receive a complete draft of your thesis, signed by your advisor, at least one full week prior to the scheduled defense. By signing your draft thesis, your advisor is certifying the expectation that you will complete all degree requirements in time for the next graduation. The presentation is made before the final draft of the thesis is finished so any improvements that come to light during the presentation can be incorporated into the final draft.

The presentation must be given during the academic year, defined as the period from the first day of classes in the fall semester to the last day of classes in the spring semester, excluding University holidays and final exam periods. An abstract of the thesis must be given to Nancy Roman at least one week prior to the defense for posting.

Feel free to use whatever presentation style you find to be comfortable and effective. However, we expect you to give a talk of professional caliber, so be sparing with any inside jokes, cute slides, and so on: don't distract from your own show! Finally, while exhaustive acknowledgments that include your childhood pets aren't needed, it is nice to thank those people you feel really helped you through your thesis and your degree program.

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3.6 Requirements for the Ph.D.

Note: Be sure to review general EES and Lehigh requirements and expectations for all graduate students (see above).

3.6.1. General. Lehigh's Graduate Student Handbook outlines three well-defined requirements regarding minimum residence, tuition, and registration for a Ph.D. student. The residence requirement stipulates that the student must complete either two semesters of full-time study, or 18 credit hours within a 12-month period. The requirement is intended to encourage a period of concentrated study and intellectual association at Lehigh. The tuition requirement states that the student must pay tuition for a minimum of either 48 or 72 hours of credit, depending on whether one begins with an M.S. or BA/BS. The tuition requirement is waived if a student has paid full tuition continuously during one's entire program at the rate of nine credit hours per semester. Ph.D. students are required to complete a minimum of 2 years of study, so it is theoretically possible to earn a Ph.D. with as few as 36 credits. There is also a registration requirement: following the completion of 48 or 72 credits respectively; a Ph.D. student must register twice each calendar year for not less than three credits; once admitted to candidacy, this requirement drops to one credit twice each year and is known as 'maintenance of candidacy'.

3.6.2. Admission to doctoral candidacy. In the EES Department, admission to candidacy requires several sequential steps:

1. pass the qualifying examination,
2. form the supervisory committee, and
3. write a dissertation proposal
4. pass a public oral defense of your proposal; this defense constitutes the general examination (described below)
5. obtain the supervisory committee's approval of your proposal and your course program
6. submit the approved proposal, the proposed committee composition, and the program (signed by the supervisory committee members), to the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Research.

3.6.3. Qualifying exam. All Ph.D. students are required to take a written qualifying examination before the final exam week of the first semester they enter the Ph.D. program. The purpose of the qualifying exam is to reveal to both student and examining committee, the relative strengths and deficiencies in the student's background and affirm whether the student should proceed with a Ph.D. course of study. The examination is designed, administered, and evaluated by a committee of 5 departmental faculty members chosen by the student in consultation with the adviser. The exam will last for eight hours. A committee chairperson is solicited by the student to organize and preside over the committees' business. The advisor may not be the chair of the examining committee. All grading of questions is Pass-Fail, although comments from committee members are meant to be helpful to the student and adviser in developing the course program, as the results of the examination will be used by the student's supervisory research committee to guide the student's selection of courses.

The examining committee may:

1. pass the student without conditions
2. pass the student with written conditions, which the student must fulfill in order to remain in the degree program
3. fail the student, in which case the student's degree program will be terminated.

Although not designed to be a "weed-out" mechanism, Ph.D. candidates must take the qualifying exam very seriously. Candidates are urged to prepare for the exam by talking with each member of their examining committee well in advance of the exam. When taking the exam, students should provide full, well-thought out answers using all of their allotted time.

3.6.4. General exam. The general examination consists of a public oral defense of the written dissertation proposal, which is prepared after consultation with the adviser and supervisory research committee. The defense will be scheduled on a date during the academic year mutually acceptable to the student and the committee, but not later than the last day of classes in the student's third semester; the scheduling of the defense should be cleared with the Department's seminar coordinator to avoid conflicts. A majority of the committee must attend, at least three hours must be set aside for the examination, and the exam should not start later than 1 pm. The final draft of the dissertation proposal must be made available to the committee members and the defense publicly announced at least one week prior to the defense; the announcement must include the proposal summary.

The defense opens with the student making a 45 minute presentation. After the presentation, the public has an opportunity to ask the candidate questions for 10-15 minutes, then a short recess will be called so that those wishing to leave may do so. Upon reconvening the defense (which remains open to the public), the research committee will orally examine the student on issues raised by the proposal and on other issues that the committee members consider appropriate. At the close of the examination, the committee will meet in private to consider whether the student's proposal and defense were adequate. Examination results must be made in writing and copied to the students file.

The examining committee may:

1. pass the student without conditions
2. pass the student with written conditions, which the student must fulfill in order to remain in the degree program
3. require a re-examination.

In the event that a re-examination is required, University rules require that it must occur no sooner than five months after the original examination and no later than the beginning of the fifth semester. The general examination must be passed no later than seven months before graduation. All of the above procedures apply to the re-examination except that a third examination is not an allowed outcome; the student must pass, with or without conditions, or fail the second examination. Failure results in termination of the student's degree program.

3.6.5. Course requirements. There are no specific course requirements for Ph.D. students except that all Ph.D. students are required to take two of the Department's three core courses: Tectonic Processes, Paleoclimatology, or Aquatic Ecosystems. Otherwise, course selection and the distribution of credit hours between dissertation credits and coursework credits is up to the student's committee. Depending on the results of the qualifying exam, the Department faculty may recommend particular courses in areas where they feel the student's preparation is deficient, but it is the committee that has final control of the student's program.

3.6.6. Teaching requirement. This requirement may be met by activities related to either undergraduate labs or recitations in which the principal activity of the TA is instruction rather than grading or logistical support. The ideal TA experience would integrate a number of aspects of teaching including lectures and/or demonstrations, student evaluations (testing), and grading.

Fulfillment of this requirement will be scheduled by mutual agreement between the student, principal adviser, and the GIC. Requests to discharge this requirement must be made to the GIC by October 1 for spring TA assignments and April 1 for fall TA assignments. The GIC will act upon the request based on the department's anticipated teaching need and the availability of tuition credits. The GIC will also certify that the TA assignment fulfills the requirements. The student will be compensated up to 6 credit hours of tuition scholarship in exchange for the TA duties. The instructor of the course in which the student is involved will certify that the student has satisfactorily discharged the TA duties and has met the teaching requirements as listed below. The completed original certification form is kept in the student's file.

It is important that students discuss this requirement with their adviser early in their program and plan for its fulfillment.

3.6.7. Language requirement. Although there is no Departmental foreign language requirement, the Ph.D. committee may require the student to demonstrate competence in any language important to the student's Ph.D. program.

3.6.8. Dissertation requirements. The dissertation must 'treat a topic related to the candidate's specialty in the major subject, show the results of original research, provide evidence of high scholarship, and make a significant contribution to knowledge in the field.' A general rule of thumb is that a typical dissertation is the equivalent of three publications in peer-reviewed journals.

After the adviser approves a complete dissertation draft which is to be defended (verifying the expectation that you will finish by the next graduation date), it is submitted to the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Research at least six weeks prior to the expected graduation date. This submission gives the College a chance to verify that rules concerning dissertation format have been followed. The dissertation defense (see below) must then be scheduled. Ph.D. defenses must be conducted during the academic year while classes are in session. After revisions are made subsequent to the defense and approved by the adviser, the final draft of the dissertation must be submitted again to the Assistant Dean at least two weeks before the expected graduation date (check the official deadline!). You will also have to complete copyright, microfilm, and NRC forms at this time. Two unbound copies of the dissertation must be given to the College office, along with the receipt for a $50 microfilming fee, which is paid to the Bursar's Office. One of the copies must have the original signatures of the committee members. The University has very definite requirements outlining the form of the dissertation, and they must be strictly followed.

3.6.9. Presentation and defense of the Ph.D. dissertation. Candidates for the Ph.D. must publicly present and defend their dissertations. The presentation and defense (hereafter referred to as the defense) must occur while classes are in session during the Fall or Spring semesters and before the dissertation is signed or accepted. The defense will be moderated by a Department faculty member who is a member of the student's committee but not the principal adviser. The responsibility for scheduling the defense lies with the student who must determine a mutually agreeable date in consultation with the Department's seminar series coordinator and the committee members. All members of the committee should be present for the defense, but if great distance or other circumstances prevent a committee member from attending, that member's comments or questions on the dissertation will be raised by the adviser at the defense. In no case may the defense take place with fewer than three committee members in attendance.

The defense must be announced publicly at least one week prior to its occurrence (the announcement must include the dissertation abstract). The defense will be scheduled no later than 1 pm on the selected date. A copy of the final draft of the dissertation (i.e., the draft that the student, in consultation with the adviser, intends to submit to the Dean's Office, pending alterations dictated by other members of the committee or by points raised during the defense) must be provided to each committee member at least one week in advance of the scheduled defense. Note that more than a week may be required to adequately accommodate an absentee member who needs time to read the draft and submit questions for the defense. Note also that this draft must truly be in final form, including such details as title page, table of contents, other tables, and figures, in full accordance with the instructions of the University.

The defense presentation may not exceed 45 minutes, and the faculty moderator will strictly enforce the time limit. Following the presentation, questions from the public will be entertained, then the defense will be adjourned for a short break. After the break, the defense will be reconvened (remaining open to the public), and the candidate will respond to questions posed by the committee and any other interested persons, defending the methods, findings, conclusions, and other aspects of the dissertation. The faculty moderator will continue to oversee this portion of the defense, which has no time limit. Once the moderator ensures that all committee members are satisfied with their opportunity to interrogate the candidate, the candidate is excused and the committee determines the outcome of the exam as either Pass or Not Pass). This outcome is reported on a Dissertation Defense Form, available in the department office. Committee members attending the defense must sign this form, which should be filled out by the candidate and given to the moderator prior to the defense. The cover sheet of the dissertation must be signed by all committee members.

3.7 Admission of M.S. Candidate to the Ph.D. Program

A student admitted or working toward an M.S. degree within the Department may wish to apply for admission to the Ph.D. program. This action should be well rationalized because for most students completing the M.S. degree has great value in professional development marketability. To transfer to the Ph.D. program, a first year M.S. candidate must submit a letter, a current transcript, and a letter of endorsement from the intended adviser to the Graduate Coordinator, requesting admission to the Ph.D. program. This letter should briefly outline the intended research. The application will be evaluated and the Graduate Coordinator will notify the student of the outcome. Applications from second-year M.S. candidates must describe the intended project and its relationship to ongoing M.S. research, as well as provide information about research committee changes and an expected timetable for completion of the Ph.D.. Candidates must also have an interview with the GIC after materials have been received. A first-semester M.S. candidate accepted into the department's Ph.D. program takes qualifying and general examinations for the Ph.D. as normally scheduled (section 3.6). When a student is admitted to the Ph.D. program in the second through fourth semesters of an M.S. program, they must take the qualifying exam within two weeks of being accepted into the Ph.D. program and complete the general exam by the end of the subsequent semester.

For a student completing an EES M.S. degree and then wishing to remain with EES for a Ph.D., application should be made by the end of their third semester. The application should consist of a letter of intent, a recommendation from both the M.S. adviser and the proposed adviser unless they are the same individual, in which case the proposed Ph.D. adviser and another EES M.S. committee member should write letters of reference. The student's EES academic file is considered as application material in these cases.

Students are advised that financial aid is often committed several semesters into the future and that the department may not always have the ability to support students whose programs are extended by transfer to the Ph.D. degree.

3.8 Registration

Graduate students preregister for the upcoming semester near the end of each semester. Preregistration is handled online via the Registrar's home page. You need to log on initially with your social security number and your birthday as your password. You will be asked to change your password once you are in the system. To complete registration, you will need to obtain an alternate PIN number. That number is provided to the GIC chair and will be distributed to you when you confirm your course schedule in consultation with the GIC chair. Along with your adviser, you decide which classes you will take for the semester (remember to review your graduation requirements!).

Important: If you do not bracket the summer with full-time spring-semester registration and full-time fall-semester preregistration, lenders may seek payment of any student loans you have outstanding. If you are rostering fewer than 9 credits and are an RA or TA, full-time certification is required. The GIC chair has the full-time certification forms.

The Department imposes a restriction on registration for thesis credits: an M.S. candidate may register for only one such credit (appropriate for proposal preparation) prior to the approval of the proposal by the student's committee; registration for additional thesis credits requires an approved proposal. A normal full-time graduate student load in EES is 3 courses totaling 9-10 credit hours per semester, however, a graduate student my roster a maximum of 15 credit hours at one time.

The signature of the EES Graduate Coordinator and the Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies and Research (Dr. Ingrid Parson) is required to certify full-time status of students rostering fewer than 9 credit hours. To be certified as full-time with fewer than 9 credits, you must have established degree candidacy and have accumulated enough credits for graduation. Salary earned by RAs or TAs that are not certified as full time are subject to FICA taxes under current tax law. Graduate students are considered employees of the University (rather than students) by the IRS.

3.9 Research Funds

3.9.1. External support. Funding for research is available from a number of sources, such as GSA, AAPG, and Sigma Xi. Some funds support all types of research while others are more specific. These are only a small fraction of available funds, so keep your eyes and ears open for funding opportunities (check the bulletin board outside the Department office, scan each issue of newsletters and magazines like EOS and of Geotimes). Even if you find funds that are not available to you, make others aware of the opportunity - what goes around comes around. Some application deadlines change year to year, while others remain relatively constant. Some application forms are available in the Department office or through the graduate student responsible for research funding information.

Most external funding agencies require letters of recommendation. Make sure you prepare your proposals in sufficient time to have the letters prepared. Sigma Xi requires recommenders to be society members. GSA requires that anyone recommending more than one candidate rank the investigators and projects relative to one another.

In 1989, Sigma Xi sent out a letter listing the most common reasons why applications were denied funding. These shortcomings should be avoided in any application for funding:

1. Omission of an explicit statement of a hypothesis
2. Methods not included in proposals
3. Relationship of hypothesis with data to be gathered not clarified
4. Poor communication between applicant and references. You should provide a copy of the final version of your proposal to the individuals who will write recommendations for you
5. Proposals show a lack of familiarity with previous work on topic
6. No clear statement of the significance of project
7. Insufficiently detailed (itemized) or justified budget
8. Failure to adhere to current guidelines for eligibility, proposal preparation, and budget
9. Applicant not in a degree program

In addition to these small grants-in-aid programs, we encourage M.S. candidates (and require Ph.D. candidates) to pursue funding through the various graduate fellowships offered through NSF, NASA, and EPA. Announcements are made periodically when these organizations make a call for these proposals.

3.9.1.1 Grant management. Some granting agencies will make awards directly payable to you (e.g., AAPG, Sigma Xi, GSA), whereas others make the awards to the institution (e.g. DOE, EPA, NSF). Fiduciary responsibility for the grant lies with the award recipient which means if the check is made out to you, you have the responsibility. The granting agency will require that you report to them what the grant allowed you to accomplish and how the money was spent. It is important that you meet your obligations to the granting agency; future access to these funding sources by yourself and others EES student depends on responsible grant management. You must provide the department with copies of your grant reports. Consider opening a separate bank account to help manage self generated grants.

3.9.2. Department support. Limited EES support is available for field and laboratory research. Department support should be treated as a safety-net of last resort. To apply for EES research support, you must submit to the GIC chairperson a short proposal explaining your objectives and their significance (no more than two pages of narrative text plus figures and references and a detailed budget) signed by your adviser. Your advisor's signature signifies that there are no funds available for the budgeted items. It is not necessary to have an approved thesis proposal to apply for funding if you are a first-year student, but funds are withheld from M.S. candidates until the research proposal is approved; Ph.D. candidates may receive departmental support once prior to proposal approval. Another prerequisite for Departmental support is prior efforts on your part to obtain funding from external sources. You must list the efforts you have made to obtain funding in your proposal, including the status of any proposals that have been denied, funded or are pending. If other externally generated funds become available to support the research subsequent to the Departmental award, you may be required to return all or part of the Departmental funds.

You may be considered for Departmental support once a year; M.S. students may receive support once and Ph.D. students may receive support up to three times during their degree program. The deadline for proposals is October 15 and April 15 annually. Shortly after the proposal deadlines, the GIC will act on the requests. If your research is conducted during the year you may apply for Departmental support at an earlier date. M.S. candidates are eligible for these awards only prior to their fourth academic semester and Ph.D. candidates are eligible prior to their eighth semester if entering with an M.S. or tenth semester if entering with a BA/BS degree. The maximum you may request without external matching funds is $1000. Up to $1000 additional may be requested if the additional amount is matched by student generated external grant funds. Automobile mileage reimbursements are limited to $0.15/mile, and living costs (for both meals and housing during field work away from Lehigh) are limited to $20/day. Thesis preparation materials or per diem expenses during manuscript preparation are not fundable from Departmental research funds. Photocopying, postage, office supplies and the like are also not fundable./p>

All students who receive Departmental funds are required to submit to Laura Cambiotti a short (<1 page) summary of the work accomplished over the funding period. In addition, an account of expenditures must be kept and receipts/bills submitted following completion of the funded research or prior to a subsequent application for research support. No thesis or dissertation will be signed until the expenditures are approved and grant summaries have been submitted.

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Section 4. Financial Aid

4.1 General

Financial aid is available to students in the form of teaching assistantships (TA), research assistantships (RA), graduate assistantships (GA), fellowships, and scholarships. Fellowships, TAs, and RAs may only be held by full-time students.

4.2 Teaching Assistantships

The Department offers both half-time and quarter-time teaching assistantships. A TA's tuition is paid by the College (up to nine credits per semester for half-time and up to five credits for quarter-time, but only as needed), and the TA receives a monthly stipend for the 9 month academic year; late August to Late May. Responsibilities for a TA vary depending on the course or courses you are assigned, and may include grading homeworks and exams, setting up and teaching labs, and running field trips. TA duties are assigned and evaluated by course instructors. The Graduate Student Handbook says that half-time TA's should provide 20 hours per week of service to the University. Quarter-time TA's involve 10 hours per week of work. Some students may be awarded TA tuition credits (> 3 - 9 credit hours tuition) in exchange for 1/4-time TA service. A TA can be demanding work, but it can also be satisfying if you do a good job of it. Overall, the students in the course are appreciative of your efforts, as are the faculty you assist. It can be challenging to balance the time required for your TA work, your own classes, and your thesis research, but those who have gone before you have made the effort to successfully manage their time and so will you.

4.2.1 Competency in spoken english. Note that the University requires that a foreign student whose native language is not English must pass a test of spoken English before serving as a TA. The test is administered by Judy Rance-Roney (8-6099) in the Education Department. A non-native speaker can be a TA at Lehigh if they score 230 or higher on the Lehigh speaking exam. If the student passes the test with a score between 200 and 230, they can be a TA while concurrently taking an ESL class. A score less than 200 disallows TA support. The ESL (English as Second Language) Department offers several courses for foreign applicants. It is advised that such courses are completed in the summer prior to the beginning of the student's first semester in residence.

4.2.2 Teaching evaluations. TAs may conduct student evaluations of their teaching mid-semester to help improve their effectiveness. A standard form has been designed by EES graduate students for this purpose (Appendix 6). TAs will also be evaluated by students when the course and instructor are evaluated at the end of the semester. Instructors will evaluate TAs on TA evaluation forms (Appendix 7) at the conclusion of each course and place the form in the student's file.

4.3 Research Assistantships

An RA's tuition and stipend are paid much like a TA's and at about the same rate. The chief difference lies in the responsibilities, which for an RA, involve various work on a particular research project assigned and evaluated by a principal investigator (usually one's adviser). The RA will do well to recognize that the faculty member has already done a lot of work to get the money to pay for a research assistant. He or she has had to write a proposal and submit it to an outside organization, which has decided after peer review that the proposal is worth funding. The responsibility associated with an RA is not to be underestimated. Often, research work assigned to an RA will support research related to the RA's thesis or dissertation, but this need not be and is not always the case.

4.4 Fellowships

Fellowships also include both tuition and stipend. Competition for fellowships is especially keen; the Department nominates one or two students annually to compete for one of seven CAS Fellowships and awards two internal Kravis Fellowships. There are no specific responsibilities associated with a fellowship as they are an acknowledgement of prior academic performance ¨¢ the student is free to spend one's time working on research. University and College fellowships must be awarded to incoming students for their first year of study, and this is generally true for EES fellowships as well.

4.5 Scholarships

Scholarships consist of tuition credits only - no stipend is included. The Department has a limited number of scholarship to award annually. The Department usually tries to combine a scholarship award with a stipend package that does not fund tuition, but occasionally the scholarship is all there is to offer. There are no responsibilities associated with scholarships, per se, but any accompanying stipend package may, of course, have responsibilities.

4.6 Graduate Assistantships (GAs)

Various College (e.g. Dean's office, Athletics) and University (e.g. Greek Affairs, Residential Life) departments and organizations (LEO) offer GAs; these are generally well advertised. These awards generally involve work that is not strictly research related, and can cover a wide range of teaching, supervisory, consulting, or service work.

4.7 Other Sources of Income

Faculty members occasionally have short-term projects for which they can pay students an hourly wage. Sometimes these jobs are widely advertised, and sometimes they aren't. It may be a good idea to let the faculty members know that you are interested in such work if it becomes available. There are also loan programs with specially discounted interest rates for full-time students. Such loans usually do not require any payment of interest or principal until some time after graduation as long as full-time registration is maintained. Loans are entirely up to the student; neither faculty members nor the Department have any say in your decision. Contact the Graduate School or a bank for more information.

4.7.1. Outside employment. Students receiving academic-year financial aid must receive advisor permission before considering other simultaneous outside employment. The final approval for TAs to work beyond their normal 20 hours per week rests with the Dean. The dean will grant permission under the following guidelines:

1. a student must have completed all course work for the degree
2. there can be no conflicts with the student's TA assignment
3. the student must be making satisfactory progress towards their degree.

4.8 Time Limits on Financial Aid

As explained in section 3.3 (Time requirements), the amount of time that the University allows you to pursue your graduate degree is longer than the time that you are likely to be supported. Aid awarded by the Department or the College (upon the Department's recommendation), is limited to four semesters for an M.S. candidate, eight semesters for a Ph.D. student entering with a BA/BS, and six semesters for a Ph.D. with an M.S. This includes all sources of funding except for an RA, the duration of which is determined by the adviser's patience or success in obtaining grant money, whichever runs out first. An M.S. candidate may, with the support of the adviser, present a case to the Department faculty for extended support (up to one semester) with the understanding that no guarantees of extended support are made, circumstances must be extenuating, the student must have sought other means of relief, and the primary purpose of our limited financial aid packages is to support graduate students who are making good progress in the expected time frame. The request for extended support must include a letter from the student that outlines the request, the extenuating circumstances, efforts to obtain support from other sources, and a timetable of work to date and for the completion of the thesis. Extended support - if any can be offered in a given case - will not necessarily be for an entire semester. Circumstances must be expected to vary, both in terms of students' relative needs and in terms of options that may be available to the Department for extending support. In any case, duration and amount of support will be restricted to conserve Departmental resources. These principles and procedures also apply to a Ph.D. student who wishes to receive consideration for extended support, with the exception that extended support may be requested for up to two semesters.

4.9 Withdrawal of Financial Aid

When you receive your offer of financial aid, note carefully that continuation of aid is contingent on two factors: availability of aid and your own performance. Owing to factors beyond your control or the faculty's, there can be no guarantees that aid will be available when you need it to continue your program (even if you are still within the normal time limits for aid). It is rare that aid would have to be cut off for this reason, and the College, the Department, and individual faculty make every effort to see that it doesn't happen. Nevertheless, you should know that it is possible. Your performance, however, is very much under your control. The faculty are likely to withdraw your aid package if you fail to maintain a 3.0 grade average, you fail to adhere closely to the thesis timetable (e.g. Appendix 1), or you otherwise show a lack of commitment to your own professional development. These factors are the chief bases for evaluation when the Department considers continuing financial aid, and students making satisfactory progress (courses and research) will be given preferential consideration for the available aid packages. You must recognize that faculty expectations of your performance are quite high, and you cannot afford a single weak semester.

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Section 5. Student Performance

5.1 Student Evaluations

TA performance is judged by course instructors and by students in the courses taught and is documented on TA evaluation forms and student evaluations, respectively. RA and Fellow performance is judged by principal advisors.

All students are evaluated each December by the GIC. The review process is an important component of our effort to ensure the integrity and success of your graduate program. Your completed report is due to the GIC the first Monday in December, annually.

Answer each of the questions listed below and choose a format that will allow you to easily update your future activities and progress. Your typed report must be signed by your advisor, so leave time in case revisions are required. Note that this signature only indicates that your adviser has seen your evaluation; it does not necessarily certify that your performance is satisfactory.

1. Degree and Semester (i.e. what degree will you obtain and how many semesters have you been working on it?)
2. Student/signature
3. Advisor/signature
4. Starting date (M.S. and/or Ph.D)
5. Field of study
6. Specific research (1-2 sentences)
7. Courses completed (with grade) or in progress (IP)
8. Degree requirements satisfied to date
1. Core courses
2. Status of thesis/dissertation proposal/dissertation
3. Application for candidacy with graduate school
4. Composition of research supervisory committee
5. Summary of credit hours completed or in progress, total applicable for degree and 400 level
6. Thesis/Dissertation defense
9. Additional expectations
1. Departmental seminars presented
2. Departmental duties performed
10. Date committee meetings (and those attending)
11. Funding sources/Tuition and stipend for entire program by semester (including summers)
12. Additional research support
1. Departmental
2. Advisor-generated
3. Self-generated
13. Other professional activities
1. Meetings attended
2. Field trips attended
3. Lectures presented
4. Other college or university activities
14. Awards and honors during Lehigh tenure
15. Courses in which you have served as a TA (with dates)
16. Publications
17. Anything else you would like to tell us about your activities in the last year.

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Section 6. Research Facilities

6.1 Earth and Environmental Sciences

The EES Department houses a wide range of the equipment necessary for research in the varied fields of earth and environmental science. Below, we give a brief if dense synopsis of the more significant facilities and equipment found in Williams Hall. As you might assume, the details of this list will change we upgrade and acquire equipment. If you have a question, ask.

6.1.1 Access to facilities and equipment. In general, most equipment is available for the use of EES graduate students. EES facilities are distributed in many kinds of labs: instructional, communal, individual. Before long, you'll learn what's where.

If you want to use an item of equipment or a laboratory, you must first obtain permission from the laboratory's supervisor or coordinator. This is a common-sense policy, deviations from which cannot be tolerated. Faculty and staff are willing and interested in furthering your research by offering you research tools, provided you are careful and sensitive to any issues involved in the use of a piece of equipment. Safety regulations may require that use of certain facilities and equipment includes a documented training record. Check with supervisors of laboratories or equipment. Note that there are several labs (e.g., geochronology, stable isotopes, paleomagnetics, seismology) where it might make sense to take the relevant graduate course before seeking to use any equipment - this is due to the complexities of both equipment operation and data reduction. Again, if you are interested or have a questions, just ask.

6.1.2 Etiquette and lab use. In general, when you are using a lab, apply the Golden Rule. Faculty expect students to maintain an orderly work environment. Your desktop can be as messy as you like, but laboratories, computer facilities, and other areas of the Department are shared and 'sprawl' is unacceptable, out of concerns for safety, integrity of data collection, the needs of other users and the presentability of our facilities to visitors. Do not remove tools or supplies from labs without permission: what might seem like a minor widget to you might turn out to be the linchpin of someone's operation, the loss of which could use frustrating delay. Finally, if a supply has run low or been used up, or if something appears to be malfunctioning, notify the lab's supervisor, whether or not the item is covered in any use-charge arrangement (see below).This will help keep our labs up and running, and avoid expensive and routine-busting rush orders. Again, just apply the Golden Rule.

6.1.3. EES Equipment.The stock of equipment within EES is ever-expanding and ever-changing. You can a list of more major items of equipment in the departmental snapshot, but really, the best way to find out who has what is to talk to faculty, peers, and staff. It is important to remember that Lehigh is a major research university and there is a universe of equipment scattered around campus: don't be shy and let that get in the way of your creativity!

6.2 Other Departments

Numerous additional analytical instruments are available in the Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering departments. Of particular note are the Scienta ESCA-300 (XPS) facility (<0.3 eV energy resolution and <30 um lateral resolution), an FTIR facility, a GC-MS laboratory, a BET surface area instrument, petro-/metallographic image analysis facilities, and NMR laboratories that house 90, 300, and 500 MHz spectrometers for multinuclear solution and solids studies. A 360 MHz wide-bore magnet imaging NMR is being developed.

The Electron Optical Laboratory in the Materials Science and Engineering Department houses two analytical electron microscopes (AEMs; Philips EM430T and Philips EM400T), one transmission electron microscope (TEM; Philips EM300G), three scanning electron microscopes (SEMs; JEOL 6300F, ETEC Autoscan, and Cambridge S150), and an electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA; JEOL 733 Superprobe). The AEMs have X-ray detectors for chemical analysis of elements with Z > 11 (Na) (Link intrinsic Ge detector on EM430T and EDAX on EM400T), electron energy loss spectrometers (EELS) for Z > 3 (Li), and convergent beam electron diffractometers for point and space group analysis. Microanalytical resolution is 10 to 50nm, depending on instrument and sample thickness, and image resolution is 0.204 to 7 nm, depending on imaging mode. The Cambridge S150 SEM is primarily used for semiconductor device studies and computer-controlled beam writing; image resolution is ~5 nm. The ETEC SEM is the primary teaching instrument, and provides 8 nm image resolution at 30 kV, qualitative X-ray analysis (Kevex 7000), and low-voltage, low-resolution imaging of beam-sensitive samples. The JEOL 6300F is a state-of-the-art field-emission SEM for high-resolution (1.5 nm) imaging of coated samples at 30 kV and low-voltage medium-resolution (6 nm) imaging of uncoated beam-sensitive samples. Qualitative analysis of elements with Z > 6 (C) is provided by a Link thinwindow X-ray detector. Image and spectra storage, processing, and analysis capabilities are provided by dedicated computers. Specimen surfaces can be cleaned in the stage airlock for maximum resolution. The JEOL 733 EPMA is fully automated with +1 um stage positioning, three wavelength-dispersive spectrometers, and one energy-dispersive Xray spectrometer. Quantitative analysis of elements with Z > 5 (B), digital mapping, and image processing and analysis are available. Specimen preparation facilities for electron microscopy include three electropolishers, two ion beam thinners, an ion mill, a freeze fracture unit, two ultramicrotomes, a sputter coater, and a vacuum evaporator.

Use Charges

Not surprisingly, use of most major equipment is not free, and you should not assume that use of any lab is gratis. Larger pieces of equipment require expensive maintenance and parts, and labs in general consume a large array of supplies. Use charges can be paid out of research grants that you or your adviser have obtained. Up to date use-charge prices for most equipment available within EES and elsewhere on campus can be found in the EES office.

6.4 Libraries

Libraries and Computing Facilities Lehigh's library system contains more than one million volumes, and is far ahead of most libraries in the transformation from the paper library to an electronic information center. You can access local, remote and international electronic databases, the system's on-line catalog, and the holdings of more than 13,000 libraries around the world-all from your home computer or from any one of hundreds of computers in classrooms, offices and laboratories. Fairchild-Martindale Library is the science and engineering library where Earth and Environmental science books and journals are housed. There is a computerized catalog system called ASA, which has replaced the card catalog. Linderman Library, adjacent to WIlliams Hall, has recently undergone a spectaular renovation and is worth a visit.

The University libraries also house the Media Services group. The Fairchild-Martindale Media Center has the facilities for reviewing audio and video tapes, cassettes, records, slides, and films, as well as a large collection of such media and computer software. Media Production Services, located in Linderman library, makes audio and video productions, provides photographic services, and does slide preparation.

6.5 Computers

6.5.1. University computing facilities. The University's Academic Computing Center is located across from the entrance to Fairchild-Martindale Library, two floors down from the ground level. The facility contains terminals for access to the distributed computer facilities, which include workstations, compute-servers, microcomputers (PCs and Macintoshes), printers, and plotters. You can pick up the output from your programs, sign up for computer accounts, and get all kinds of instructional material at the computing center. The computing center staff run very helpful seminars on use of the facilities at the beginning of each semester, and it is a good idea to find a list of seminar offerings as soon as it comes out because many of the classes require registration, and some of them fill up quickly. A schedule of the classes offered can be found on the network server and can also be obtained from Laurie. In addition to organized instruction, the User Services group is responsible for setting up and managing accounts and for providing consulting services. You do not need any signatures; just take your valid ID card to User Services.

The University supports high-speed networking to offices, labs, and classrooms and provides access to high-performance workstations for computationally intensive tasks. Lehigh is affiliated with the Pittsburgh Supercomputer Center.

6.5.2. Williams Hall computing facilities. Computer facilities include Sun 3, Sun SparcStation, and SGI Octane and O2 workstations; other computers include numerous stand-alone PCs and Macintoshes and a networked microcomputer laboratory. A large selection of software is available for numerical modeling, signal and statistical data processing, computer-aided design and drafting, interactive mapping and spatial modeling of 3- and 4-dimensional data, and graphic data display and presentation. The workstations also support a geographic information system (ARC/INFO) for multi-attribute locational database management, inquiry, and graphic information analysis and presentation. Room 210 houses a Wintel cluster and Room 30x houses several SGI workstations; both are semi-public sites supported by Information Resources. Room 404 houses a number of Macintosh and Windows NT machines that are supported by the Lehigh Earth Observatory (LEO); these machines are freely available to EES graduate students.

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Section 7. Professional Development

To augment our regular degree programs, the department offers and operates additional programs to enhance its intellectual life and to further the professional development of its students. For graduate students, some of these programs are mandatory, though some are not. In any case, they will work best for everyone if you become engaged and help make them work.

7.1 Departmental Seminars

Each Friday except during special events like the ESA, AGU, orGSA, the department hosts a research seminar featuring a speaker from outside or inside the department. These seminars are held from 12:10 to 1:00 PM in Rm 100 and are preceded by a Department lunch in Rm 102. These seminars are important for all the following reasons:

• they expose members of the department to different areas of geology, ecology, and environmental science, as seen from different academic and business perspectives;
• they show off the Department to outside visitors, many of whom are distinguished in one way or another (and will likely serve as peer reviewers of grants and proposals, recommenders of prospective grad students, or people involved in national ranking and ratings); and
• they bring in people that can provide key opportunities for networking for our students.

Accordingly, all graduate students are expected to attend ALL LECTURES. Owing to a variety of circumstances, you might miss one or two, but your attendance record must be very good, or the faculty and your student colleagues will recognize it as a lack of commitment to professional development on your part. The Department also sponsors other seminars and brown bags, to which you should be alert. Watch for announcements from other departments and research centers, too.

7.3 D. Foster-Hewett Lectures

The Department sponsors an endowed seminar series funded by a gift from Donnel Foster Hewett, who was a distinguished geologist and graduate of Lehigh. The Foster Hewett Lecture features a prominent scientist or group of scientists in a format that changes from year to year. While here, the lecturer(s) spend(s) time meeting with faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates and, of course, deliver one or more lectures. This is your opportunity to meet scientists who are especially well known in their fields, and all graduate students are expected to attend ALL LECTURES (not a hardship, given that there's usually free food and EES often cancels or adjusts its regular class schedule!).

7.3 Graduate-Student Symposium

Around the first week in February EES devotes an afternoon and evening to a research colloquium designed, organized, and presented by EES graduate students (with the help of a small budget provided by the Department). The colloquium is modeled after a typical GSA, AGU, or ASLO session. All students must participate with either an oral or poster presentation. The colloquium is held in concert with a Department reception and dinner at a local restaurant. An abstract volume is prepared in advance and published.

7.4 Field Trips

Each year the department supports part of the cost of a departmental field trip to an area of particular interest.Past trips have gone to Scotland, Iceland, Puerto Rico, Death Valley, and the Grand Canyon, among other places, for durations of 5-7 days, often over a period like Spring Break.Organization of this trip is often carried out largely by students, although at least one faculty member must be be involved in the planning and take part in the trip. The EES chair should be consulted about budget and expenses. The funding of this trip originates from the departmental budget and is intended in part to attract undergraduates and provide them field experience. Thus it is important that undergraduates participate in the trip and its planning. In recent years our trips have been very successful and visited sites of interest to both geologists and ecologists.Costs of the trip above the subsidy provided by EES have been modest, usually around a few hundred dollars depending on airfare costs and the type of lodging that was used.

You should also keep your ears open for news of informal trips that are run in conjunction with courses or groups of courses, and have openings for interested students. In additional, several faculty and research groups make annual pilgrimmages to field meetings.

7.5 Graduate-Student Travel to Professional Meetings

It is generally the culture in the EES Department that individual faculty try to bring their students to professional meetings. In addition, the EES Faculty feel strongly enough about the merits of attending and being seen at professional society meetings and workshops that subject to the constraints of the departmental budget, each year EES funds are allocated for professional graduate student travel. In collaboration, a committee of two EES graduate students and one EES faculty member of the GIC, administer the fund, establishing guidelines commensurate with funding levels (e.g. matching funds, maximum awards, meeting participation, etc.), setting priorities (e.g. international meetings, regional meetings, workshops, short courses, fieldtrips) and establishing deadlines each semester for proposals. The committee looks favorable on student generated attempts to raise meeting travel support from sponsoring societies and the Lehigh Graduate Student Council. Requests for funding must be signed by the advisor certifying an inability to fully fund the meeting. Funds will be provided for travel, accommodation, and member registration costs only. Laura Cambiotti, the applicant, and the applicant¡¯s advisor must be notified in writing when funding awards are made and all funds must be settled in accordance with EES and Lehigh University policies.

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Section 8. Governance

Graduate students participate in departmental governance in many important ways. Each graduate student is expected to contribute some service to the Department in much the same way that each faculty member contributes services to the Department and University. We refer to these tasks as 'company duties.' Company duties are established by mutual consent of the faculty and graduate students. Elected offices are filled late in the spring semester, while other assignments are announced near the beginning of the academic year.

8.1 Elected Offices/Company Duties

The following is a list of current graduate-student company duties. The GIC or the graduate students may establish additional duties as they see fit; this list is subject to change in some of its details

• Chair (King or Queen) of graduate students - Liaison with EES chairperson and staff. Calls and presides over graduate student meetings which must be held a minimum of once per semester.
• Secretary for graduate students - Keeps minutes of graduate student meetings, maintains file of agendas and minutes as permanent record of graduate student deliberations, prepares nominating forms for graduate student awards (e.g. Graduate Student Leadership Award)
• Representative to the Department - Attends weekly Departmental meetings (one to hours, every other week during the academic year) to represent graduate student opinions and communicate departmental business to the graduate students. The grad representative will be excused whenever business turns to personnel matters involving faculty, staff, or students.
• Representatives to the Graduate Instruction Committee - Two representatives, who attend weekly Graduate Instruction Committee (GIC) meetings. The GIC is charged with overseeing operation of the graduate program, which includes recommending grad-program policies to the faculty and implementing them. In filling these positions, an atttempt should be made to chose one representative from M.S. program and one from Ph.D. program, and also to represent the disciplinary diversity of the department's graduate programs. This committee comprises the two graduate-student representatives and three faculty members, one of whom is the Graduate Coordinator and chair of the committee. The grad representatives will be excused from meetings which discuss matters of admission, financial aid and support, and personnel.
• Representative to the university Graduate Student Council (GSC) - The department must provide a representative to each GSC meeting. If a department goes unrepresented, graduate students within the program become ineligible for GSC travel funds.
• Alternate GSC representative - Backs-up regular member to ensure that EES is represented at all GSC meetings.
• Space coordinator - Generally a senior graduate student who serves on the department's Williams Hall space committee and manages desk assignments for graduate student offices provided by the department. Other office space is provided by faculty in research areas. The office coordinator works with the Department tech to ensure that each graduate student has a desk, chair, filing cabinet and bookshelf.
• Safety committee representative - Attends meetings of the department Safety Committee, participates in laboratory inspections which occur each semester.
• Sclar curator - Maintains the departmental library which is housed in the Sclar study. Is responsible for shelving journals donated to the departmental collection, including Carson' s journals. Requires monthly activity.
• Funding coordinator - Keeps graduate students informed of funding opportunities and sponsor deadlines. Works to ensure application forms (GSA, Sigma Xi, etc.) are available as deadlines approach.
• Seminar committee - Three members, who work in concert with faculty members to schedule and host outside speakers. Also organize the annual graduate student symposium.
• A/V support - Two students who share the liaison with seminar presenters and the Department tech to ensure appropriate AV equipment is available in seminar rooms when talks are to occur. Provides technical assistance during presentations (focusing, projector bulb replacement, etc)
• Department lunch support - Two students ensure that the Thursday lunch supplies are purchased for departmental seminars-an immensely important task.
• Display cases/bulletin boards - One or more graduate students who work with the Department tech to maintain/upgrade departmental displays annually.

8.2 Newsletter

Undergraduate and graduate students have often published a monthly departmental newsletter. Graduate student participation is critical to newsletter success. The editor and several of the production staff are graduate students. The newsletter comes and goes, but always rises from the ashes...or will your cohort become notorious for putting a stake through its heart?

8.3 Grievances and Resolution of Student Concerns

Clear expectations (faculty responsibility), a committed effort towards achieving those expectations (student's responsibility), and good communication can avoid most problems. In the event, however, that a graduate student wishes to initiate a formal grievance, the following procedures should be followed.

Students who experience difficulties should pursue the resolution of conflicts reasonably and before they escalate. Normally, the advisor should be consulted first for graduate students having conflicts with other students, instructors, administrators, or staff. However, in cases of conflict with the advisor, the student should bring their concern to the Chair of the EES Graduate Instruction Committee. If this does not provide a satisfactory solution, the student should continue to try and rectify the situation first with the EES Chair, and finally the CAS Dean of Graduate Studies (Barbara Traiser), if necessary.

EES and Lehigh strive to create an environment in which students, faculty, and staff can learn and work to their fullest potential. Discrimination or harassment of any kind cannot be condoned or tolerated. The Lehigh University policy on harassment can be found at http://www.lehigh.edu/~policy/university/harassment.htm.

8.4 Leaves of Absence

Graduate assistants are an integral and important component of the department¡¯s scholarship and educational missions. It is important to maintain open communication between the faculty and staff of the department and the graduate assistants. Therefore, if circumstances, planned or unplanned, occur which require a disruption of a student¡¯s obligations to the department or program, the student should expect to be treated fairly and both students and departmental personnel must act with consideration for one another.

If a graduate assistant (TAs, RAs, GAs, or student on Fellowship) is unable to fulfill the duties of his/her appointment because of illness, injury, or family emergency and the employee is the primary care giver, every effort should be made to assist the graduate assistant in performing the level of duties possible for the duration of the semester. If the graduate assistant can not perform any duties, the stipend will be maintained for up to two pay periods or the end of the semester or summer pay period, whichever occurs first [i.e. student gets 2 biweekly paychecks, subsequent to an emergency leave request]. If the circumstances are such that this paid leave is inadequate to provide sufficient time to resume his or her duties, the student may petition the EES chair to grant additional paid leave of absence. Such a request for paid leave for medical or family reasons should be in writing and certification of illness from a health care provider may be requested. In the case of a maternity (pregnancy or adoption) leave, 6 weeks of paid leave will be provided.

If the source of funding is external to the University, prior to granting the leave, it is the responsibility of the PI to insure the commitments to supporting grant or contract will be fulfilled and that the funding agency rules allow the implementation of such a leave. Ordinarily, funding agencies defer to the policies of the institution, however, in the event the funding agency has different defined policies, the agency policies will prevail.

Whether the necessity for a leave can be planned or not, as soon as possible, it is the responsibility of the graduate assistant to request the leave in writing, signed by the graduate advisor. An unpaid leave will be granted for up to one calendar year, during which time, all deadlines for qualifying and general examinations, financial aid limitations, and course requirements will be put on hold. Extensions to the 7 year (Masters) and 10 year (Doctoral) maximum time to complete degrees are considered by the CAS Graduate SOS committee and Graduate Dean.

If it becomes necessary to terminate the funding of a graduate assistant, notification will be provided in writing. It is important to note that graduate assistants are considered students under federal law, not University employees, therefore, the leave policy is a guideline and not a student entitlement.

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Section 9. EES Life and Lehigh Living

Your life in EES will not be all about degree requirements, courses, and committees. There's also day-to-day life, getting along, staying safe, and getting the little things done. Below, we cover a few such topics.

9.1 Services

There is a telephone located in or near most graduate student offices. The phones are programmed to allow all in-coming calls but only local outgoing calls unless a calling card or account number is used. You should inform your family, friends, and professional associates of the phone number in the office or laboratory where you normally work to keep office reception service to a minimum. Messages taken in the office are left in mailboxes.

The department maintains self-serve, for-fee, fax, photocopy, and postage machines which may be used by graduate students. The fax is located in WI 101 (main office): cover sheets are on the mail table, and you just follow the instructions on the machine. After you send other than a local fax, put the cover sheet with an account number in Nancy Roman's in-box; she will bill an account for work faxes and you for personal faxes. The photocopy machine is located in WI 103 and requires a copy card for use. Students purchase cards and refills from Nancy. TAs have access to course copy cards which are expected be used judiciously. The postage machine is pay as you go. Postage change winds up in petty cash where it is quickly exchanged for currency and fed into one of the beverage and snack machines located on the basement level of Williams Hall.

9.2 Student Office Space

The Department provides office space for all students in permanent residence and will try to provide space for associate status or continuing students not in residence. Students should expect that their office space will be maintained for a time commensurate with the guidelines of support outlined in Section 4.8 (above).

9.3 Keys

Keys for inside doors and the elevator are available from Facilities Services on Webster Street. You can get the necessary form from Laurie, and you will be required to place a $1.00 deposit per key. All graduate students are eligible for after-hours building access using their student ID card (see Nancy Roman in the departmental office), and all graduate students receive a graduate key which will open all classrooms, teaching laboratories, and lounges. Students can also arrange for individual keys as needed for research laboratories relevant to their work; this requires the lab supervisor's approval.

9.4 Common Rooms

The Department maintains two Common Rooms available to graduate students. The Sclar Commons, named for Professor Emeritus Charles Sclar, is located in Room 305. A small refrigerator, a small microwave oven, a sink, a stove, and a coffee maker are available in the Commons. The Keck Lounge towards the western end of the 4th floor is also available to all department members. Because these are common areas, everyone must play a role in keeping them clean and presentable. Room 102 also includes a kitchenette, but is used for numerous departmental functions including departmental meetings, classes, Friday luncheon hour, etc.; and so is often not available for casual use. Nancy Roman maintains the schedule for room 102.

9.5 Parking

All cars must be registered to park on campus (Parking Services-Johnson Hall). Graduate student parking permits are issued for the following fees: Mountain Top parking lots only $25 annually, Zoellner Arts Center Parking Garage lower campus for a covered, reserved space -$100 annually, or $1/day. Graduate students may be permitted to park at Saucon Village Apartments for no charge. Campus bus service is available from Saucon Village and Mountain Top lots; schedules are widely distributed.

9.6 Housing

Lehigh maintains a graduate student housing complex of 135 living units available on a yearly lease basis. Off-campus rental listings are provided by the Office of Residential Services. Most graduate students live off-campus.

9.7 Graduate-Student Center

You are represented on academic and student life issues by an elected graduate student council. The council also maintains a graduate student center, plans social events and disseminates information among fellow graduate students.

9.8 Child Care

Lehigh operates its own child care center, and provides services for a monthly charge. Financial assistance is available.

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9.9 Health Care

Lehigh offers you free inpatient and outpatient health care at its Health Center, staffed by professional doctors and nurses. You also can join a low-cost insurance plan for services not available there, such as X-rays, certain laboratory studies and medications not stocked at the center. The University requires international graduate students to have health insurance coverage.

9.10 Fitness

To keep the doctor away, Lehigh's Fitness Center has the latest exercise equipment. Use is free to students. Swimming pools, gyms, jogging track and many outdoor recreational facilities are also available.

9.11 For International Students

Lehigh welcomes and encourages the international exchange of students and scholars. Your experience as a Lehigh graduate student is truly global, both academically and culturally. There are over 350 international graduate students and 75 visiting scholars from more than 60 nations. The Office of International Education advises on immigration, visa and personal matters. It provides a complete orientation for all new students, an international student handbook, and a variety of cross-cultural programs.

English as a Second Language (ESL). The English as a Second Language Program offers courses for all English language needs. In addition, the intensive English language institute offers a 4 week pre-semester summer program. It is designed to prepare new students for the American university environment. A language proficiency assessment is required for all new international students.

International Multimedia Resource Center. Within this state-of-the-art center is a World View Room and multi-media foreign language computer lab that offer daily news broadcasts from around the world and foreign language programming received via international satellite TV networks.

9.12 Cell Phones

The use of cell phones, beepers, and pagers is permitted in Williams Hall, except during classes, seminars and other meetings, during which the device must be switched off unless your buzz or vibrate mode is inobtrusive. Unless you're facing a personal emergency, do not leap out of class to take calls. Please be considerate of office mates and others when answering calls: don't be one of those obnoxious people who are so widely and justifiably lampooned. Keep in mind that EES people have at their beck and call a wide range of hammers, crushers, acids, bases, lasers, microbes, spices, and goo, any and all of which can be used to exact revenge from a misbehaving phone or its user.

9.13 Children

We welcome visits by EES kids to see their Mom or Dad's neat equipment and displays and Blinkenlights. If you have children, inevitably the day will come when day care fails and you find yourself stuck. Provided you keep an eye on your offspring and they are well-behaved, there is no issue with occasionally having them accompany you to work in your office: in general, children cannot be in labs that present any hazard (e.g. wet labs). Do keep in mind that EES is an active workplace that is laced with hazards, particularly for young children (just our staircases have given many of us a moment or two of panic). Above all, please be considerate to others in the department. While at EES, your fellow students and the staff can't serve as nannies and they cannot take the responsibility of caring for your kids in your absence.

9.14 Pets

Sorry, but pets are not permitted inside Williams Hall, no matter how well-behaved and wonderful you think your little beastie is. We have had problems with noise, all manners of 'issue' from all ends of the beast, and damage to offices and labs. Also, there are more people than you might think who have allergies and aversions to animals of various kinds, and it is inappropriate to compromise the workplace. This is a University policy.

9.15 SAFETY

9.15.1. Safety training. All graduate students (and faculty) must attend a laboratory safety seminar annually. These are scheduled by the departmental Safety Officer; attendance is mandatory and must be documented. When in doubt about safe handling of chemicals, waste disposal, radiation safety, etc. ask the Safety Officer or contact Risk Management. Safety Bulletins are routinely posted in the photocopy room, the University Risk Management office publishes a series of Laboratory Safety documents (chemical safety, radiation safety, biohazard safety, etc.) which are useful and available in the departmental office. Note that some labs may have special training requirements for safety or materials handling. You bear part of the responsiblity for learning if you need such training and for obtaining it. And, of course, you are responsible for putting this training into practice.

9.15.2 Safety and hazardous materials violations. If you observe significant violations of either safe lab practice or the handling of hazardous materials, you must report them to the lab supervisor, or the EES safety officer or the department chair if the lab supervisor is the cause of the problem and is unwilling to respond. This is for everyone's safety, as well as the posterior of both EES and the University. In recent years, massive fines on the order of 100,000's of dollars have been levied against universities by the EPA and other goverment agencies. Do not think for a minute that in the case of a fine stemming from an EES violation or accident, that the University and the President will hold the bag: it will pass right down the line, and could have a serious impact on both the Department and specific individuals.

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