Lab Research Assistant • Aug 2013 - May 2014
I volunteered at one of UNM's Anthropology labs during my undergrad so I could get "behind-the-scenes" experience. One day, my supervisor handed me a stack of Tupperware of wood bits floating in Alaskan seawater and taught me how to go through the desalination process. The idea was to not destroy the samples from the previous field season so they could get date-tested.
Under the Dept. of Anthropology for Dr. E. James Dixon I also got to:
I volunteered at one of UNM's Anthropology labs during my undergrad so I could get "behind-the-scenes" experience. One day, my supervisor handed me a stack of Tupperware of wood bits floating in Alaskan seawater and taught me how to go through the desalination process. The idea was to not destroy the samples from the previous field season so they could get date-tested.
Under the Dept. of Anthropology for Dr. E. James Dixon I also got to:
- Process GPS and multi-beam data from the Alaskan continental shelf with ESRI ArcGIS under supervision of Kelly Monteleone, Ph.D.
- Digitize photographs and field notes from past and current archaeological projects, along with assist with research on the Internet and simple office tasks.
- I also experimented with my Google Glass for hands-free photography, videography, and note taking. Later I expanded into using it for my own research out in the field (it hated sand).
My volunteer time led to me joining the lab's next field season in Alaska - an opportunity offered to me on graduation day. Moving my life into storage IMMEDIATELY was hectic as hell!
