I remember my days in geology at Ottawa U.  There were fewer of us fourth year
students than there were grad students and profs combined.  The profs and grad
students were extremely accessible to us and would not hesitate to point us in
right directions and give us references to check for our term papers and
theses.  This made fourth year a similar experience to what most people have to
wait for grad school to get and I have always considered myself lucky (even
tho'  old Ottawa U is not a prestigious one) .
 
Andrew K. Rindsberg wrote:
 
> USC = University of Southern California, Los Angeles. There are other
> USC's, but this is the most famous one. The University's architecture is
> quite collegiate, and Hollywood often films scenes on campus. You'd
> probably recognize the inner campus if you visited it.
>
> The Allan Hancock Foundation has its own clean-cut building, whose exterior
> is engagingly decorated with bas-reliefs of marine animals. I particularly
> recall the Globigerina (a foraminifer) from my stay there in 1982 or so.
> The Foundation's specialists included eminent researchers on sponges,
> forams, bryozoans, polychaetes, seaweeds, and other groups; and marine
> geologists as well. A typical laboratory included a reprint library,
> microscopes and benches and sinks, all sorts of equipment and tools, and
> grad students whose attitude might be enthusiastic or resigned, depending
> on the number of years they had studied, but were always positive about
> science. It was a heady experience.
>
> The senior geologist, Donn Gorsline, was very supportive (he let me, a
> stranger, occupy his house for several days while he was out of town), but
> had no time to waste. His students were in awe of him. He was capable of
> closing his office door and writing a paper, complete, in a day. But he was
> not a distant person; every work day, he and his students ate lunch
> together and talked about current topics in marine geology, in the same way
> that British academics talk nuclear physics over tea. Woe betide the
> student who nattered off-topic! I found out quickly that this was not only
> a breach of manners, but also made a bad impression.
>
> It is very important to talk with other specialists about your topic of
> study. They can steer you away from dead ends, lead you to new ways of
> thinking, and test and tighten your reasoning. The great research
> universities have enough people to make this work, but most people do not
> live at or near such places. It is uncommon for two malacologists, for
> instance, to work at the same place. Email, and listserves such as Conch-L,
> Unio-L, and Mollusca-L, have alleviated this situation somewhat by making
> it possible for anyone, academic or not, to join a pool of experience and
> talent. You can post a question and have it answered within hours.
> Fantastic.
>
> We sometimes forget that Conch-L is a very large academic tea--almost 400
> people, not half a dozen. Like grad students who have studied too long, we
> need some comic relief now and then. The day I arrived at USC, one lab was
> filled with marine geologists cooking chili in large beakers over Bunsen
> burners--their annual contest. My first impression of the students as a
> bunch of cut-ups was incorrect, however. An hour later, and on every day
> thereafter, they were serious about their work. They did not mind being
> interrupted by a request for information, but they were definitely not
> there for idle conversation during working hours. When they forgot, a
> professor reminded them to stay on track.
>
> So, enjoy the pigs now and then, with emphasis on "now and then." And
> remember that it is just as rude to stanch a good joke as it is to
> interrupt a good work session, hey?
>
> Andrew K. Rindsberg
> Geological Survey of Alabama