Ten Secrets of Successful Students

1. SET PRIORITIES - study is business. business before pleasure.
2. STUDY - define schedule and place, concentrate, practice.
3. GET ORGANIZED - notebooks, notes, schedules, references, supplies, be neat and professional
4. READ - be active, take notes, retain.
5. SCHEDULE - allot time for study, projects, research, recreation, rest.
6. TAKE GOOD NOTES - listen, write, organize, summarize, scan.
7. SPEAK UP & GET HELP - ask, find out why, question, understand, know.
8. DO MORE THAN YOU ARE ASKED - practice, work problems, consult other references, go the extra mile.
9. ENJOY - learning can be exciting and fun - find the fun - keep looking for the interest and joy, don't get discouraged.
10. BASICS - learn and practice the fundamentals, don't leave home without them

Bob Bea Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering Ocean Engineering Graduate Program University of California at Berkeley August 23, 2001

Take the Time To...

WORK - it is the price of success

THINK - it is the source of power

PLAY - it is the secret of life

READ - it is the foundation of knowledge

HELP FRIENDS - it is the source of happiness o Dream - it can provide the path to the future

LOVE - it is the sacrament of life

Bob Bea Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering Ocean Engineering Graduate Program University of California at Berkeley August 23, 2001

Are you sure you're ready for 'Dr.'?

Graduate Student Researcher Completion Check List

The following must be presented to Professor Bea before departing campus :

1. one copy of thesis, dissertation, or 299 report
2. five copies + 1 unbound copy of Marine Technology & Management Group report: co-authored, 'industrialized' version of (1) for project sponsors
3. one electronic / disk copy of (2) including text, illustrations, and appendices
4. one copy of software developed (with documentation)
5. loaned / borrowed references from Prof. Bea
6. items (hardware, software, references) purchased with MTMG / University project funds
7. contact information (address, telephone)

Thanks for all of your help.

The Seven Deadly Sins of Modernity

1. Wealth without work
2. Pleasure without conscience
3. Knowledge without character
4. Business without morality
5. Science without humanity
6. Worship without sacrifice
7. Politics without principle

M. K. Gandhi 1950

The Paradox's of Our Time

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; We've added years to life, not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; We've done larger things, but not better things;

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; We've split the atom, but not our prejudice; We write more, but learn less; We plan more, but accomplish less.

We've learned to rush, but not to wait; We have higher incomes, but lower morals; We have more food, but less appeasement; We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication; We've become long on quantity, but short on quality.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition. These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to make a difference, or to just hit delete...

Rodney Brainard, student, Marble Falls, Texas

If I had my life to live again

by Erma Bombeck (Written after she found out she was dying from cancer.)

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television-and more while watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."

There would have been more "I love you's.". More "I'm sorry's" ...But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute... look at it and really see it ... live it...and never give it back.

Stop sweating the small stuff. Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what.

Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have with those who Do love us.

Let's think about what God HAS blessed us with. And what we are doing each day to promote ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally, as well as spiritually.

Life is too short to let it pass you by. We only have one shot at this and then it's gone. I hope you all have a blessed day.

In memory of Erma Bombeck who lost her fight with cancer.

The World NEEDS Engineers

The world needs engineers.....

• whose truth cannot be bought,
• whose word is their bond,
• who put character and honesty above wealth,
• who do not hesitate to take chances,
• who will not lose their identity in a crowd,
• who will be as honest in small things as in great things,
• who will make no compromise with wrong,
• whose ambitions are not confined to their own selfish desires,
• who will not say they do it "because everybody else does it,"
• who are true to their friends through good report and evil report, in adversity as well as in prosperity,
• who do not believe that shrewdness and cunning are the best qualities for winning success,
• who are not ashamed to stand for the truth when it is unpopular, and · who have integrity and wisdom in addition to knowledge.

Please help me to be this kind of engineer.

Bob Bea

Research Organization Questions

1. Do you have a clear understanding of the objectives of your research?
2. Do you have a clear understanding of what your research report will con-tain?
3. Do you have a clear plan including a schedule , milestones (to verify compliance with plan), and budget for completing your work?
4. Have you identified the major difficulties in completing your research? Have you developed solutions to these difficulties?
5. Are your files and records organized and in good order? Can you answer a question on something you did one to six months ago?
6. Have you drafted the first versions of any portions of the work you have completed? Why not?
7. Do you understand how to properly document your research? Do you know how to start?
8. Have you assembled tables, figures, and other materials that can be pre-pared and included in your research report?
9. Have you kept your research advisor informed of your plans, progress (milestones met), and problems (technical, schedule, budget)?
10. Have you organized regular occasions when your background knowl-edge of the research are assessed and progress evaluated?
11. Have you made plans for public presentations (oral, written) of the results of your research?

Bob Bea, Ocean Engineering Graduate Program

Requirements for Higher Degrees

From Announcement of the College of Engineering, 1994-95

Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering

"Degrees are granted after completion of programs of study that emphasize the application of the natural sciences to the analysis and solution of engineering problems."

Doctor of Engineering

"Degrees are granted after completion of programs of study in professional engineering emphasizing technical, sociological, environmental, and economic problems involved in the design, construction, and operation of engineering structures, processes, and equipment."

from General Catalog, 1994-95:

"Doctor of Philosophy degrees for study emphasizing engineering and applied sciences"

"Doctor of Engineering degree programs emphasize advanced professional studies of design development"

From Webster (1994):

"Natural Science - any of the sciences (e.g. physics, chemistry, biology) that deal with matter, energy, and their interrelations and transformations or with objectively measurable phemenona."

RGBea 1994

Fight for Good

Fight for Good with

• Honor
• Conviction
• Passion, and
• Compassion

What does "completed work" mean?

Completed "student" (course students and Graduate Student Researchers) work is the study of a problem and presentation of a solution by the student in such a form that all that remains to be done by the supervising faculty member is to indicate approval or disapproval of the completed action and to suggest how the problem might better be solved.

The words completed action are emphasized because the more difficult the problem is, the more the tendency is to present the problem to the faculty member in a piecemeal or "half-baked" fashion. It is your responsibility to work out the details to the full extent of your abilities.

You may and should consult other students, faculty, library and archive sources, and those outside the university that can and are willing and qualified to help you.

The impulse which often comes to the inexperienced student to ask the faculty what to do recurs more often when the problem is difficult. It is important to ask the faculty what the goals and objectives are (define the problem), what the constraints (time, money, other) are, and in general how one might generally approach the development of a solution to the problem. It is very easy to ask the faculty what to do. Resist that impulse. You will succumb to it only if you do not know your job. As an engineer and student it is your job to learn how to solve problems effectively and efficiently.

Once the goals, objectives, and constraints are understood, it is your job to advise the faculty what you plan to do, not to ask the faculty what to do. The faculty needs answers, not questions. Your job is to study, consult, analyze, check, write, and rewrite until you have evolved a single proposed action and / or solution, the best one of all you have considered.

The concept of completed student work does not preclude a "rough draft" but the rough draft must not be"half-baked". It must be complete in every respect except that it lacks the requisite number of copies and need not be in final form ready for publication. It must be neat, clear, and well-thought out. A rough draft must not be used as an excuse for shifting to the faculty the primary burden of formulating an approach or solving the problem.

When you have completed your completed student work, the final test is this:

If you were the faculty supervisor, would you be willing to approve what you have prepared ,and stake your professional reputation on its being right?

If the answer is in the negative, take it back and work it over, because it is not completed student work.

R. G. Bea 1994