Elizabeth Derryberry pulls a few surprises out of her magic hat during her dissertation defense.

When graduate students in biologist Steve Nowicki's lab

present their dissertation defense, there are no cookies on the table, but

there may be fire juggling, unicycle riding or a rare occasion of plate

spinning.

Defense traditions on campus vary greatly, but the Nowicki's

requirement that graduate students present a circus trick is certainly among the

most unusual.

On his lab's website, Nowicki, the dean of undergraduate

education, states the origin of the tradition started with his first graduate

student Bernie Lohr, who juggled fire.

It immediately became a lab requirement.

"Successful completion of the Circus Trick Requirement

is judged much the same way that outcomes of gladiatorial contests were judged

in a Roman coliseum," according to the lab website. "An assembled

rabble signal their approval or disapproval (now measured accurately with a state-of-the-art

applause-o-meter) and the Emperor (or lab head, or whatever) confirms the

result with a thumbs up or thumbs down."

"When other graduate students are getting ready to

select their research topic, students in my lab are selecting their circus

trick," Nowicki said.

For more, information about the dissertation circus tricks, click here. The website includes a complete list of past

tricks and commentary on several ongoing controversies.

To date, no one has attempted to saw the professor in half.