TortoiseGeek Trivia

random facts about the human behind the URL

My Past:

New Mexico Tech graduate (1995, B.S. in Technical Communication)
Technical Writer for a federal contractor at White Sands Missile Range in central New Mexico, 1995-1998.
Grant Writer and College Survey Coordinator for New Mexico Tech's Advancement Office, 1999-2001
Research Services Manager for New Mexico Tech's Research & Economic Development Office, 2001 to present

As Research Services Manager for New Mexico Tech, this is what I do:

Research Proposal Submission Coordinator -- Responsible for submitting research proposals to federal agencies via web portals (i.e., FastLane, Grants.gov, NSPIRES, e-Center, etc.)
Research Database Administrator -- Maintain databases that allow R&ED to track submission, acceptance, and funding of academic research proposals; and to track agreements entered into by Tech and its affiliated entities
Institutional Review Board (IRB) Administrator -- The IRB reviews research projects to make sure that human research projects are conducted ethically, and human subjects are treated with respect and dignity
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) -- The IACUC reviews research projects and on-campus animal facilities to verify that research animals are treated humanely
Institutional Research -- Assemble statistical data on Tech's enrollment to complete various university ranking surveys and the federal IPEDS surveys for New Mexico Tech
R&ED Webmaster -- Maintain and update the R&ED webpages as needed

Herpetology -- Amateur herpetologist ("herper"), with experience in keeping sulcata tortoises, North American Box Turtles, and aquatic turtles
Co-founder of Sulcata Station, a website dedicated to disseminating accurate care information about sulcata tortoises
Member of the Rio Grande Turtle & Tortoise Club and the World Chelonian Trust
Freshwater aquariums -- This hobby developed from learning to grow food (snails, fish, and aquatic plants) for my aquatic turtles.
Motorcycling -- I'm currently in love with my 2007 Ninja 500. It's a great bike to commute on and I ride it to work at least four days per week. I hope to do some touring on the bike this summer.
Writing -- This is something I've always wanted to do someday. It dawned on me recently that I'm not getting any younger, so I decided to start. Right now, my work is not worth showing to other people. I hope to improve....
Website design -- This is a hobby that's been on hiatus. I built this site to help me hone my Dreamweaver skills so that I can resurrect Sulcata Station.
Dreadlocks and tattoos -- I've always been viewed as an outsider by whatever culture surrounded me. That used to bother me a lot, but as I've gotten older, I've realized that "normal" and "conformity" are highly overrated and that I'm not really interested in achieving either one. My dreads and tattoos do make me very visually distinctive in this little milieu. So yeah, I guess I've got that going for me....