About Us
This page describes us. You’ll find equal parts a laying out of culture and philosophy, the mechanics and expectations for our operations, and a listing of useful resources for lab members. If you are just trying to get a feel of our culture, hopefully this helps inform. If you are old to the lab, I still suggest re-reading from time to time to refresh your bearings (and I also welcome feedback or suggestions for updates).
Our lab guiding principles:
We are inter-disciplinary communicators, problem solvers, and leaders.
We embrace complexity, uncertainty, and risk.
We support the responsible extraction of the resources needed to drive the planet to achieve a green future, providing the foundation of the energy transition.
We protect the environment from the wastes of our industrialized life and help clean up the wastes left behind by our predecessors.
Our lab focus areas:
We study methods to advance our capacity to protect the environment from tailings and mine waste and to rationally address legacy wastes.
Second, we study the application of geotechnical engineering concepts to hydrotechnical problems.
Third, we focus on education and outreach in geoenvironmental engineering. We strive to inspire future geoenvironmental engineers, and broaden social awareness of the roles engineer play in environmental stewardship. Much of this work is done through the SME @ CSU student chapter.
Expectations & Responsibilities
General
Safety first in all things! Always be aware of how things might go wrong and be prepared for the worst reasonable outcome. Think of this as the observational method applied to your everyday life. If you see a lab-mate doing something unsafe, talk to them – they may not have noticed what you have noticed.
Be an advocates for diversity in every form.
Respect your fellow lab-mates. Respect their strengths. Respect their weaknesses. Respect their lived experience, their culture, their religion, their beliefs, and their sexual orientation.
Support your fellow lab-mates. Help them when they need help. We succeed through collaboration, not competition. Your lab-mates will form the core of your professional network for life. Never stop supporting each other.
If you are struggling, tell someone (feel free to tell Joe!). Your health and happiness come first. The lab is here to help. We all go through rough patches.
Do your research before you do your research. There is a tremendous body of knowledge in “the literature.” Many of our best “new” ideas have already been asked and evaluated. Always check the literature first. Professor Shackelford is also an amazing resource but do your own research first.
Stay up to date on the latest research by using RSS feeds, Google Scholar, etc.
We want to do good work. Good work is rarely fast. Do not rush your work. Think first. Incorporate sanity checks.
High quality writing and communicating takes a lot of time. Be prepared to take the time.
Plagiarism, tampering with date, and falsifying data is never ok. Negative results are to be expected, and part of the process. No academic misconduct.
Have a life outside of the lab. Take care of your mental and physical health.
Day-to-day
If you are sick, stay home and recover.
Keep regular working hours. Where you work during these hours (office, home, coffee shop), and when hours occur, is up to you. However, we’ve set up our lab so that we can be a collaborative community. So, try to overlap some of your hours with your lab-mates. Ultimately when you get things done is up to you.
You are not expected to come into the lab on weekends and holidays. You also should not expect others to complete work on weekends and holidays. Plan to complete deliverables on a reasonable schedule.
Keep communal spaces clean. Clean up any food waste, crumbs, and spills.
Be on time for meetings.
Vacation is important. But be sure to communicate with your collaborators in advance so we can plan as needed.
Expectations of graduate students
Develop your research. A master’s thesis should focus on one project built around answering a specific question; I will ask you to do this project, or we will discuss and develop together. A doctoral dissertation should consist of around three projects built around answering a big-picture question; often (1) a project that I ask that you to do, (2) a project that we discuss and develop together, often extending the project that I ask you do, and (3) a project that you propose and drive forward.
Prioritize time for research. Coursework and TAing are important, but ultimately your research get you your MS or PhD and does the most to prepare you for the next stage of your career.
Help mentor undergraduate students in the lab, either because they ask or because I ask you to.
Present your work to the lab, at department/college/university events, and at conferences.
Meet with Joe every semester to talk about progress toward your degree. Information about course requirements for masters and doctoral degrees can be found here: https://www.engr.colostate.edu/ce/degree-information/ (under Degree Requirements and Programs).
Make sure you meet all departmental and graduate school deadlines (https://graduateschool.colostate.edu/deadline-dates/) and forms (https://www.engr.colostate.edu/ce/graduate-student-forms/).
Challenge Joe when your opinion is different. Discussing and debating is part of what makes academia interesting.
Expectations for research scientists
Work to develop your own independent line(s) of research.
Do high quality work, be proud of the work you produce.
Help mentor and train students in the lab when needed.
Present often.
Meet with Joe every semester to talk about professional development and career progression.
Work to develop sources of funding.
Challenge Joe when your opinion is different.
Expectations for me:
Support you (in research, in life, throughout your career).
Care for your emotional and physical well-being above all else.
Give you feedback on a timely basis, including feedback on project ideas, methods, posters, presentations, manuscripts, and grants.
Be available in person and via Teams/email on a regular basis, including regular meetings.
Give you my perspective on where our field is going, where industry is going, potential career trajectories.
Support your career development by introducing you to professionals, other academics, writing recommendation letters for you, and encouraging you to attend conferences as often as finances permit.
Help you prepare for the next step of your career.
Communication
We will communicate electronically using email, Teams, text messages, and phone calls, and each has a different purpose. Anything that is a chat, DM, meme should go on Teams. Email is for anything official, anything that is long or multi-part, anything with external collaborators, or anything that you want to make 100% sure does not fall through the cracks.
We will collaborate on drafts using OneDrive, SharePoint, and Dropbox.
If something is time sensitive, make sure you say so. However, keep in mind that folks are busy, and short turn-around times may not be possible so plan ahead.
We also communicate face to face! If an office door is open, you should feel free to knock and ask a question. If an office door is cracked, this means the occupant is trying to get something done and would only like to be interrupted for critical questions. If an office door is closed, assume the occupant is occupied or not there.
Meetings
There is a weekly 1-hour all-lab meeting for folks working at the ERC & AWER buildings. Please plan to attend. Prioritize attending unless you have a conflict. In person attendance is preferred, but virtual is better than not attending.
In general, schedule a weekly meeting with Joe at the start of each semester.
Each semester, we will also have a one-on-one professional development meeting that focuses on your career, goals, and tactics.
Resources
When Problems Come Up…
talk to Joe. If you have a problem with Joe, or if you want an outside opinion, consider speaking to Prof. Bareither or Prof. Atadero.