Getting started · Graduate students
Welcome to the BIRD Lab at UC Davis! 🎉 This is your first-year roadmap. Most items are do-once; some are ongoing. You belong here, and everyone in the lab started exactly where you are now. Work through it at your own pace and ask when you’re unsure.
At a glance
Orientation & access Week 1
1. Read the lab guide.
- Read the Lab Guide in full.
2. Complete safety training and gain access.
- Complete all initial trainings in Lab safety.
- Complete the Key Authorization Form to get an office key.
- Request the door code to the Wind Tunnel Building.
The wind tunnel office is room WTB 1401.
If your project involves animals, complete the required training early; see Animal care & ethics.
3. Install core tools and set up data backups.
- Set up UC Davis Microsoft 365, a synced Google Calendar, and the Box Desktop App.
- Submit a purchase request on Slack for an external hard drive.
- Request the one-time authorization link for the lab’s time-off request app. This app helps us know who is in the office and can only set your own Slack status; it can’t read your messages, files, or channels. See the Time off & vacation page for details.
- Set up your backups and version control as described in Data management.
See Data management for the full backup policy and Code for our Git practices.
- Install Zotero and its Word plugin.
- Install Git, create a GitHub account, and (if new) complete Introduction to GitHub.
- Set up the programming environments your project uses: R & RStudio and Python & VS Code.
4. Request access and schedule meetings.
Email Christina from your UC Davis address to request:
- Slack workspace access
- member portal access
- an entry on the team page
- Box folder access
- GitHub organization access (include your username; you can also contact the GitHub owner, see Lab operations roles)
Once you have portal access, bookmark it and save the Emergency Contact Information page offline — it’s the one page you may need when nothing else is working.
- Get added to the weekly lab meeting and a weekly 30-minute one-on-one (see Meetings).
Christina sends a scheduling poll at the start of each quarter, then sends calendar invites for your 1:1 and the lab meeting.
Goals & mentoring Weeks 1–2
1. Consider your goals. Spend some time reflecting (maybe over a coffee or tea), then set your quarterly goals; see Goal setting. Review them in your 1:1s.
2. Set up your research profiles. Set up your ORCID, Google Scholar, and other profiles; see Professional presence.
Foundation year Year 1
1. Begin your literature review. This is your core intellectual foundation; see Literature reviews.
- Start a systematic literature review in your topic area.
- Organize papers and notes in Zotero.
Aim to build a living library you update throughout your first year and beyond.
2. Create a long-term plan. By the end of your first year:
- Build a Gantt chart or visual timeline (coursework, preliminary exam, research milestones, paper submissions, conferences, thesis goals).
- Share and refine it in your 1:1s.
- (Recommended) Set up a Kanban board (Backlog / This month / This week / In progress / Done) linked to your milestones.
3. Select your course schedule. Courses should support your research and skill growth.
- Draft a course plan aligned with your project and timeline.
- Discuss it with Christina; registration specifics (290C and 299) and current course suggestions are in the member portal.
- Browse the UC Davis expanded course descriptions.
- Take at least one statistics course (e.g., EVE 225; more options in the member portal).
- Take a bird course (e.g., WFC 111).
Program requirements: MAE doctoral degree and MAE master’s degree.
4. Pass the preliminary exam. PhD students take the MAE Preliminary Examination at the first opportunity; it is offered once a year, in Spring quarter. Students who have passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, Mechanical discipline, are exempt; submit proof of passing to the Graduate Program before the first offering. The detailed prep guide is in the member portal.
- Confirm your exam date, or submit FE proof if you are exempt.
Exempt via the FE-Mechanical exam? Submit proof to the Graduate Program before the first offering of the preliminary exam.
5. Apply for fellowships early. Major fellowship deadlines (e.g., NSF GRFP) fall early in year 1; see Funding applications.
Research & growth Ongoing
1. Present your research. Graduate students present at lab meetings about twice a year; see Presentations and Meetings.
2. Complete your annual progress review. Every year, UC Davis runs the Student Progress Assessment (SPA) for PhD and master’s students.
- Review the SPA questions and draft your own answers first.
- Christina sets up individual one-hour one-on-ones in June focused on this, in addition to your regular weekly meetings.
Coming in with your own draft makes the review yours; it becomes a conversation about your development, not a form to fill in.
3. Keep developing. Revisit your development plan and career direction as you progress; see Goal setting and Career planning & job search.
4. Settle in.
- Understand what’s expected of your time; see Work expectations.
- Find help when you need it; see Support resources.
- Wrapping up a chapter or leaving? See Leaving the lab.
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