I’m always happy when August rolls around because it means that the Fall semester is just around the bend–we start early at Mason. I find also that if you look closely at our woodlands that surround the Institute, you can begin to see the first hints of the seasonal change that will follow: look for those first bright yellow tulip poplar leaves contrasted against the green grass. Soon also the black gum tree leaves will begin their change to brilliant red and then we’re off to the races (you can see I enjoy Fall more than Summer!).
Of course, we’re now in the phase at the end of summer where we welcome home our faculty from their various travels–I’ve heard numerous reports of very successful conferences and collaborations–congrats to all. And most importantly, we’re about to welcome two new incoming cohorts of doctoral students: neuroscience and computational social sciences. I can’t tell you how excited I am about that.
In the meantime, I hope that you all enjoy the dog-days of summer–when the parking in DC becomes just a bit easier and the traffic on 66 is reputed to lighten up–if just a tad.
Jim
Discoverers and Discoveries 