Slang for a rotation student - a first year graduate student who rotates through a variety of labs before choosing the lab in which they will perform their thesis research. Often cocky with a large ego, and spends large amounts of time leaving their laptop at their desk while going out to lunch or on coffee breaks. Often corrects or insults more senior students, only to ruin their future possibility of joining the lab, or may be found kissing an enormous amount of ass in order to secure a spot in said lab.
"I can't wait until the roton leaves at the end of the semester; he barely made any progress on his research, since he spent so much time flirting with the lab tech."
"Our roton might join our lab at the end of the quarter, since our advisor needs some new cheap labor to finish up that project."
17👍 5👎