Calendar
Monday
- 9:00
- Workout out in campus rec center (weights and exercise bike).
- 10:15
- Respond to emails and phone calls
- 11:00
- Teach Honors section of an Introductory Oceanography class (lasts 50 minutes, 6 students). OSU has a special Honors College for its best undergraduate students.
- 12:15
- Meet with graduate teaching assistants for my regular Introductory Oceanography class and my Advanced GIS class.
- 1:00
- Teach regular Introductory Oceanography class (http://dusk.geo.orst.edu/oceans, lasts 50 minutes, 250 students).
- 2:00
- Office hour and lunch.
- 3:00
- Respond to emails and phone calls.
- 4:30
- Take dog for a walk. Dawn's dog, Lydia, comes to campus with her every day and has special permission to hang out in her building.
- 5:00
- Prepare for evening lecture.
- 6:00
- Teach Advanced Geographic Information Systems class (http://dusk.geo.orst.edu/buffgis, lasts an hour and a half, 25 students).
- 7:30
- Prepare lectures/activities for next classes and/or try to get research or writing done, depending on deadlines.
Dawn points out features on a map.
Tuesday
- 10:00
- Workout in campus rec center (weights).
- 11:00
- Road or mountain bike ride if weather allows.
- 1:00
- Lunch.
- 2:00
- Respond to emails and phone calls.
- 4:00
- Attend Geography seminar - held every Tuesday at 4 p.m. (our department also holds Geology seminars every Thursday at 4 p.m.).
- 5:00
- Try to get research or writing done, depending on deadlines.
Three-dimensional view of a volcano on the seafloor.
Wednesday
- 9:30
- Respond to emails and phone calls.
- 11:00
- Teach Honors section of an Introductory Oceanography class (lasts 50 minutes, 6 students).
- 12:00
- Respond to emails and lunch.
- 1:00
- Teach regular Introductory Oceanography class (lasts 50 minutes, 250 students).
- 2:00
- Office hour.
- 3:00
- Attend Geoscience faculty or committee meeting. Scientists in the department meet to talk about departmental issues every month on Wednesdays for a faculty meeting, or on other Wednesdays for various committee meetings (depending on the need).
- 5:00
- Take dog for a walk.
- 5:30
- Prepare for evening lecture.
- 6:00
- Teach Advanced Geographic Information Systems class, discussion sessions outside on the grass if weather allows (lasts an hour and a half, 25 students).
- 7:30
- Prepare lectures/activities for next classes and/or try to get research or writing done, depending on deadlines.
Dawn on the beach with her dog Lydia.
Rest day from gym workout out in campus rec center.
Thursday
- 10:00
- Workout in campus rec center (weights).
- 11:00
- Teach Honors Oceanography lab (lasts 2 hours).
- 1:00 - 2:00
- Lunch. Respond to emails and phone calls.
- 4:00
- Work on web sites and logistics for an upcoming national conference of the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS, http://www.ucgis.org). Dawn is the local arrangements chair for the conference and serves as a delegate, communications chair, and education committee member for the UCGIS.
- 5:00
- Meeting in Dawn's lab, Davey Jones Locker, with all her graduate students to track their progress and address any of their questions or concerns. Cookies and/or chips and salsa.
- 6:00
- Respond to emails, try to get research or writing done.
Marine and Coastal GIS poster outside Dawn's office.
Friday
- 9:00
- Workout out in campus rec center (weights and exercise bike).
- 10:15
- Respond to emails and phone calls.
- 11:00
- Teach Honors section of an Introductory Oceanography class (lasts 50 minutes, 6 students).
- 12:00
- Respond to emails.
- 1:00
- Teach regular Introductory Oceanography class.
- 2:00
- Lunch and take dog for walk.
- 3:00
- Work on research proposals in progress so Dawn can go on more expeditions and do more neat research.
- 4:00
- Attend a staff meeting for Virtual Oregon, a new project that Dawn is leading to establish a data center at Oregon State for natural resources and environmental data of Oregon (including oceanographic data off the Oregon coast).
- 8:00
- Attend a movie or community discussion group in Corvallis. Dawn enjoys watching independent films and discussing them afterwards with a group at the Logos House Christian Student Center, or participating in discussions about challenges to women and minorities as part of the community lecture series called "Beyond Black History Month".
Dawn on her bicycle.
Dawn Wright
- Professor, Department of Geosciences
- Oregon State University
More about Dawn
- Profile
Dawn's profile. - Interview
Read an interview with Dawn. - Background
Get more info on Dawn's background. - Picture Gallery
See images of Dawn at work. - Learn More
Learn more about Dawn's field - Dawn's Calendar
See Dawn's typical work week. - Related Links
Other sites related to Dawn's career.
More Remarkable Careers
- Amy Bower
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Amy studies the interactions between ocean currents and climate. These interactions are very complex.
- Maya Tolstoy
- Research Scientist, Geophysics
Marine seismologist Maya Tolstoy helps find active volcanoes on the seafloor by listening for their eruptions.
- Melanie Holland
- Faculty Research Associate, Microbial Ecology
Melanie Holland studies the microbes that thrive in scalding temperatures surrounding hydrothermal vents. These amazing organisms not only reveal important information about the vent communities, they may also provide insights into the origin of life on Earth and the possible existence of life on other planets.
- Emily Klein
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Emily collects rocks from the deep seafloor. The chemicals that make up the rocks provide clues to how the oceanic crust is built.
- Kathryn Kelly
- Professor (Affiliate), Physical Oceanography
Kathryn Kelly studies how changing ocean currents affect the climate. And she does all of her research from the comfort of her office.
- Wen-lu Zhu
- Associate Scientist, Geology and Geophysics
Wen-lu Zhu studies the properties of rocks found deep in the ocean crust by recreating those conditions in the laboratory.
- Debby Ramsey
- Third Engineer, Marine Crew
As Third Engineer onboard the Research Vessel Thomas G. Thompson, Debby Ramsey helps keep all of the equipment that has moving parts running smoothly.
- Kathryn Gillis
- Professor, Earth and Ocean Sciences
Kathryn Gillis dives to rifts in the seafloor that are as deep as six kilometers to learn about the processes taking place within the ocean crust.
- Margaret Leinen
- Assistant Director for Geosciences
As a scientist, Margaret Leinen studied sediments that have accumulated on the ocean floor. Now as the Assistant Director of Geosciences at the National Science Foundation, she oversees programs in Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean, and Environmental Sciences. She is also working on initiatives to bring more women and minorities into these fields.
- Jo Griffith
- Principal Illustrator, Scientific and Oceanographic Data
Technical illustrator Jo Griffith hasn’t picked up a pen in over five years. Instead she uses a variety of computer programs to create graphs, maps, and illustrations for researchers.
- Ashanti Pyrtle
- Assistant Professor, Aquatic Science
Ashanti Pyrtle studies the fate of radioactive material that enters rivers, lakes, and oceans. She also advises minority science students on how to navigate through graduate school and prepare for a career afterwards.
- Lauren Mullineaux
- Senior Scientist, Marine Biology
Lauren Mullineaux’s research group studies a side of benthic organisms (animals that live on the seafloor) that until recently has received little attention.
- Rose Dufour
- Ship Scheduler and Clearance Officer, Ship Operations and Marine Technical Support
Rose Dufour and her job-share partner Elizabeth Brenner create the schedules for four research ships. The challenge is to keep the scientists, funding agencies, and foreign governments happy.
- Claudia Benitez-Nelson
- Assistant Professor, Chemical Oceanography
Claudia Benitez-Nelson uses radioactive isotopes to study the complex world of nutrient cycling in the oceans.