ITASCA

A favorite part of the training program is the retreat we hold each year in early fall and/or late winter at the University's Itasca Forestry and Biological Station in Itasca State Park, the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

The fall retreat is largely research presentations by all trainees. For many students, this retreat represents the first opportunity to give a research presentation in front of an audience from multiple disciplines. The students spend the first day in groups preparing their lectures, working closely with training faculty members who help them develop and improve their cross-disciplinary presentationskills. The next day, the trainees deliver their lectures. The diversity of the research areas presented by the attendees promotes thinking across disciplines, development of listening and communication skills, and speaking in a language comprehendable by those of different scientific backgrounds.

The winter retreat is often instructional on a selected biological or chemical topic and an engineering topic. Themes in past years have been genomic tools, ethics in tissue engineering, and metaboliome.

These retreats are one of the best opportunities for trainees and training faculty to socialize and get to know each other. Canoeing, cross-country skiing, and fishing are favorite outdoor activities that accompany research presentations. Board games, cards, and lots of food supplement them indoors.

Itasca group 2004	Duking it out in a snowball fight.
Playing "Killer Bunnies"	Skiing across Lake Itasca. The weater was so warm the ice was melting as we skiied over it.