Aquatic sciences are increasingly global in nature, transcending political boundaries and requiring collaboration with foreign scientists and working in other countries. Planning and executing collaborative research projects overseas, however, is not trivial. Challenges include communicating with scientists in a different country, obtaining funding for international work, overcoming technical obstacles such as shipping and permits, and navigating language and cultural barriers. The recent global pandemic has added a new layer of challenge to carrying out international research. We invite participants of all career stages to share their experiences from both productive and not so successful adventures in conducting international collaborative research.
We seek presentations on international collaboration related to funding, identifying collaborators, executing projects, overcoming obstacles, developing teams, leveraging mutual advantages and infrastructure, handling difficulties, and successful outcomes. The session will include submissions by students participating in ASLO’s NSF-funded program “Limnology and Oceanography Research Exchange (LOREX)” which aims to foster international research collaborations through professional development and a research exchange for graduate students. We hope this session will help others avoid pitfalls, take advantage of opportunities, and increase likelihood of effective and fun international collaborations in the aquatic sciences.
Lead Organizer: Brittany Schieler, Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (communications@aslo.org)
Co-organizers:
Adina Paytan, University of California Santa Cruz (apaytan@ucsc.edu)
Mike Pace, University of Virginia (pacem@virginia.edu)
Linda Duguay, University of Southern California (duguay@usc.edu)
Presentations
06:00 PM
Navigating project planning and collaborating with a research lab in New South Wales, Australia (8810)
Primary Presenter: James Westphalen, Georgia Southern University (westphalenjames@gmail.com)
The acceptance and funding to conduct research in another country is an amazing opportunity, but comes with numerous responsibilities that can make the experience difficult to navigate. As a member of ASLO’s 4th cohort of Limnology and Oceanology Research exchange (LOREX), I was able to conduct research with Southern Cross Universities’ Centre for Coastal Biogeochemistry (CCB). With acceptance to the program in January, I had 4 months to plan for the 8-week time slot that I had to conduct research in Lismore Australia. This included finding flights and housing, applying for a visa, and collaborating with scientists at the CCB to determine how I would conduct field collection, laboratory sampling and instrumental analysis within a short time frame. This was done across a 14-hour time difference, making communication with my hosts difficult. Upon arriving, collaboration with members of the CCB was done with more ease, but there were numerous hoops to jump through at the university administration level. Despite these challenges, the experience was rewarding. I was able to collect sufficient data that I will be planning to use to release a publication on a carbon dioxide removal method, and to develop into a chapter of my PhD dissertation. Regarding collaborative research, this experience gave me the opportunity to network with numerous researchers that were conducting their own projects, and through this networking I was able to get access to further research opportunities with the CCB.
06:00 PM
You can learn as much around the lunch table as you can in lab, and other lessons learned while doing research abroad (8885)
Primary Presenter: Abby Webster, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (abwebste@syr.edu)
Our world is connected by water, and aquatic sciences are important everywhere. We know that global problems require global partnerships to resolve, so it is crucial that we encourage students to pursue international opportunities and offer a pathway that will build their confidence to do so. As graduate students, there are many unwritten expectations. We are told to focus on our research – but also make sure to attend conferences and build your network – and it’s good to have teaching experience so gain that too but be careful of your time when accepting outreach opportunities. These suggestions can feel conflicting, and it makes it easy to talk ourselves out of something. But what if that thing was the experience that would remotivate your research? To see the bigger picture and remind you that life is much larger than the isolation you may feel in your PhD? Traveling to Australia for ASLO’s Graduate Research Exchange Program (LOREX) and collaborating with a new team of researchers was that thing for me. There are, of course, challenges and intimidations with beginning an international collaboration, especially as a student. However, it is also the best time to try, and practice, and push ourselves out of our comfort zone. Collaborating across borders provides the foundation to critically think about issues with a global perspective, while also laying the framework towards solving them. This presentation will highlight the difficulties and lessons learned while navigating research abroad as a PhD student and the lasting impact it can have when you return.
06:00 PM
THE IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION ON EARLY CAREER STUDENTS (9337)
Primary Presenter: Amanda Theall, University of New Hampshire (agt1049@usnh.edu)
International collaboration is important for a developing early-career scientist as it broadens both research experiences and perspectives. It is an adventure for an early career researcher, that includes both challenges and benefits. International experiences allow for the building of new relationships, exploration of a new country, experience a new culture (research and societal), and learn new life and professional skills (research and social). During the summer of 2024, I had the opportunity to collaborate with Dr. Paul del Giorgio at the University of Quebec at Montreal with generous support from the ASLO Limnology and Oceanography Research Exchange (LOREX) program. In this presentation I will share my experiences from the ASLO LOREX program and discuss what it was like living and working in a new city and being part of a new lab group. I will particularly focus on the importance of the host relationship, recognizing the additional responsibilities that they assume by hosting a new student. During a research exchange it is beneficial to develop professional relationships with your collaborator and group, as they provide beneficial insights from new research perspectives and directly support adapting to a new culture. I had an unforgettable experience in Montreal. I plan to share my experiences from Montreal and my knowledge on collaboration gained from this program.
06:00 PM
Navigating New Waters: Lessons Learned from International Collaboration (9027)
Primary Presenter: Jessica Briggs, University of Wisconsin-Madison (jbriggs5388@gmail.com)
In August 2024, I had the opportunity to complete a research exchange with Dr. Paul del Giorgio and Dr. Yves Prairie and their lab groups at the Université du Québec à Montréal through the ASLO Limnology and Oceanography Research Exchange (LOREX) program. My exchange project focused on learning new methodologies for studying greenhouse gas dynamics in inland waters. I gained hands on experience measuring ebullitive (or bubble) methane fluxes and methane oxidation rates in a boreal lake, and then returned to my home institution to complete similar measurements on an urban pond. Through my exchange I gained not only new research skills but also valuable experiences in international collaboration. My experience in Montréal taught me about the importance of communication, preparation, and flexibility when starting new projects in new to you environments. Keeping my project organized and focused enabled me to spend more time building relationships with new colleagues and exploring new ecosystems, equally as beneficial outcomes of my exchange as the collected data.
06:00 PM
Peat and Greet: Lessons in International Collaboration from the LOREX Program (9414)
Primary Presenter: Cheristy Jones, University of New Hampshire (cheristy.jones@unh.edu)
International collaboration in the aquatic sciences is essential for tackling the complex questions related to climate change that our world faces today. For early career researchers in particular, international collaboration provides a challenge and a unique opportunity to develop new skills, partnerships and perspectives. As part of the ASLO Limnology and Oceanography Research Exchange (LOREX) program, I conducted a research exchange in Abisko, northern Sweden, aimed at fostering international scientific cooperation. Through this program, I gained new insights into the study site where I am conducting my dissertation research, learned new techniques to measure dissolved organic matter quality, groundwater inputs, and how to calculate stream metabolism. Additionally, I met other international researchers, allowing me to establish new collaborations and conduct interdisciplinary research. The challenges of this work included planning logistics and securing additional research funding. Overall, this experience has taught me the importance of teamwork to ensure successful and enjoyable research projects.
06:00 PM
A Summer in Nova Scotia: How International Collaboration Changed my View of Collaborative Research (9233)
Primary Presenter: Shaun Eisner, University of Maryland at College Park (seisner1@umd.edu)
As part of the ASLO LOREX exchange program, I was given the opportunity to travel for a summer to Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. While at Dalhousie, I had the privilege to work with an inviting and welcoming lab under a host advisor whose research style was incredibly different from my home advisor. Additionally, I had the opportunity to explore a unique region whose culture often times felt both incredibly familiar and different to my own. The research I conducted while at Dalhousie has become an integral part of my thesis work and my professional relationship to the Marine Environmental Modelling Group at Dalhousie has expanded my interdisciplinary understanding of the broad and complex field of oceanography. Additionally, my exchange at Dalhousie provided me with unique opportunities which I would not have otherwise experienced such as the ability to participate in a field survey of the Bedford Basin or experiencing how a department other than my own conducts their search for job candidates. All in all, my exchange at Dalhousie was a memorable experience that will surely become an integral part of my graduate and professional career.
06:00 PM
Navigating Resilience: Adapting International Collaborations and Research Amid Conflict (8819)
Primary Presenter: Antrelle Clark, Auburn University (antrelleclark@gmail.com)
Graduate students are often confined to the resources available at our primary institution. The Limnology and Oceanography Research EXchange (LOREX) program sought to change that. In the Summer of 2023, I had the opportunity to participate in this program, collaborating with Dr. Dror Angel and the Applied Marine Biology and Ecology Research (AMBER) lab at the University of Haifa, Israel. This 8-week exchange was so essential to my growth in cultural knowledge and appreciation, and as a scientist, that I applied for the program again with the same collaborator. Set out and excited to return in August 2024, plans were placed at a “temporary” halt due to conflict at my exchange location and within my primary institution. Multiple conflicts left behind questions such as: is my travel halted temporarily or permanently? What does this mean for my research? What approaches can I take to still partake in my exchange? In this presentation, I will share my learning experiences, the challenges I encountered, and how I navigated different obstacles to make the most of my exchange experience and overall graduate career.
06:00 PM
A GRADUATE STUDENT'S GUIDE TO BACK UP PLANS (9250)
Primary Presenter: Alexis Berger, George Mason University (aberge2@gmu.edu)
They say always have a back up plan for your back up plan in science. That is especially true when it comes to international collaborations, even more so when it is your first international collaboration in a field that is outside your own. ASLO’s Limnology and Oceanography Research Exchange (LOREX) program has given me a chance to grow and learn the intricacies and complexities of collaborative international research and learn the value of having back up plan after back up plan. There are some skills that our seminars may not be able to teach us – how to be flexible with research ideas, shifting timelines, accommodation obstacles, and learning to integrate in a new laboratory setting – that we can only get through experience. Even though there were many obstacles to overcome, this research exchange with Dalhousie University stoked a passion for a new topic, forged new relationships, and allowed me to gain a new insight on how other universities and departments operate. This presentation will highlight the obstacles faced identifying collaborators and executing projects, while being one of the most impactful learning opportunities I’ve had to date in my graduate experience.
EP07P - Adventures, Challenges, and Benefits of Conducting International Collaborative Research
Description
Time: 6:00 PM
Date: 29/3/2025
Room: Exhibit Hall A