Read updates on CASHP PhD student Elaine Miller's summer fellowship in Japan at the Center for International Collaboration and Advanced Studies in Primatology.
Student Blog
On February 26, 2020, the Idaho state House passed a bill banning transgender female athletes from participating in school sports on female teams.
Gene Discovery Helps Explain How Humans May Have ‘Self-Domesticated’
Scientists may have come one step closer to figuring out what makes humans look and act like humans,...
Results? Why, Man, I Have Gotten Results! Optical Coherence Tomography Doesn't Work on Teeth
Teeth are abundant in the human fossil record because enamel and dentine are both highly mineralized,...
Some Unsolicited Advice on Import Permits for Primatologists - and a Short Story
During the summer of 2018, I boarded a plane and headed off to Madagascar for the second time. I was...
Self-Care in the Present: My Future Self Will Thank Me
I always thought I was good at self-care. I did my laundry, I ate regularly, and I would get more than...
Managing Time and Not Losing Your Mind During a Short Field Season
Student blog post about managing challenges during a short field season.
I never thought I would study anthropology. For a long time, I believed that anthropologists were...
The coyote came to me in a box—just her head—wrapped with care by a hunter on the other side of the...
Grant Deadline Season - The Spookiest Time of the Year
It’s almost Halloween and what could be scarier then talking about money as a graduate student? I have...
When I first considered writing a blog about the experience of getting my Ph.D., I thought I would be...
Life Across the Pond: Being an International Student at CASHP, GWU
I moved to DC from the UK last year to begin studying for my PhD at the Center for the Advanced Study...
Recently, I’ve spent time at the National Museum of Natural History engaging with the public about my...
On the Privilege of Pursuing Higher Education
As a 32 year-old first-year Master’s degree student hopefully en-route to a PhD program, I have done a...
I sat down to write this January blog post within the first hour of being asked to volunteer to write a...
Considering Lemurs on Our Quest to Understand Human Evolution
“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent,...
Understanding the Public's Understanding of Science
One of the reasons I chose to get my PhD at The George Washington University was the Human Paleobiology...
Things I Wish I Had Known About Getting a PhD
I decided to pursue graduate school for two reasons: 1) it seemed like the logical next step in my...
Livin' on a Prayer: The View from Halfway
As I finished my fifth semester in the human paleobiology doctoral program, I reached an exciting...
The Unexpected Benefits of Exercise: Past, Present, and Future
“If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not...
Moving On Up: 5 Financial Secrets No One Tells You about Graduate School
Funded! Receiving an award letter to graduate school is one of the (hopefully many) highs in an...
I am a writer before I am a scientist. I’ve been writing short stories and poems since elementary...
Over the past summer, I was collecting pilot data for my dissertation project on the locomotion of wild...
Surviving Graduate School as the Minority Representative
I grew up in Phoenix, AZ, specifically in South Phoenix, which is a predominately Mexican-American...
Multitasking for the 21st Century Grad Student
The month of May is often a whirlwind! Everyone is busy transitioning from the semester to their summer...
As a grad student you are constantly reminded of the importance of networking. Connections you make...
About this time last year, I faced an all too familiar problem for researchers in our field — I wanted...
Mental Disorder in Academia: Chicken or the Egg/
Abraham Lincoln, Ludwig van Beethoven, Michelangelo, Charles Dickens, Vincent van Gogh, Winston...
I don’t remember what first motivated me to try yoga, but I know what made me stick with it. It felt...
Survival is the top priority of graduate students. The first few years are spent juggling coursework,...
Uniting Human Origins Research in East Africa, Fifty Years After Homo habilis
In the summer of 2015, in addition to conducting fieldwork and research in the National museum of...
New Flash: Graduate School Nerd Inspired by Star Trek
got the best news ever the other day: new Star Trek in 2017! Yeah so, I’m a Trekker, and I have been...
GW Women in STEM First Annual Symposium - Hopefully the First of Many
Last year, CASHP’s Women in Science group faced a challenge: how could we continue the dialogue about...
Protecting Olduvai's Treasures
It is no secret that Olduvai Gorge has yielded many of the most important discoveries in human...
A Data Focused Approach: Too Chimplistic?
Discontented grumbles from nearby researchers and field assistants pull my attention away from my...
Disclaimer: There is a ridiculous, David Foster Wallace-esque number of hyperlinks and footnotes...
The Dissertation Proposal Defense
The third year of the PhD program at CASHP is a whirlwind for anyone who experiences it. It is...
One of the great benefits of being a graduate student is getting the opportunity to discuss studies and...
Chimpanzees: Not for Your Entertainment
In one of the labs in the undergraduate introduction to biological anthropology course, one activity...
Excitement, nervousness, exhaustion. The annual physical anthropology meetings elicit a mix of emotions...
For those interested in pursuing a career in science, receiving an acceptance letter from your dream...
Learning the Ropes...and Teaching Them Too!
As graduate students, we occupy an unusual role in the university. Yes, we still take classes and worry...
"Ancestors for Us All" - Cultural Heritage and Prehistory Research in Tanzania
While perusing museum records in Dar es Salaam last week, I came across an obituary of one Dr. Louis S....
Resources for PhD Students Are Not Rare If You Know Where to Look
Have you ever noticed that people love to give advice? I am no exception! In this post I am going to...
Finding the Stunning Sunsets Through the Vines of Graduate School
Trip. Get back up. Vines. Free. Where are these chimps? Keep searching. Chimps. Incredible. Repeat...
As an archaeologist one of the things I look forward to most is getting into the field. I had my first...
Why Was a Neuroscientist in the African Savannah for 2 Months?
As an evolutionary neuroscientist, I’ve spent most of my research hours behind lab walls. However this...
34-Years Later: Do We Know Why We Study Paleoecology?
“Do paleoecologists even possess an adequate vocabulary to imagine anything other than savannah mosaic...
Beginner's Guide to Poster Presentations
Graduate school is undeniably rich with a lot of ‘firsts.’ For many students, attending and presenting...
The browsing history of my internet search engine contains a medley of material that ranges from...
The Researcher Emergent: I- Survival
Since beginning my doctorate at George Washington University, I’ve had no shortage of exciting,...
To be completely honest, I spend days, not nights in a museum. Nonetheless, for the past month I’ve...
"Hey Laurence, Did You Find Any Cool Stuff Digging in Africa This Summer?
I’ve been asked this question a lot recently because in June, I spent two weeks at Kanapoi, the famous...
One of the many great opportunities provided by CASHP for its lucky graduate students is the chance to...
Starting the Evolution in Education Program at CASHP
One of the many great opportunities provided by CASHP for its lucky graduate students is the chance to...
This past week I attended the 83rd Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical...
The Researcher Emergent: Prologue
Toward the end of my first semester as a PhD student in the HomPal program at GW I was invited to...
A Serious Question: How Do You Study?
Graduate students experience various facets of pedagogy simultaneously. For their own studies, they are...
In southwestern France, hours outside of Paris on the way to Bordeaux, lies a small village called Les...
Does Evolution Have a Place in Medicine?
As a student in the highly interdisciplinary Hominid Paleobiology Doctoral Program, with an even...
My life changed significantly in the past few months. I started a new degree, in a different country,...
The Anatomy of a Paleontologist
For the past semester, I’ve been assisting students in the GW medical school with Human Gross Anatomy....
The Wherefore and Why of Food Photography Faux Pas
Martha Stewart’s Twitter account (@MarthaStewart) recently caused a minor uproar in social media this...
If a stranger walked in and out of my office without ever speaking to me, they would most likely know...
In Search of Data: The Story of an Unconventional Summer
As the spring semester winds down and the oppressive heat of summer descends upon the city, the daily...
Finishing a Dissertation and Making Post-Dissertation Plans
I spent the past academic year writing up the results of my dissertation, which proved quite a task. I...
The Adaptability and Perseverance of the Scientist
Wise senior scientists recently made these statements to me, and I bet that most people with scientific...
Neuroscience for Middle Schoolers
Whatever your profession, you may have felt at some point that you were running on automatic pilot....
Simple engravings are found everywhere in Rouffignac Cave. The ends of these engravings show that...
What's It Like to Meet Your Adviser's Adviser?
Two weekends ago CASHP hosted a symposium on the ‘Function and Evolution of the Human Foot.’ While the...
Aldo Leopold and Elandsofontein
The word “naturalist” is defined as, “a student of natural history: especially a...
A week filled with prospective student visits undoubtedly brings back memories of our own application...
With New Data Comes New Responsibilities
The nature of paleoanthropology is changing in many ways. Leafing through recent issues of the ...
Teaching Resources Now Available on the CASHP Website
Students in the introductory biological anthropology course at George Washington University attend...
Pounding Tools and Particle Colliders
What does particle physics have in common with paleoanthropology? A lot, actually.
I recently...
As I approach the New Year, I have been inundated with thoughts of change: personal, political, social...
Asking Big Questions for Primatology
In a program dedicated to interdisciplinary (or, according to paleoanthropologist and recent invited speaker...
In my previous entries for this blog I have mostly focused on the fieldwork aspects of archaeology,...
Do you know the story of “Under Pressure,” the 1981 rock hit recorded by Queen and David Bowie? With a...
Interdisciplinary Adventures in Tanzania
One of the best parts about being a CASHP graduate student is the endless research opportunities...
Primates! An ASP Conference Report
The American Society of Primatologists held their 2012 meeting in Sacramento, California....
Igniting Curiosity in Children at the Science & Engineering Festival
As I wrap up my first year of graduate school, I can’t help but be reflective. I think back on the...
I’ll set the scene for you: It’s late afternoon, and I’m in the lab, alone. Well, not exactly alone. It...
How Do You Choose? Use Visible Cues!
February was an exciting month, and March promises to be equally stimulating! In February, the CASHP...
Examining the Molecular Evolution of the Human Phenotype Using Comparative Genomic Methods
Last month Kevin talked about the “bipolar” lives of paleoanthropologists. This month I thought I would...
The Bipolar Lives of Paleoanthropologists
The other day someone told me that paleoanthropologists live a bipolar lifestyle. I had never heard...
Bone Walks and Paleolandscape Ecology at East Turkana
Many paleoanthropologists are familiar with traditional paleoecological methods where reconstruction is...
Connecting the Dots between Gorilla Bones and Conservation Biology
This summer I participated in the ...
Some fundamental cognitive abilities, such as sensation, perception, motor control, and learning, are...
Teaching South African Students About the Past
A key component of science research is ensuring that the knowledge is made available in the public...
Hormones, Life-Histories and Hair
Differences in male life history patterns among primates represent a complex of tradeoffs between the...
Developing Models of Premolar Molarization in Primates
What makes a mammal? We lactate, are homeothermic, and have hair. We also have diverse tooth types –...
Testing the Role of Ochre in the Construction of Hunting Weapons
Humans are remarkable for our ability to innovate new tools with which to modify our environment and to...
Imaging Protein Expression in the Brains of Chimpanzees and Humans
Human uniqueness is often explained in terms of behavioral specializations such as language, empathy,...
Reconstructing Paleoenvironments at Orlogesaile, Southern Kenya
Understanding the environmental context of our human ancestors is the first step to figuring out how...
Exploring Neuronal Diversity in the Mammalian Brain
Studying the evolution of the brain is central to understanding the origins of what makes us human. In...
CASHP Students Teach at Koobi Fora Field School
This summer, three CASHP students had the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of our ancestors –...
Biochemical Analysis of Human Tool Use
A Pliance sensor system at CASHP enabled students to collect pressure data acting on the human hand...