Always a change of pace being home for the holidays. Hard to get productive to do any work, but at the same time I often feel like I'd want to do some work. I'll get a little done today.
A few interesting reads I've come across lately I'd like to save for the future:
-Good things to keep in mind while reviewing/refereeing a paper.
-From the same person, a companion list of things to keep in mind when getting a manuscript back that was reviewed. I think my PhD advisor did a good job of emphasizing these points.
-An interesting chain-of-thoughts on introducing yourself to your first (of some sort) class, with good points also made in the comments.
-Some entertaining 'modified famous quotes' for long review processes.f
Something else to add, after the face: an excellent read on looking at research from new angles, especially unexpected/undesired results.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
End of the semester
I have sure been remiss in using this in the last few months. It gets easy to get into a (non-)routine. I have survived my first four months as a post-doc at a new institution. Overall, I'd give it a nice, solid 'B'. It has definitely been the best choice for my career, and overall has been good...although not as good as I would have liked (granted, nothing can be perfect so my standards may be too high).
Plusses:
-Interesting, new work where I am learning about a new subfield
-The research team and PI are great individuals - good people without any attitudes or annoying people
-First chance to attend GIANT national meeting, supported by new PI, while not presenting anything
-co-I on two small grants - would have been PI on one if school allowed that for postdocs. This was a positive of the PI trusting me (and the other postdoc was co-I also) with assembling this important materials.
-Good postdoc training classes offered by School
-Drove IRB submission of human experiments that I will (hopefully/expecting) be lead author on the research - IRB review is this Tuesday
-Getting reaquainted with Matlab while working on data analysis project that is 'mine'
-Involved with experiments - doing surgeries
-Cool new city that I like, with interesting places to explore
-Free access to the bus routes, which stop very close to my house and campus building
-Helping grad student with his manuscript - 'teaching' opportunity
Minusus:
-Not always clear on what is going to happen in experiments as I'm not intimately involved with planning them. This tied to coming in to an established lab and the fact that most experiment prep has been coding in Labview and Matlab. Those involved are already heavily working on it, better at it than me, and that's not a key focus of mine. I feel like I should help more with this, but I don't see a clear entry point. Other setup stuff invovles hardware and electrode work that I don't have a background in - those who do take care of things. I should ask to be involved more, but don't push it.
-Focus of lab seems at times to be setting up perfect experiments rather than having enough done to be productive. There is a sort of culture of 'gosh, if we add this, things will be even better'...when it may not be needed. Since I'm not familiar with all the nuts and bolts, I don't feel qualified to push things one way or the other...and these aren't 'my' experiments. But, that leads to...
-Only two experiments - both in September - in a four month span. Granted this lab only averaged 1 experiment every 2 months in the past, but a 3rd experiment was originally scheduled in October then rescheduled multiple times from November to December and now into next year. I get wanting to 'do science right' and a main reason for the rescheduling is so that past experiments can be analyzed so that this 'final one in the series' can hit what is needed. But, the bad planning - or inability to estimate (by grad students) when they'll be ready is annoying. I am surprised at how the PI seems less concerned with regular experiments than what I've experienced in the past. Granted, there are selfish interests in that: I want further exposure to experiments so that I understand things better and I can feel my surgical 'skills' degrading without regular use. What also bugs me a little is that there are two alternating series of experiments - this multi-delayed one was 'next' in turn. We should have had the other series ready to jump in, if an opportunity arose. Instead, that wasn't a priority until we realized it now...and will hopefully be ready to do that in January. Of course, if all this prepping (of experiment setup and past/current data analysis) gets smoothed out and leads to a regular series of experiments in 2010 then I will be happy.
-Part of 'my' data analysis project involved sorting a TON of old data. I did it for a little while to get a feel for how things worked. But, it is such a tedious process - not what I signed up for as a postdoc. Hire an undergrad (or several). So, I did enough to allow me to continue on later analysis steps. It is becoming more clear that maybe the PI didn't necessarily expect me to sort all of the old data by hand (though it wasn't always clear), he has been wondering about automated methods (which no one in the field has mastered) - it just wasn't clear to me from the start, and I didn't have the awareness to ask about it.
-Only 2 experiments (again, a major annoyance)
-So, some of that goes to my role not always being clear. The only thing I got - from before my arrival - was the PI saying he'd like for me to be a leutanent between him and the grad students, like the other postdoc is. Well, it isn't always clear what that means (though I did interject myself more into a grad student's manuscript writing than the student planned for) and the existing postdoc pretty much fulfills that rol on a lot of things. Many times the PI clearly goes to the other postdoc on things or talks directly to him when he is thinking of things. This isn't to say the other postdoc isn't on top of things - no, he's very capable. And, they have a history together - the postdoc got his PhD where the PI did his postdoc, overlapping maybe a year...or if not, seeing each other often as the PI returns there often. And, they've already worked together for a year.
So, at times I feel marginalized or like I don't have a clear-cut role. I push for some things (human stuff, etc) and will continue to work on exerting myself more in the new year. It isn't like things are all bad...or even close. I have read that many postdocs struggle with similar issues. I am sure that I have it better than most, and many of my issues aren't really problems or they will 'be solved' in time.
Overall, I am very glad that I am here; I can see that this position will help put me in a good position to get a tenure-track position down the road. I am still struggling with coming up with 'new' ideas. I suppose it will come with time, if at all, and I need to continue with my occasional brainstorming sessions.
One major negative: the hoops scene here really sucks (for me). The gym facilities suck, with only two courts that are usable. The few times I've gone, there are a bunch of players on one court - so the wait is long for an actual game. The overall talent is higher than my previous, smaller location...so it is harder to get established, which doesn't help me. Also, it is a bit of a pain to get to the gym. So, my motivation for hitting the courts has been very low. At least I've been running regularly. I do know of a regular good game nearby - on a separate, adjacent instition. However, the games are in the middle of the day, which is pretty inconvenient for me, especially with the ~10+ minute 'commute' to get there. Oh well...at least college hoops are entertaining.
Plusses:
-Interesting, new work where I am learning about a new subfield
-The research team and PI are great individuals - good people without any attitudes or annoying people
-First chance to attend GIANT national meeting, supported by new PI, while not presenting anything
-co-I on two small grants - would have been PI on one if school allowed that for postdocs. This was a positive of the PI trusting me (and the other postdoc was co-I also) with assembling this important materials.
-Good postdoc training classes offered by School
-Drove IRB submission of human experiments that I will (hopefully/expecting) be lead author on the research - IRB review is this Tuesday
-Getting reaquainted with Matlab while working on data analysis project that is 'mine'
-Involved with experiments - doing surgeries
-Cool new city that I like, with interesting places to explore
-Free access to the bus routes, which stop very close to my house and campus building
-Helping grad student with his manuscript - 'teaching' opportunity
Minusus:
-Not always clear on what is going to happen in experiments as I'm not intimately involved with planning them. This tied to coming in to an established lab and the fact that most experiment prep has been coding in Labview and Matlab. Those involved are already heavily working on it, better at it than me, and that's not a key focus of mine. I feel like I should help more with this, but I don't see a clear entry point. Other setup stuff invovles hardware and electrode work that I don't have a background in - those who do take care of things. I should ask to be involved more, but don't push it.
-Focus of lab seems at times to be setting up perfect experiments rather than having enough done to be productive. There is a sort of culture of 'gosh, if we add this, things will be even better'...when it may not be needed. Since I'm not familiar with all the nuts and bolts, I don't feel qualified to push things one way or the other...and these aren't 'my' experiments. But, that leads to...
-Only two experiments - both in September - in a four month span. Granted this lab only averaged 1 experiment every 2 months in the past, but a 3rd experiment was originally scheduled in October then rescheduled multiple times from November to December and now into next year. I get wanting to 'do science right' and a main reason for the rescheduling is so that past experiments can be analyzed so that this 'final one in the series' can hit what is needed. But, the bad planning - or inability to estimate (by grad students) when they'll be ready is annoying. I am surprised at how the PI seems less concerned with regular experiments than what I've experienced in the past. Granted, there are selfish interests in that: I want further exposure to experiments so that I understand things better and I can feel my surgical 'skills' degrading without regular use. What also bugs me a little is that there are two alternating series of experiments - this multi-delayed one was 'next' in turn. We should have had the other series ready to jump in, if an opportunity arose. Instead, that wasn't a priority until we realized it now...and will hopefully be ready to do that in January. Of course, if all this prepping (of experiment setup and past/current data analysis) gets smoothed out and leads to a regular series of experiments in 2010 then I will be happy.
-Part of 'my' data analysis project involved sorting a TON of old data. I did it for a little while to get a feel for how things worked. But, it is such a tedious process - not what I signed up for as a postdoc. Hire an undergrad (or several). So, I did enough to allow me to continue on later analysis steps. It is becoming more clear that maybe the PI didn't necessarily expect me to sort all of the old data by hand (though it wasn't always clear), he has been wondering about automated methods (which no one in the field has mastered) - it just wasn't clear to me from the start, and I didn't have the awareness to ask about it.
-Only 2 experiments (again, a major annoyance)
-So, some of that goes to my role not always being clear. The only thing I got - from before my arrival - was the PI saying he'd like for me to be a leutanent between him and the grad students, like the other postdoc is. Well, it isn't always clear what that means (though I did interject myself more into a grad student's manuscript writing than the student planned for) and the existing postdoc pretty much fulfills that rol on a lot of things. Many times the PI clearly goes to the other postdoc on things or talks directly to him when he is thinking of things. This isn't to say the other postdoc isn't on top of things - no, he's very capable. And, they have a history together - the postdoc got his PhD where the PI did his postdoc, overlapping maybe a year...or if not, seeing each other often as the PI returns there often. And, they've already worked together for a year.
So, at times I feel marginalized or like I don't have a clear-cut role. I push for some things (human stuff, etc) and will continue to work on exerting myself more in the new year. It isn't like things are all bad...or even close. I have read that many postdocs struggle with similar issues. I am sure that I have it better than most, and many of my issues aren't really problems or they will 'be solved' in time.
Overall, I am very glad that I am here; I can see that this position will help put me in a good position to get a tenure-track position down the road. I am still struggling with coming up with 'new' ideas. I suppose it will come with time, if at all, and I need to continue with my occasional brainstorming sessions.
One major negative: the hoops scene here really sucks (for me). The gym facilities suck, with only two courts that are usable. The few times I've gone, there are a bunch of players on one court - so the wait is long for an actual game. The overall talent is higher than my previous, smaller location...so it is harder to get established, which doesn't help me. Also, it is a bit of a pain to get to the gym. So, my motivation for hitting the courts has been very low. At least I've been running regularly. I do know of a regular good game nearby - on a separate, adjacent instition. However, the games are in the middle of the day, which is pretty inconvenient for me, especially with the ~10+ minute 'commute' to get there. Oh well...at least college hoops are entertaining.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Settling In
Well, I am getting adjusted to life in my new postdoc location. Last week was mostly spent unpacking and getting various things started. My apartment is in decent shape, but there are plenty of things that have just been moved out of sight until I figure out where to put them.
On campus, I had my first real meeting with my new PI yesterday. He's a nice guy and we discussed several things I can work on now, to get my feet wet. Nothing seems to be over my head thus far. I'm looking forward to checking out some new software tools, but I have to make sure and get my last PhD paper done, with respect to the reviewer comments I've got...it needs to be submitted by Monday or else I return to the back of the line. Gah...and I haven't received any feedback from my PhD advisor on it. Well, if I answer the last two questions, I'm not waiting past the deadline for comments.
Recently I read two interesting posts that I want to keep track of. This commentary on the viewpoints of a journal editor is good to keep in mind. Aside from commenting on some bad practices in a post-publication survey, I haven't pestered on time to review or rejection. I guess it isn't a surprise that some people don't have any patience.
And, I like this presentation on how to get non-scientists interested in science. We need to keep the next generation interested.
On campus, I had my first real meeting with my new PI yesterday. He's a nice guy and we discussed several things I can work on now, to get my feet wet. Nothing seems to be over my head thus far. I'm looking forward to checking out some new software tools, but I have to make sure and get my last PhD paper done, with respect to the reviewer comments I've got...it needs to be submitted by Monday or else I return to the back of the line. Gah...and I haven't received any feedback from my PhD advisor on it. Well, if I answer the last two questions, I'm not waiting past the deadline for comments.
Recently I read two interesting posts that I want to keep track of. This commentary on the viewpoints of a journal editor is good to keep in mind. Aside from commenting on some bad practices in a post-publication survey, I haven't pestered on time to review or rejection. I guess it isn't a surprise that some people don't have any patience.
And, I like this presentation on how to get non-scientists interested in science. We need to keep the next generation interested.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Transition Time
After four years I am officially gone from my PhD institution. Yesterday was my last day of 'employment' as a postdoc. It was a long day of off-loading information and finishing up with packing my desk area. As all last days are, it was on the surreal and bittersweet side. I'm ready to leave and looking forward to new things. At the same time, it is always easier to be around things that you know and are comfortable with. Of course, for me, the more often I have to step outside my comfort zone, the better. After going out to eat with my fellow ex-lab-mates, I got a couple more hours of final cleaning and packing in last night. After a short night's sleep I got up at 5:30 and finished getting my stuff out and cleaned the floors behind me. I thought I didn't have a chance of getting everything into my car, but somehow I managed. wow. And, at 8am I left my living place for the last 4 years. Again, surreal. I won't make it to my postdoc city until Monday morning - my first official day there - so I've got the weekend to get used to the idea of leaving. It'll hit me for sure when I get back to my new apartment, and find it stuffed full of packed boxes waiting to be unloaded. I'm not looking forward to that. It'll also hit me when I spend the first time in the new lab...and try to figure out what is going on. The PI is out of town for most of the week. He had said not to worry about coming around for the first few days. I heard from the other postdoc, who had a few suggestions of things I can do, to get familiar with things. Reading protocols sounds like a good place to start, so I'll see if I can get my hands on them to start the week. Well, this was just a rambling thought dump. Here's to the future...
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Summertime
Wow, it has been a while since I put some thoughts on here. I've been pretty busy in the last month. I finished off the postdoc grant in mid-June, a couple of days before it was due. It felt great to get it done - a nice milestone in my career: the first grant submitted. At the same time it was like a weight around my shoulders as I seriously considered a new postdoc lab while working on a grant that my heart wasn't fully into.
So, right after that I escaped on a fantastic two-week vacation. I did a solo drive out to Yellowstone, camping at different places along the way and seeing all kinds of fantastic things in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Nebraska along with a little family time on either end and hanging out for a few hours with some friends from college at the start. It was a liberating experience, doing everything at my own pace in a new place. I like exploring the outdoors, and I had many opportunities on this trip. For the most part my mind was free of work/research/postdoc thoughts, and it was cleansing. After I got back, I noticed that my shoulders weren't stiff, for the first time in a long time.
When I returned, I knew I wanted to take the new postdoc position. At the end of June, I talked with my postdoc mentor. He was expecting this decision based on a conversation we had before my trip - I had told him I was leaning towards leaving, but hadn't made up my mind 100%, later in the conversation he noted it sounded like I had made up my mind. He was very supportive, saying there were no hard feelings, and talking about some way to maintain some sort of collaboration. On July 1st I talked to my future postdoc advisor and gave him the news, which he liked, of course. And, from there the ball was rolling for an August 1st (or 3rd for Monday) start.
Coming off the vacation and decision to leave, my motivation for doing "real" work was pretty low. At about that time I FINALLY got back reviews on my 3rd manuscript, over 3 months after submitting it. The time delay was pretty annoying - I could tell from the journal website that two potential reviewers had sat on the paper for 3+ weeks before deciding to not review it. oh well. The paper was neither accepted or rejected outright, which I guess is good (especially compared to lab-mate who was rejected by this journal, for the 2nd rejection of his paper). One reviewer was generally positive while the other was fairly criticial...but the critical comments weren't as bad as implied, and really seem to be written by a postdoc in a 'competing' lab that we don't care for how they do science. I'm not sure why they feel the need to compete with us instead of collaborate. They know I'm doing some of the same stuff, and yet they published a nearly identical paper to my second one 4 months after the fact without citing anything from our lab. Oh well. Nothing that can't be addressed in the review...if only my motivation for working on it was higher.
Shortly thereafter, I took another vacation (ha). My girlfriend found cheap tickets for a weekend cruise in the Bahamas, and so I was off again, even if it was for a short time. The cruise was fun, different from most vacations I take. Of course, after returning, I had to go through the "post-vacation" motivation slump again. Adding to the mini-escapes, last weekend my PhD lab had a get-together at my advisor's new lake house an hour outside of town. It was a lot of fun for everyone.
And, I have found an awesome apartment in my new city. Lots of space, all the amenities I'd want, close to campus and things, solid neighborhood, on the bus line. Thankfully the new city is only a few hours away, so it has been easy to drive over in a day-trip. I've got the keys and have already moved in a car-load of things. Next week is the big trip with all my furniture.
It is an exciting time where I'm not getting a lot of "real" work done, but I've been pretty active driving all over the place. I'm looking forward to starting the new position, which hopefully will be challenging (but not over my head) and will have minimal lulls. I'm hoping to be an author on two publications a year, which may be overly optimistic. We'll see!
Now, it is time for a lunch meeting with my PhD advisor, which will serve as an exit interview, especially as he'll be out 4 of the next 7 business days.
My time here is short...
So, right after that I escaped on a fantastic two-week vacation. I did a solo drive out to Yellowstone, camping at different places along the way and seeing all kinds of fantastic things in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Nebraska along with a little family time on either end and hanging out for a few hours with some friends from college at the start. It was a liberating experience, doing everything at my own pace in a new place. I like exploring the outdoors, and I had many opportunities on this trip. For the most part my mind was free of work/research/postdoc thoughts, and it was cleansing. After I got back, I noticed that my shoulders weren't stiff, for the first time in a long time.
When I returned, I knew I wanted to take the new postdoc position. At the end of June, I talked with my postdoc mentor. He was expecting this decision based on a conversation we had before my trip - I had told him I was leaning towards leaving, but hadn't made up my mind 100%, later in the conversation he noted it sounded like I had made up my mind. He was very supportive, saying there were no hard feelings, and talking about some way to maintain some sort of collaboration. On July 1st I talked to my future postdoc advisor and gave him the news, which he liked, of course. And, from there the ball was rolling for an August 1st (or 3rd for Monday) start.
Coming off the vacation and decision to leave, my motivation for doing "real" work was pretty low. At about that time I FINALLY got back reviews on my 3rd manuscript, over 3 months after submitting it. The time delay was pretty annoying - I could tell from the journal website that two potential reviewers had sat on the paper for 3+ weeks before deciding to not review it. oh well. The paper was neither accepted or rejected outright, which I guess is good (especially compared to lab-mate who was rejected by this journal, for the 2nd rejection of his paper). One reviewer was generally positive while the other was fairly criticial...but the critical comments weren't as bad as implied, and really seem to be written by a postdoc in a 'competing' lab that we don't care for how they do science. I'm not sure why they feel the need to compete with us instead of collaborate. They know I'm doing some of the same stuff, and yet they published a nearly identical paper to my second one 4 months after the fact without citing anything from our lab. Oh well. Nothing that can't be addressed in the review...if only my motivation for working on it was higher.
Shortly thereafter, I took another vacation (ha). My girlfriend found cheap tickets for a weekend cruise in the Bahamas, and so I was off again, even if it was for a short time. The cruise was fun, different from most vacations I take. Of course, after returning, I had to go through the "post-vacation" motivation slump again. Adding to the mini-escapes, last weekend my PhD lab had a get-together at my advisor's new lake house an hour outside of town. It was a lot of fun for everyone.
And, I have found an awesome apartment in my new city. Lots of space, all the amenities I'd want, close to campus and things, solid neighborhood, on the bus line. Thankfully the new city is only a few hours away, so it has been easy to drive over in a day-trip. I've got the keys and have already moved in a car-load of things. Next week is the big trip with all my furniture.
It is an exciting time where I'm not getting a lot of "real" work done, but I've been pretty active driving all over the place. I'm looking forward to starting the new position, which hopefully will be challenging (but not over my head) and will have minimal lulls. I'm hoping to be an author on two publications a year, which may be overly optimistic. We'll see!
Now, it is time for a lunch meeting with my PhD advisor, which will serve as an exit interview, especially as he'll be out 4 of the next 7 business days.
My time here is short...
Labels:
academia,
academic competition,
post-doc,
publishing,
travel
Friday, June 5, 2009
Maynor
Here's one of my extremely rare hoops posts. One of my favorite players the last four years was Eric Maynor, the point guard at Virginia Commonwealth. I remember seeing his highlights even before his shot to beat Duke in the '07 tourney. I went to the VCU at Bradley game during the '07-08 season, and his play was stellar, as he was clearly the best player on the floor. College hoops will miss players like him. I hope he ends up with a solid NBA team. Hat tip to this summary of his skills, which is what kicked off this post. I really like the tribute video that VCU did and wanted to stick it on here too:
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Postdoc mentoring
I think I've pretty much made up my mind that I want to take the postdoc slot that is available at another school. Although I've already gone through the employee orientation here, this was just a matter of keeping in good standing while making up my mind. The challenge, though, is figuring out some life-related things. I guess maybe I should just say 'what the hell' and go for it.
While thinking about my future plans, I have been doing a lot of thinking about the opportunities and mentoring that I would like to have as a postdoc. Since my goal after this is to obtain a tenure track position, I don't just want to be a lab tool - I need a more well-rounded exposure.
On the research end, I want to learn new skills and work with new people. Ideally I'd like to have two papers a year, but my minimum goal is one per year, with hopefully at least one other paper that I'm not first author on.
I would like to submit at least one grant for independent funding. I'm about ready to submit a postdoc grant here at my doctoral institution - good experience - but assuming I leave, I have no plans to accept it. (Considering it is "only" to pay my salary, with planned research supported by other means, I wouldn't be missing out on much...except that the salary is 50% greater than the standard NIH postdoc pay). I want to be supported to travel to conferences.
I'd like the opportunity to teach in a class or two - not necessarily run a whole class, but I need more exposure to teaching. On the other side, I'd like the opportunity to take a class or two. I may not end up using the opportunity, but I at least want that option. Here, I'd plan/consider taking courses on Grant Writing, Project Management, and Advanced Data Analysis.
With the mentoring, I want to have a formal plan for goals and objectives with my mentor, including planned bi-yearly feedback sessions. I want to be clear on the % of my time that should be explicitly research, as opposed to other training mechanisms. I expect to have regular meetings talking about research progress, but I also need/want regular meetings to talk about overall progress towards being a better tenure track candidate. Along those lines, I'd like to have a secondary mentor who is not in the lab - to meet with twice a year or so to receive an outside perspective on my progress. This is a mentoring that is explicitly called out in the grant I am submitting - but may not be planned for if I leave.
I'd also want more clinical involvement. At either location, I plan to be involved with a clinical study. I also want to be able to shadow clincians at different times, and in different fields, to see how what I work on may be beneficial and/or improved.
And, of course, I expect advice and assistance when I'm looking for my next position. Assuming my potential new mentor doesn't balk at any of these options, I should be making plans soon to leave....after I take a much-needed two-week vacation later this month. :-)
While thinking, these websites have provided good information:
Going in with your eyes open, from the National Postdoctoral Association, and
Doctors Without Orders postdoc survey from Sigma Xi
Both of which were listed on this good reference list for "How to find a postdoc" on the UNC website.
Also, FSP has had a timely, good discussion on postdoc mentoring and a follow-up post.
While thinking about my future plans, I have been doing a lot of thinking about the opportunities and mentoring that I would like to have as a postdoc. Since my goal after this is to obtain a tenure track position, I don't just want to be a lab tool - I need a more well-rounded exposure.
On the research end, I want to learn new skills and work with new people. Ideally I'd like to have two papers a year, but my minimum goal is one per year, with hopefully at least one other paper that I'm not first author on.
I would like to submit at least one grant for independent funding. I'm about ready to submit a postdoc grant here at my doctoral institution - good experience - but assuming I leave, I have no plans to accept it. (Considering it is "only" to pay my salary, with planned research supported by other means, I wouldn't be missing out on much...except that the salary is 50% greater than the standard NIH postdoc pay). I want to be supported to travel to conferences.
I'd like the opportunity to teach in a class or two - not necessarily run a whole class, but I need more exposure to teaching. On the other side, I'd like the opportunity to take a class or two. I may not end up using the opportunity, but I at least want that option. Here, I'd plan/consider taking courses on Grant Writing, Project Management, and Advanced Data Analysis.
With the mentoring, I want to have a formal plan for goals and objectives with my mentor, including planned bi-yearly feedback sessions. I want to be clear on the % of my time that should be explicitly research, as opposed to other training mechanisms. I expect to have regular meetings talking about research progress, but I also need/want regular meetings to talk about overall progress towards being a better tenure track candidate. Along those lines, I'd like to have a secondary mentor who is not in the lab - to meet with twice a year or so to receive an outside perspective on my progress. This is a mentoring that is explicitly called out in the grant I am submitting - but may not be planned for if I leave.
I'd also want more clinical involvement. At either location, I plan to be involved with a clinical study. I also want to be able to shadow clincians at different times, and in different fields, to see how what I work on may be beneficial and/or improved.
And, of course, I expect advice and assistance when I'm looking for my next position. Assuming my potential new mentor doesn't balk at any of these options, I should be making plans soon to leave....after I take a much-needed two-week vacation later this month. :-)
While thinking, these websites have provided good information:
Going in with your eyes open, from the National Postdoctoral Association, and
Doctors Without Orders postdoc survey from Sigma Xi
Both of which were listed on this good reference list for "How to find a postdoc" on the UNC website.
Also, FSP has had a timely, good discussion on postdoc mentoring and a follow-up post.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Officially a PhD!
Sunday was graduation, and it was a fun experience to walk. My Mom loves to take pictures and since I paid almost $200 to rent my regalia, I didn't have a problem doing lots of posing. Of course, now that I'm no longer a graduate student, the realities of my situation weigh more heavily on me. Getting my access card revoked 4 days after graduation also helped. ha!
Yesterday I made trip #2 to my postdoc suitor to observe an experiment. It was a long day in the lab, just watching. But, I got to see some very cool stuff and got a good feel for the dynamic of the lab. Granted I'm losing interest in my potential research here at my PhD institution (perhaps because of my need for a real vacation), but the things I saw there felt way cooler than my PhD work or what I am writing in a grant.
I know I should be making a decision soon. I think today I'll finally get a chance to have a serious discussion with my current advisor on my role in the lab, etc, if I continue as a postdoc. Although we had a general agreement that I'd be here through the year, the other position was too good to not at least seriously consider. Which makes me ask questions of this current position. One problem is that I doubt my advisor has direct funding for me/my work any more - thus his stronger push to get me on a fellowship and me to get grants in. That is fine, but I have felt more marginalized in the lab as he has turned his focus to his two funded research directions. So, the lack of input and being out of the loop on things is frustrating. I need to learn new skills and collaborate with new people to have the best chance at a tenure track position in a few years. To his credit, my advisor is directing me towards side collaborations with other researchers in our large consortium. One looks like it'll pan out, assuming some funding comes through this summer. It will allow me to work with a different PI here and researchers at another institution. I'll get new skills and collaborations, but I doubt I'd get any preliminary data I could eventually take with myself and it would be a minor side project to my planned work continuing my doctoral research. So, a benefit, but perhaps a minor one. At postdoc suiter lab, I'd learn new skills, collaborate with new people, get to explore a new field, and probably be a lot more involved in the lab...but wouldn't have the large center like here (but would be at a much bigger insitution) and would have to move all my stuff (but would be in a more interesting city) and would have to figure out other factors. We'll see.
Before I lose the tab, I wanted to track this great posting about balancing research and teaching.
Yesterday I made trip #2 to my postdoc suitor to observe an experiment. It was a long day in the lab, just watching. But, I got to see some very cool stuff and got a good feel for the dynamic of the lab. Granted I'm losing interest in my potential research here at my PhD institution (perhaps because of my need for a real vacation), but the things I saw there felt way cooler than my PhD work or what I am writing in a grant.
I know I should be making a decision soon. I think today I'll finally get a chance to have a serious discussion with my current advisor on my role in the lab, etc, if I continue as a postdoc. Although we had a general agreement that I'd be here through the year, the other position was too good to not at least seriously consider. Which makes me ask questions of this current position. One problem is that I doubt my advisor has direct funding for me/my work any more - thus his stronger push to get me on a fellowship and me to get grants in. That is fine, but I have felt more marginalized in the lab as he has turned his focus to his two funded research directions. So, the lack of input and being out of the loop on things is frustrating. I need to learn new skills and collaborate with new people to have the best chance at a tenure track position in a few years. To his credit, my advisor is directing me towards side collaborations with other researchers in our large consortium. One looks like it'll pan out, assuming some funding comes through this summer. It will allow me to work with a different PI here and researchers at another institution. I'll get new skills and collaborations, but I doubt I'd get any preliminary data I could eventually take with myself and it would be a minor side project to my planned work continuing my doctoral research. So, a benefit, but perhaps a minor one. At postdoc suiter lab, I'd learn new skills, collaborate with new people, get to explore a new field, and probably be a lot more involved in the lab...but wouldn't have the large center like here (but would be at a much bigger insitution) and would have to move all my stuff (but would be in a more interesting city) and would have to figure out other factors. We'll see.
Before I lose the tab, I wanted to track this great posting about balancing research and teaching.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Graduation Tomorrow!
:)
Looking forward to officially receiving my PhD. My parents are in town (4th time in my 4 years here), which is nice - makes it sorta feel like I'm on vacation, without any research thoughts. Hopefully the rain holds off so we can do some things outside.
Here are a couple of good year-end, summaries for people who just started the TT track - an answering of questions about it and a chronological summary. Some good things to keep in mind, for sure.
This SciNet looks like something I may want to return to, for additional career advice.
And, I like this video that a school put together describing engineers...just cut out the last part where they advertise themselves and it'd be perfect. ha.
Looking forward to officially receiving my PhD. My parents are in town (4th time in my 4 years here), which is nice - makes it sorta feel like I'm on vacation, without any research thoughts. Hopefully the rain holds off so we can do some things outside.
Here are a couple of good year-end, summaries for people who just started the TT track - an answering of questions about it and a chronological summary. Some good things to keep in mind, for sure.
This SciNet looks like something I may want to return to, for additional career advice.
And, I like this video that a school put together describing engineers...just cut out the last part where they advertise themselves and it'd be perfect. ha.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Staying less tempting
Although I still have a while to make a final decision on where to postdoc next, things continue to be frustrating at my current location. A funded postdoc slot that I'm in the running for is taking weeks to finalize - although my advisor tried to convince me otherwise, it just sounds like a lot of backroom bartering is going on. It would be nice to have, but isn't the end-all my advisor seems to make it out to be (granted, I am not worrying about immediate funding like he is) as ultimately I'd hope to be self-supported by one of the grants I would put in next month or August. And, it is hard to pimp myself for it knowing that I'm at least partially considering another location. Sure, I'm committed to this path...assuming I don't leave. ha. Whatever - I've done my part by providing information and emailing the director to discuss future plans, if he's ever around. I'm looking forward to visiting my 2nd option next week again, to observe an experiment.
I like this post reviewing a book on ways to "grow a backbone". It isn't about not being spineless, but making sure you are in the best position you can be in academia. I like the suggestions that the reviewer summarized - assess your environment, observe others, take notes, mind map, etc. The mind mapping is something I should do often, especially at this stage.
I like this post reviewing a book on ways to "grow a backbone". It isn't about not being spineless, but making sure you are in the best position you can be in academia. I like the suggestions that the reviewer summarized - assess your environment, observe others, take notes, mind map, etc. The mind mapping is something I should do often, especially at this stage.
Monday, May 11, 2009
A vs B
I'm still working on my postdoc decision. In my mind I have thought through pro's and con's of each location, but haven't written them down anywhere yet. I suppose a good place as any would be here.
Location A - where I currently am (PhD)
Pro's
-It would be easy to continue here - I don't have to change plans or move, and my PI is already pushing through paperwork on appointments
-I would get to write grants. I will be submitting one (unless I decide to leave before then) within a month. A second one, that has been slowly reaching ready status over the last 6+ months could be submitted in August to a different funding agency. In a perfect world, I'd get to choose between the two grants. Either way, I'd have the experience of having written and submitted my own (postdoc) grants.
-I would continue the work I did for my PhD. This is both a positive and a negative. There is a definite need and opportunity, which is nice to take advantage of. It would be nice to do one study, which was going to be part of my PhD but didn't move fast enough for me (factors outside my control) so I went in a different direction.
-With that, my PI has pushed for me to work on thinking about and putting together grants. I'm sure this would continue, even if the first I submit was lucky enough to get funded.
-I continue to be part of an excellent collaborative research network. This network includes researchers from the university and 3 nearby hospitals. My program is probably the top in the country in our sub-field, and this network is a major contributor.
-I would have the opportunity for plenty of non-research training. This could include teaching an undergraduate lab, attending excellent seminars put on by our research center, and shadowing clinical collaborators.
-There are clear future grants (after the postdoc work) that could be written, which in conversations with my PI are things I could take with me to my next job (assuming that location has the facilities/collaborations available to work with).
-We have a good lab dynamic.
-Experiments for one of the potential research thrusts can happen at a quick pace.
Con's
-I probably wouldn't be learning many new research skills, basically doing the same type of work as for my doctoral research - just in different models.
-I would be publishing with the same PI. Some potential work would add in a collaboration from one of the nearby hospitals, but I wouldn't be separating from my advisor much.
-I would be pretty much my own research silo, within the lab, as during my doctoral studies. So, I'd be first author on several papers, but may not have the chance to also be 2nd author on some other people's projects.
-In continuing my doctoral research, I would be focusing on work that doesn't appear to be a major priority for my PI. His major thrusts going forward are in two related areas that he has current funding for. By keeping me around, he gets to continue with this area, but I get the vibe from activities that it isn't as high of a priority. (Thus the "pro" of being able to take it with me)
-There's the potential of struggling for funding. My PI has said he'll make sure that I'm covered, which I know will be the case. But, if the grant or two that I may put in this summer aren't funded, then any research I do wouldn't be funded directly to me/the project. It'd probably be skimming from other areas.
-I'm not very confident that the doctoral research project which was pushed out of my PhD and would be a primary focus now will ever get started. Due to other lab priorities and the way things are set up, I often feel out of the loop on this. I have complained several times, but to no strong avail. After having this project drag on for several years, it sounds like another researcher somewhere else may be stealing our thunder and publishing soon. While I'm sure that our study will look at things they didn't, it will be using the same mechanism, which is unfortunate. LOST OPPORTUNITY!
Location B - a new place I'm considering
Pro's
-I would be expanding my boundaries by joining a new lab.
-I would be learning new research skills, which would compliment the skills I used in my doctoral work.
-There is an easy-going dynamic in this lab also, as the PI is also young.
-I would be more of a 2nd lieutenant in the lab, working with one or two grad student projects, as interface with PI. This would give me collaborative opportunities - as the 2nd author on some projects.
-I would have the opportunity to be involved with new clinical study, possibly being primary researcher as none of the grad students would be involved.
-I would have the possibility of doing a project crossing the areas of my doctoral work and this lab, collaborating with the current postdoc who also worked in my doctoral area for his doctorate. This potential project is something the PI would support and would definitely allow one or both of us to take with us when we left.
-The position is a funded postdoc, as supported by his R01, for several years. Although the specific funding is for a project which I am interested in, I wouldn't be held to only (or at all) working on it.
-There is the potential to split time between A and B. (within several hour driving distance) If this were to happen, the best would probably be 80% at B so that I could reap the benefits of being at a new location. Once a month or so I could return to A to perform a clinical experiment (if that ever got going). Thanks to modern technology, I could do all communication via phone and email. Both PIs are amenable to some sort of time-sharing. I'm sure each would like to have 100% of me, especially given logistics of cost-sharing. There's also the risk of spreading myself too thin. Thus, if I did it, I think having 1 study here that is spread out would be best. Plus on this 1 study, it is already set up - all equipment gathered and regulatory approval obtained. Thus it is just a matter of getting the subjects, something I haven't been involved with.
Con's
-I would have to deal with all the complications of moving (an eventuality either way).
-I'm not sure I would get as many non-research training opportunities. The PI has a secondary appointment in my field's department. He said I could probably do some teaching if I wanted to, but I'd have to do more legwork to figure out the good opportunities and to get involved.
-Grant writing would be less of a priority. I may have to do more work on the side to think about what I'd want to do in the future. If the other postdoc and I did our collaborative project, we would have the chance to put together a grant on that.
-So far, they don't have as quick of a turn around on experiments. Their current series has been postponed several times.
-I wouldn't be as involved in a large collaborative network. There are two other labs that this PI is heavily involved with (moreso than any close labs for my current lab) but there is not the large network of researchers like at my current location. I think I could get similar exposure to related fields, but not as much continued broad exposure to my sub-field.
So, that's a pretty good listing. I'm sure there are other factors that I'm forgetting for the moment. I'll have to update this if I think of any. And, there's one other major factor - a non-career factor. It'd be pretty difficult to continue the relationship I am in over long-distance. So, something would have to be figured out there, if I were to move. We've talked about it some. If it comes down to me not being able to make up my mind, whether for pro/con lists above or for relationship reasons, then I'll just stay where I'm at.
Hmmm...back to the thinking board and back to some work...
Location A - where I currently am (PhD)
Pro's
-It would be easy to continue here - I don't have to change plans or move, and my PI is already pushing through paperwork on appointments
-I would get to write grants. I will be submitting one (unless I decide to leave before then) within a month. A second one, that has been slowly reaching ready status over the last 6+ months could be submitted in August to a different funding agency. In a perfect world, I'd get to choose between the two grants. Either way, I'd have the experience of having written and submitted my own (postdoc) grants.
-I would continue the work I did for my PhD. This is both a positive and a negative. There is a definite need and opportunity, which is nice to take advantage of. It would be nice to do one study, which was going to be part of my PhD but didn't move fast enough for me (factors outside my control) so I went in a different direction.
-With that, my PI has pushed for me to work on thinking about and putting together grants. I'm sure this would continue, even if the first I submit was lucky enough to get funded.
-I continue to be part of an excellent collaborative research network. This network includes researchers from the university and 3 nearby hospitals. My program is probably the top in the country in our sub-field, and this network is a major contributor.
-I would have the opportunity for plenty of non-research training. This could include teaching an undergraduate lab, attending excellent seminars put on by our research center, and shadowing clinical collaborators.
-There are clear future grants (after the postdoc work) that could be written, which in conversations with my PI are things I could take with me to my next job (assuming that location has the facilities/collaborations available to work with).
-We have a good lab dynamic.
-Experiments for one of the potential research thrusts can happen at a quick pace.
Con's
-I probably wouldn't be learning many new research skills, basically doing the same type of work as for my doctoral research - just in different models.
-I would be publishing with the same PI. Some potential work would add in a collaboration from one of the nearby hospitals, but I wouldn't be separating from my advisor much.
-I would be pretty much my own research silo, within the lab, as during my doctoral studies. So, I'd be first author on several papers, but may not have the chance to also be 2nd author on some other people's projects.
-In continuing my doctoral research, I would be focusing on work that doesn't appear to be a major priority for my PI. His major thrusts going forward are in two related areas that he has current funding for. By keeping me around, he gets to continue with this area, but I get the vibe from activities that it isn't as high of a priority. (Thus the "pro" of being able to take it with me)
-There's the potential of struggling for funding. My PI has said he'll make sure that I'm covered, which I know will be the case. But, if the grant or two that I may put in this summer aren't funded, then any research I do wouldn't be funded directly to me/the project. It'd probably be skimming from other areas.
-I'm not very confident that the doctoral research project which was pushed out of my PhD and would be a primary focus now will ever get started. Due to other lab priorities and the way things are set up, I often feel out of the loop on this. I have complained several times, but to no strong avail. After having this project drag on for several years, it sounds like another researcher somewhere else may be stealing our thunder and publishing soon. While I'm sure that our study will look at things they didn't, it will be using the same mechanism, which is unfortunate. LOST OPPORTUNITY!
Location B - a new place I'm considering
Pro's
-I would be expanding my boundaries by joining a new lab.
-I would be learning new research skills, which would compliment the skills I used in my doctoral work.
-There is an easy-going dynamic in this lab also, as the PI is also young.
-I would be more of a 2nd lieutenant in the lab, working with one or two grad student projects, as interface with PI. This would give me collaborative opportunities - as the 2nd author on some projects.
-I would have the opportunity to be involved with new clinical study, possibly being primary researcher as none of the grad students would be involved.
-I would have the possibility of doing a project crossing the areas of my doctoral work and this lab, collaborating with the current postdoc who also worked in my doctoral area for his doctorate. This potential project is something the PI would support and would definitely allow one or both of us to take with us when we left.
-The position is a funded postdoc, as supported by his R01, for several years. Although the specific funding is for a project which I am interested in, I wouldn't be held to only (or at all) working on it.
-There is the potential to split time between A and B. (within several hour driving distance) If this were to happen, the best would probably be 80% at B so that I could reap the benefits of being at a new location. Once a month or so I could return to A to perform a clinical experiment (if that ever got going). Thanks to modern technology, I could do all communication via phone and email. Both PIs are amenable to some sort of time-sharing. I'm sure each would like to have 100% of me, especially given logistics of cost-sharing. There's also the risk of spreading myself too thin. Thus, if I did it, I think having 1 study here that is spread out would be best. Plus on this 1 study, it is already set up - all equipment gathered and regulatory approval obtained. Thus it is just a matter of getting the subjects, something I haven't been involved with.
Con's
-I would have to deal with all the complications of moving (an eventuality either way).
-I'm not sure I would get as many non-research training opportunities. The PI has a secondary appointment in my field's department. He said I could probably do some teaching if I wanted to, but I'd have to do more legwork to figure out the good opportunities and to get involved.
-Grant writing would be less of a priority. I may have to do more work on the side to think about what I'd want to do in the future. If the other postdoc and I did our collaborative project, we would have the chance to put together a grant on that.
-So far, they don't have as quick of a turn around on experiments. Their current series has been postponed several times.
-I wouldn't be as involved in a large collaborative network. There are two other labs that this PI is heavily involved with (moreso than any close labs for my current lab) but there is not the large network of researchers like at my current location. I think I could get similar exposure to related fields, but not as much continued broad exposure to my sub-field.
So, that's a pretty good listing. I'm sure there are other factors that I'm forgetting for the moment. I'll have to update this if I think of any. And, there's one other major factor - a non-career factor. It'd be pretty difficult to continue the relationship I am in over long-distance. So, something would have to be figured out there, if I were to move. We've talked about it some. If it comes down to me not being able to make up my mind, whether for pro/con lists above or for relationship reasons, then I'll just stay where I'm at.
Hmmm...back to the thinking board and back to some work...
Thursday, April 30, 2009
What next?
I spent yesterday visiting a lab at another university, as a potential post-doc. In general, I have been moving forward with my phd advisor on plans to continue work with him, for at least a short period of time. There's plenty of things to do and great opportunities for training in our facilities, and well, it is the easy thing to do. But, I know that the best thing for my career would be to step away at some point as well. At a conference last fall I had a great conversation with this other PI, and I think my advisor must have really talked me up as the other PI essentially offered me a post-doc slot back then. He invited me over to visit this spring and give a talk, which I did yesterday. It was definitely a good visit. I met with people from several of his related labs, and gave a reduced version of my defense to 12-15 people, mostly students. They've got some cool research going on there that would allow me to continue my interests but in a slightly different vein. And, the one post-doc already in the lab has a somewhat similar background as me so we talked about possibly collaborating on something in that area as well. It was a bit odd in that there wasn't any aspect that felt like an interview. At one point when driving with the PI between two locations, he said that he wants to add one more post-doc and that the slot is mine if I want it. He's got funding for the position for several years and isn't talking to any one else. It sounded like he wanted a decision by summer-time, but I need to confirm. I expected there to be a point at the end of the day where we'd sit down, but there wasn't. After visiting and hanging out with different people, we ate out with many in his lab. That lasted late then it was time to drive home. So one thing that is unclear to me is what his expectations would be - is the funding for specific research projects? It appeared like it could be a little open-ended. I'll follow up this week - first I need to send some thank-you emails today. Then, I'll have some decision-making to do. It is a good lab, and everyone gets along really well. There's the feeling that joining something like that would be intruding on the existing atmosphere...though several others have been added to the lab recently. And, of course, there's the lingering doubt that I'd be exposed if I went somewhere else. I don't have experience doing A, B, or C...I'm more an an experimentalist than someone building a setup or designing modeling code. Neither of those are required in that lab, though many do something similar. It would be cool to live in a new place, though moving will not be fun (ha). And, I know it would help my career. This PI has only been out of his post-doc for 5 or less years. But, his department position doesn't have any teaching requirements. He's involved in a lot of collaborations, though. Can I get the same training opportunities at this new place? I have a few follow-up questions on that that I'll ask. I wish there was a big sign telling me what to do. haha. Where I'm at now, I can see clear paths that could be taken for several publication-worthy studies. I suppose the same is there for their route, but I don't know well enough. Funny how after I get home I think of more questions to ask, especially to specific individuals. I guess there wasn't always the one-on-one time to do some of that. And, whether or not I go there, today or tomorrow I'm submitting an abstract on the 3rd part of my phd for a conference that this other university is hosting in the fall. I guess that doesn't play into things at all, but it is an interesting aside. Well, even though I got in bed after midnight and couldn't help but wake up by 7, it is time to start moving on the day. Too many things to think about...especially when my current advisor is putting in paperwork to try and get me a specific type of post-doc funding (although coy, he doesn't appear to have clear funds for me - he'd "find a way" if needed).
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Journal Club
Over the last few months I've thought of several more good things I'd like to do when a PI. Of course, I don't take the time to write them down and they are forgotten.
One I've remembered is that I would like to have a regular journal club. Eventually I've gotten into a good habit of checking key journal TOCs and keeping tabs on certain authors for new items in my field. And, I can do a decent job of critically reading a paper. But, there are still things that others point out when occasionally discussing a paper. Once or twice early in my grad tenure here we tried to do a club, but there wasn't motivation from the students' side to drive it. Another lab here has regular bi-weekly meetings where a different student presents a new paper. I like this general idea, but would probably limit it to once a month, depending on the size of my lab. I can see that my advisor rarely has time now to effectively read new papers, so as a PI I think it'd be a good opportunity for someone else to review the key points for me. And, it is a good training opportunity for the presenters themselves as well as for others to react to and ask questions in response to the discussion. One thing I'm proposing for my post-doc grant training plan is that I'll initiate and direct a journal club within the lab. If I push it, and find the articles to review (shouldn't take too much work) on maybe a bi-monthly basis, it'd be a good learning experience for future use.
One I've remembered is that I would like to have a regular journal club. Eventually I've gotten into a good habit of checking key journal TOCs and keeping tabs on certain authors for new items in my field. And, I can do a decent job of critically reading a paper. But, there are still things that others point out when occasionally discussing a paper. Once or twice early in my grad tenure here we tried to do a club, but there wasn't motivation from the students' side to drive it. Another lab here has regular bi-weekly meetings where a different student presents a new paper. I like this general idea, but would probably limit it to once a month, depending on the size of my lab. I can see that my advisor rarely has time now to effectively read new papers, so as a PI I think it'd be a good opportunity for someone else to review the key points for me. And, it is a good training opportunity for the presenters themselves as well as for others to react to and ask questions in response to the discussion. One thing I'm proposing for my post-doc grant training plan is that I'll initiate and direct a journal club within the lab. If I push it, and find the articles to review (shouldn't take too much work) on maybe a bi-monthly basis, it'd be a good learning experience for future use.
Catching up
I've been terrible at putting thoughts on here (obviously). It has been several weeks now since I completed all requirements for my PhD, and it still feels good. The graduation ceremony next month will be enjoyable. But, now I'm in a crunch time working on a post-doc grant. It isn't due until 6/15 but local approval is needed prior to submission. One of the two local deadlines is on Monday. The grant is in decent shape, without any review from my advisor...which could go down a long path if he micromanages. And, setting up mentors is only piecemeal at this point due to the early review. But, getting this in now will provide enough time to make any changes prior to the real deadline later.
Meanwhile, I want to archive a few interesting posts that I've come across recently:
-I gave another talk yesterday, which went well. I'm getting a lot more comfortable speaking. Of course, it helps that I was 95% repeating my defense which I know like the back of my hand. In the Q&A two senior profs asked questions and provided critical feedback on the future work I proposed - in retrospect I may have talked in circles a little while defending my plans. Not terribly, but thinking about pausing a little longer before answering would be a good thing. Either way, their feedback was good. Here's more good thoughts on preparing for a talk. I'll have to keep them in mind when I give an invited talk next week at a potential future post-doc location.
-This is just a funny vid on efficiently folding a shirt. Maybe I'll take the idea sometime to make my drawers more efficient.
I got through several parts within this series on ethical discussions of animal use in research. It looked to be very thorough and well-worth the time. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6. It looks like there may be more parts posted...
This article has some good thoughts on giving lectures.
Meanwhile, I want to archive a few interesting posts that I've come across recently:
-I gave another talk yesterday, which went well. I'm getting a lot more comfortable speaking. Of course, it helps that I was 95% repeating my defense which I know like the back of my hand. In the Q&A two senior profs asked questions and provided critical feedback on the future work I proposed - in retrospect I may have talked in circles a little while defending my plans. Not terribly, but thinking about pausing a little longer before answering would be a good thing. Either way, their feedback was good. Here's more good thoughts on preparing for a talk. I'll have to keep them in mind when I give an invited talk next week at a potential future post-doc location.
-This is just a funny vid on efficiently folding a shirt. Maybe I'll take the idea sometime to make my drawers more efficient.
I got through several parts within this series on ethical discussions of animal use in research. It looked to be very thorough and well-worth the time. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6. It looks like there may be more parts posted...
This article has some good thoughts on giving lectures.
Labels:
academia,
great posts by others,
post-doc,
writing
Monday, March 23, 2009
Two posts to come back to
Continuing with my theme of tagging posts by others that I have interest in:
This post on giving a 20-minute job talk is something to re-read when I start visiting other institutions.
I like to keep in mind the different teaching styles, and this post talks about several.
This post on giving a 20-minute job talk is something to re-read when I start visiting other institutions.
I like to keep in mind the different teaching styles, and this post talks about several.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
NCAA Tourney Live!
Well, I thought I'd be putting more hoops thoughts to electronic paper this winter, but I guess it didn't happen. Maybe later I'll add a separate post about my thoughts on this year's seasons.
First, though, last night was the first time I had been to a NCAA tournament game. OSU was sent to the Dayton field, so we figured "why not?". Tickets were available on StubHub, but of course there was a huge markup. $65 face value...to ~$165 asking price. Plus the StubHub fees led to a total cost of ~$360. Good thing I had a $100 StubHub credit.

On the day of the game (3/20/09), it was an easy drive to Dayton. No traffic until we got off the interstate and waited in line for a while to park right next to the interstate (and the arena). Going from the parking lot ($5 to park?? shocking!), we had to squeeze through a gap in the fence (or go the LONG way around). After the games, there was quite the logjam, with jokes rampant about crossing over into a new country.

The Dayton Arena had an interesting profile...easy to see where the "upper deck" was at.

MEDIA!! (surprise, surprise)

The court had some interesting sightlines. Certainly on a smaller scale than some 'big' arenas that I've been to (Illinois, Iowa, PSU, OSU, ....). I liked how right upon entering the building, you had views of the court from the corners.

From a side view, looking across the court, the "lower bowl" (A-section) and "upper bowl" (B, C-sections; all red seats). We were about 15 rows from the top, in C, on the side opposite what is seen here.

The BIG BOYS, Louisville, are warming up before their game with Morehead State, who won the "play-in" game. I don't like the play-in game - if a team wins their league, they should start the tournament when everyone else does. One less bubble at-large team won't hurt the field...but, yeah, some Big 6 conference team will have a greater risk of a sub-par season. Oh well...money sells!

Requirement to host NCAA games: "luxury" suites: CHECK! (Morehead State fanbase in the foreground.

With 4 minutes left in the first half, Louisville is wondering how it can get rid of pesky Morehead.

At half, we wondered, could we witness a miracle? Could Morehead State actually beat Louisville? Wouldn't that be awesome? But, in the back of our minds, we knew Louisville would run away with it...

Kenneth Faried had an active game, hustling for rebounds and getting some nice dunks. His free throw form, though? ugh! Leaning backwards with the wrong foot forward. No wonder he shoots below 60%.

After Louisville pulled away and won the game by 20, Morehead got a standing-O from the fans during the post-game hand-shake.

----------------
Game 2, what we were there for: 8th seeded Ohio State against 9th seeded Siena. With the game in Dayton, barely an hour from Columbus, it was filled with OSU fans. (there were a ton of locals, proudly wearing their Dayton gear - their allegiances seemed to sway easily - at first for the home state, but later pulling for the small school) When the O-H-I-O chant went around the arena, everyone knew there was no neutrality.
But, for a matchup between the mascots, who would win? The Saint Bernard from Siena, or the Nuthead (Brutus Buckeye) from OSU? You'd think a dog would crack that nut, but the Buckeye was much more active during the game, strutting and knocking around his oversized head.


Evan Turner is a stud. I like his silky-smooth game. Too often the OSU offense would bog down, and the team could only look to get him the ball. He'd create, driving and whirling to the basket for either a shot or a nice pass to an open player. His stat line was fantastic: 25 points (18 shots - 2-2 3pt, 7-8 FT) with 9 boards, 8 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals but also 5 turnovers (all were team leaders. I'd take him in a second on my team.

OSU was in control for most of the game, or at least they seemed to be. Siena's star, Kenny Hasbrouck only had 1 point at half, and didn't do much in the second half until taking over late. But, Siena stepped up their pressure, which OSU didn't handle well, and started hitting shots. When BJ Mullins missed two FTs late, there was a feeling that Siena could make it interesting, and they did, tying it up. I missed that, but I got OSU's failed attempt to win the game, with 8 seconds remaining. Turner got a good shot off, but it didn't fall.
As OT started, Siena seemed to have the momentum, scoring the first 4 points. But, OSU came back and took the lead. Until this sequence to end the OT.
In the second overtime, both teams went back and forth. Siena took a late lead. With around 30 s left, OSU had the ball, and Evan Turner made a tough shot with 10 seconds left to tie. But, did he go too early? I had a feeling, and Siena made them pay...
OSU's final shot came close but didn't go, and the Siena crowd started their celebration.
Although this isn't a good shot (taken while moving towards exit), the still-celebrating Siena crowd and final score can be seen.

It was an expected traffic jam getting out. There were a lot of unhappy Buckeye fans, including this guy with the over-decorated Jeep. Love the writing on the spare - "I don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan."

It was a lot of fun going to the event. It had the feeling of a high school basketball tournament, with different sections of fanbases. Some groups becoming fans of others, and plenty of neutral fans pulling for the underdog. While I was pulling for Ohio State, I'm glad that I wasn't fully invested, as that would have been pretty depressing to lose like that...and then have a 3 hour drive from 12:30 am until 3:30 am before getting to bed. Yeah, that was a long night.
First, though, last night was the first time I had been to a NCAA tournament game. OSU was sent to the Dayton field, so we figured "why not?". Tickets were available on StubHub, but of course there was a huge markup. $65 face value...to ~$165 asking price. Plus the StubHub fees led to a total cost of ~$360. Good thing I had a $100 StubHub credit.

On the day of the game (3/20/09), it was an easy drive to Dayton. No traffic until we got off the interstate and waited in line for a while to park right next to the interstate (and the arena). Going from the parking lot ($5 to park?? shocking!), we had to squeeze through a gap in the fence (or go the LONG way around). After the games, there was quite the logjam, with jokes rampant about crossing over into a new country.
The Dayton Arena had an interesting profile...easy to see where the "upper deck" was at.
MEDIA!! (surprise, surprise)
The court had some interesting sightlines. Certainly on a smaller scale than some 'big' arenas that I've been to (Illinois, Iowa, PSU, OSU, ....). I liked how right upon entering the building, you had views of the court from the corners.
From a side view, looking across the court, the "lower bowl" (A-section) and "upper bowl" (B, C-sections; all red seats). We were about 15 rows from the top, in C, on the side opposite what is seen here.
The BIG BOYS, Louisville, are warming up before their game with Morehead State, who won the "play-in" game. I don't like the play-in game - if a team wins their league, they should start the tournament when everyone else does. One less bubble at-large team won't hurt the field...but, yeah, some Big 6 conference team will have a greater risk of a sub-par season. Oh well...money sells!
Requirement to host NCAA games: "luxury" suites: CHECK! (Morehead State fanbase in the foreground.
With 4 minutes left in the first half, Louisville is wondering how it can get rid of pesky Morehead.
At half, we wondered, could we witness a miracle? Could Morehead State actually beat Louisville? Wouldn't that be awesome? But, in the back of our minds, we knew Louisville would run away with it...
Kenneth Faried had an active game, hustling for rebounds and getting some nice dunks. His free throw form, though? ugh! Leaning backwards with the wrong foot forward. No wonder he shoots below 60%.
After Louisville pulled away and won the game by 20, Morehead got a standing-O from the fans during the post-game hand-shake.
----------------
Game 2, what we were there for: 8th seeded Ohio State against 9th seeded Siena. With the game in Dayton, barely an hour from Columbus, it was filled with OSU fans. (there were a ton of locals, proudly wearing their Dayton gear - their allegiances seemed to sway easily - at first for the home state, but later pulling for the small school) When the O-H-I-O chant went around the arena, everyone knew there was no neutrality.
But, for a matchup between the mascots, who would win? The Saint Bernard from Siena, or the Nuthead (Brutus Buckeye) from OSU? You'd think a dog would crack that nut, but the Buckeye was much more active during the game, strutting and knocking around his oversized head.
Evan Turner is a stud. I like his silky-smooth game. Too often the OSU offense would bog down, and the team could only look to get him the ball. He'd create, driving and whirling to the basket for either a shot or a nice pass to an open player. His stat line was fantastic: 25 points (18 shots - 2-2 3pt, 7-8 FT) with 9 boards, 8 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals but also 5 turnovers (all were team leaders. I'd take him in a second on my team.
OSU was in control for most of the game, or at least they seemed to be. Siena's star, Kenny Hasbrouck only had 1 point at half, and didn't do much in the second half until taking over late. But, Siena stepped up their pressure, which OSU didn't handle well, and started hitting shots. When BJ Mullins missed two FTs late, there was a feeling that Siena could make it interesting, and they did, tying it up. I missed that, but I got OSU's failed attempt to win the game, with 8 seconds remaining. Turner got a good shot off, but it didn't fall.
As OT started, Siena seemed to have the momentum, scoring the first 4 points. But, OSU came back and took the lead. Until this sequence to end the OT.
In the second overtime, both teams went back and forth. Siena took a late lead. With around 30 s left, OSU had the ball, and Evan Turner made a tough shot with 10 seconds left to tie. But, did he go too early? I had a feeling, and Siena made them pay...
OSU's final shot came close but didn't go, and the Siena crowd started their celebration.
Although this isn't a good shot (taken while moving towards exit), the still-celebrating Siena crowd and final score can be seen.
It was an expected traffic jam getting out. There were a lot of unhappy Buckeye fans, including this guy with the over-decorated Jeep. Love the writing on the spare - "I don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan."
It was a lot of fun going to the event. It had the feeling of a high school basketball tournament, with different sections of fanbases. Some groups becoming fans of others, and plenty of neutral fans pulling for the underdog. While I was pulling for Ohio State, I'm glad that I wasn't fully invested, as that would have been pretty depressing to lose like that...and then have a 3 hour drive from 12:30 am until 3:30 am before getting to bed. Yeah, that was a long night.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
D-day come and gone
Yesterday (3/10) was my PhD defense. After several years of research, months of dissertation writing, then a final week of reviewing my material, it did feel anti-climactic. The talk went smoothly, and the following near-two hours of "closed door session" with my committee went pretty well. It was less of the grilling session we're sometimes conditioned to fear and more of a conversation about my research, the mechanisms, how the system works, the relevance of my work, and re-explaining points from my talk. After getting kicked out for a 10 minutes, it was nice coming back in and receiving hand-shakes and congratulations. But, I was expecting it. Yes, I was confident - I knew my stuff and almost felt on autopilot during the open talk. In the session, while I couldn't answer every question, at no time did I feel out of my realm or frustrated. :) And then it was over and I talked for an hour with my advisor, reviewing the discussion and talking some about the future. I was pretty much fried by that time, after 3 hours of being on my feet, pacing, pointing, talking, thinking, and staying on my toes. And, my quads were aching, too. A long, tiring day that I wish had started with my defense at the beginning instead of at 3pm. But, I can't complain, as I PASSED!
Now, it is on the rapid down-hill slope towards graduation. Just a few minor changes to my dissertation, along with incorporating a few final "towards manuscript submission" changes to the aim 3 paper/chapter. That won't take much time. It'll probably take more pain to deal with some bureaucratic screw-ups that have to be cleared up before the school will graduate me.
Now I need to start seriously thinking about the future. My advisor and I have had more "future" talks - he's trying to get me a post-doc slot within our center so that I don't have to be covered under a grant of his. And, collaboration opportunities with other PIs are opening up. But, the big question is how long I want to stay here. Of course, my PI pointed out that plenty of PhD graduates continued with a post-doc here before obtaining a tenure track position elsewhere. This is a top program within my discipline with excellent name cache and a structure that is very hard to compete with. It wouldn't be hard to show separation from my advisor while benefiting from staying at the same place. At the minimum, I've got to go visit the location that interested me last fall - again my advisor brought up the option to commute between the two places. It is only ~2 hours apart. While a daily basis would get old quick, a couple of days a week could happen. Now is the time to start seriously considering my options.
It sure would be nice to be somewhere warmer, though....springtime and still in the 40s. ugh!
Now, it is on the rapid down-hill slope towards graduation. Just a few minor changes to my dissertation, along with incorporating a few final "towards manuscript submission" changes to the aim 3 paper/chapter. That won't take much time. It'll probably take more pain to deal with some bureaucratic screw-ups that have to be cleared up before the school will graduate me.
Now I need to start seriously thinking about the future. My advisor and I have had more "future" talks - he's trying to get me a post-doc slot within our center so that I don't have to be covered under a grant of his. And, collaboration opportunities with other PIs are opening up. But, the big question is how long I want to stay here. Of course, my PI pointed out that plenty of PhD graduates continued with a post-doc here before obtaining a tenure track position elsewhere. This is a top program within my discipline with excellent name cache and a structure that is very hard to compete with. It wouldn't be hard to show separation from my advisor while benefiting from staying at the same place. At the minimum, I've got to go visit the location that interested me last fall - again my advisor brought up the option to commute between the two places. It is only ~2 hours apart. While a daily basis would get old quick, a couple of days a week could happen. Now is the time to start seriously considering my options.
It sure would be nice to be somewhere warmer, though....springtime and still in the 40s. ugh!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Dissertation is DONE....
...well, not exactly. But, on Tuesday I sent it off to my guidance committee members. We are required to send it out 10 days prior to our defense, but my advisor suggested that I do it 2 weeks ahead of time. I was in good shape prior to then, but, as expected, I got some final comments from my advisor on Tuesday. It wasn't bad getting through them, but then I had a lot of end-game formatting to do, which was tedious - page numbers, line spacing, etc. It felt great to get it off. I'm feeling pretty good about my defense. I gave a "practice defense" talk at the end of January. Probably 75% or more of my defense slides won't change from that talk, and I've already gone through the remainder, thinking about what I need to update. I know my stuff and am looking forward to defending (and getting past that hurdle).
In the meantime, I've had a few tabs open on my Firefox browser, waiting to be "bookmarked" in a posting for future reference:
-I liked this commentary on how people read graphs. The tips of good color schemes and reducing extraneous text/markings are things I've tried to follow. Here's hoping I can make PPT slides that are effective at getting my point across and are not boring to look at.
-This discussion on how grad student productivity follows the "hockey stick" growth curve hit home. Coming in with a Masters, I expected to be productive my first year...there were times that I was, but in the end most of that work went nowhere. Luckily, I pushed things, and had my "research growth" start at the end of my first year...though I have observed others who don't have it start until years 2 or 3. And, there are those who have peaks at 2-3 years, then periods of inactivity, before later peaks return.
-I've got to say that this methodology of ranking presentations is classic: PISSOFF. I've found myself coming back to some of the points in recent talks I've attended. Funny stuff...and I agree - I hate wasting my time by sitting through a poor presentation. I always try to sit in a location that makes it conducive for me to do a little work without being too obvious, if I should choose to.
-And, this follow-up post at another location had a funny suggestion - gonging people who are clearly wasting others time. What a great addition that would be to some of our lab meetings!
...back to semi-work!
In the meantime, I've had a few tabs open on my Firefox browser, waiting to be "bookmarked" in a posting for future reference:
-I liked this commentary on how people read graphs. The tips of good color schemes and reducing extraneous text/markings are things I've tried to follow. Here's hoping I can make PPT slides that are effective at getting my point across and are not boring to look at.
-This discussion on how grad student productivity follows the "hockey stick" growth curve hit home. Coming in with a Masters, I expected to be productive my first year...there were times that I was, but in the end most of that work went nowhere. Luckily, I pushed things, and had my "research growth" start at the end of my first year...though I have observed others who don't have it start until years 2 or 3. And, there are those who have peaks at 2-3 years, then periods of inactivity, before later peaks return.
-I've got to say that this methodology of ranking presentations is classic: PISSOFF. I've found myself coming back to some of the points in recent talks I've attended. Funny stuff...and I agree - I hate wasting my time by sitting through a poor presentation. I always try to sit in a location that makes it conducive for me to do a little work without being too obvious, if I should choose to.
-And, this follow-up post at another location had a funny suggestion - gonging people who are clearly wasting others time. What a great addition that would be to some of our lab meetings!
...back to semi-work!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Defending is on the horizon
I am still progressing well towards finishing up. My dissertation is taking decent shape - the Introduction chapter is probably better than 90% done, after getting a thumbs-up from a key advisor. Just add a figure and I'll write that off. I've been a little stymied by my third paper. It has been slow going putting together the results and discussion sections, as I parse through the data. Objectives shifted slightly across experiments, so some outputs weren't collected in the same manner. And, there's an experiment or two that aren't consistent with the others. My advisors had initially said: put the results together and we'll see if another experiment is needed. To me, shooting for a certain significance level is a bad idea: this aim isn't showing that one thing is necessarily significantly better than another, but that it can be accomplished. So, adding experiments could improve the numbers, sure, but I could get more outliers which just make it worse. In my opinion (granted, not worth a lot in the big picture), I have shown a functional output. Certain comparisons are signficant while others are not - but that my results are similar while not being worse are key to me. So, I haven't been as quick to "put together the numbers" while working on other sections...as my committee was very pleased with my results, I should be able to force the issue of not having another experiment by having time pass. I just have to make sure that the arguements are strong in the paper for the relevance of the work. That's where some of the wording has slowed me down. So, rather than move slowly on one thing, I've been flying through other sections of the dissertation. Of the 6 appendix sections I'll have, three are now finished, or > 95% done. A fourth one will be an easy pasting of a setup diagram already created. The last two will be brief and shouldn't take long. So, I'm happy with that progress, along with the praise I've received for the Introduction.
And, to help push things, I have scheduled my defense. March 10th. Barely a month away. Prior to the defense, I have to distribute my dissertation two weeks ahead of time....by February 24th. So, that now leaves me with 2.5 weeks to finish my dissertation. And, to make things a little interesting, the talk I was scheduled to give last Wednesday that was canceled by snow has been rescheduled for February 25th. Good thing I'll be repeating a talk I already gave, using material I'll have just pored over for the dissertation.
My goals for the weekend are to get the remaining 3 appendix sections to >= 90% done and to get a new, improved draft of the third paper done. That paper will be the sticking point on my dissertation, with my advisor, I'm sure. Hopefully after this version there will just be one more reviewed version prior to sending out the dissertation. Then, the other chapter needing work is the Discussion, which is just in a ~3 page outline right now. Translating sections from the Introduction and the discussions of each paper should cut down on a lot of the work time.
Unusually, I have plans each day this weekend, which will limit how much work time I've got. Tonight I'm picking up a new grad student to the lab at the airport - where he's flying in from Germany. I'll take him to his temporary hotel and probably out to eat. Tomorrow afternoon/evening is a surprise birthday party with my girlfriend. Sunday I'm going to an alumni event for several hours in the afternoon. Here's hoping I can be productive Saturday morning and Sunday evening!
And, to help push things, I have scheduled my defense. March 10th. Barely a month away. Prior to the defense, I have to distribute my dissertation two weeks ahead of time....by February 24th. So, that now leaves me with 2.5 weeks to finish my dissertation. And, to make things a little interesting, the talk I was scheduled to give last Wednesday that was canceled by snow has been rescheduled for February 25th. Good thing I'll be repeating a talk I already gave, using material I'll have just pored over for the dissertation.
My goals for the weekend are to get the remaining 3 appendix sections to >= 90% done and to get a new, improved draft of the third paper done. That paper will be the sticking point on my dissertation, with my advisor, I'm sure. Hopefully after this version there will just be one more reviewed version prior to sending out the dissertation. Then, the other chapter needing work is the Discussion, which is just in a ~3 page outline right now. Translating sections from the Introduction and the discussions of each paper should cut down on a lot of the work time.
Unusually, I have plans each day this weekend, which will limit how much work time I've got. Tonight I'm picking up a new grad student to the lab at the airport - where he's flying in from Germany. I'll take him to his temporary hotel and probably out to eat. Tomorrow afternoon/evening is a surprise birthday party with my girlfriend. Sunday I'm going to an alumni event for several hours in the afternoon. Here's hoping I can be productive Saturday morning and Sunday evening!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Talking over Writing
Another week has flown by in my quest for the diploma. It would be nice to get this week back, as it wasn't as productive as I would have liked. The primary reason was that I was scheduled to give two talks this week - on Wednesday and Friday. There is some cross-over in the audiences, but as the two were at very different locations (hospital 10 miles from campus and in department building on campus), I planned on just giving the same talk twice. As I am still working on being a confident public speaker, I spend a lot of time putting my slides together, and rehearsing them. By the time my presentation comes around, I can go through the talk slide by slide in my head. That helps when I want to practice in the shower. :) But, that means I'm working less on other things. I looked at these talks as defense-practice talks, which means I'll save time later in a lot of the prep...but that'll be saving time after dissertation completion which I won't need as much as I do now. So, Wednesday comes along and I know my stuff like the back of my hand. And, a blizzard of snow also blows into town. From talking to people on Tuesday, I knew that attendance would be down on Wed, as some would just go to the easier-to-attend Friday talk. I left twice as early Wednesday morning, but still was stuck in barely moving traffic for the first 25 minutes of drive time. With my arrival on time being questionable, I gave the center a call to make sure the talk wasn't getting canceled (or to know before I got too far). It sounded like the roads around the hospital were terrible, and I was going to ring back with my progress in 10 minutes as my route was clearing up as traffic spread out. Before I could call back, the organizer called me and said that they were canceling the talk. Apparently there was very little attendance at the investigator meeting prior to my talk, and the roads were still terrible. Luckily, I got the call before making it to the interstate, and didn't have too much trouble turning around and just going home to work for the day. But, it stuck turning around after already spending about an hour driving that morning, and having prepared early for the talk that day. Oh well.
The talk yesterday went smoothly. I think I rocked my stuff pretty well. The audience was mainly students with only a couple of professors and several post-docs. I only got one softball question. I was told that I explained everything well by several, but I still would have liked more questions. The two professors that usually grill students weren't there - one is on my committee and just saw most of my material two weeks prior.
Time to return to full-time number crunching and text writing. In my last experiment, last week, the results were less than stellar. I showed a clear difference between methods A and B, but method A results were no where near the phenomenal results from the first 3 experiments. With 5 total experiments in the bag and deadlines fast approaching, I really want to be done with experiments. My advisor, though is hedging on the need for another experiment, which is annoying. "Let's see if we have significance on the results" and "work on this figure and the paper" then we'll talk next week. Gah! I can put the results together in different ways to either show significance or not. And, another experiment has a risk of not working which just makes things more complicated. I know that my method works, but there are sometimes complications in the model that can't be prevented - in the two less-than-stellar experiments, the results can be explained. But, it just gets more difficult and obscures the good results by adding more experiments. And, working on that specific figure is difficult as some of the data inputs weren't collected in initial experiments when the objectives weren't aligned as they are now. Nothing like shifting over time - let's try this, this time - then pooling results from across experiments together.
Guess I need to stop complaining and buckle down for several hours of work on this cold Saturday. It is times like this that I wish I didn't have to drive an hour to see my girlfriend later today - seeing her is good, but I'd like to get that hour to do more productive things than sit in my car.
The talk yesterday went smoothly. I think I rocked my stuff pretty well. The audience was mainly students with only a couple of professors and several post-docs. I only got one softball question. I was told that I explained everything well by several, but I still would have liked more questions. The two professors that usually grill students weren't there - one is on my committee and just saw most of my material two weeks prior.
Time to return to full-time number crunching and text writing. In my last experiment, last week, the results were less than stellar. I showed a clear difference between methods A and B, but method A results were no where near the phenomenal results from the first 3 experiments. With 5 total experiments in the bag and deadlines fast approaching, I really want to be done with experiments. My advisor, though is hedging on the need for another experiment, which is annoying. "Let's see if we have significance on the results" and "work on this figure and the paper" then we'll talk next week. Gah! I can put the results together in different ways to either show significance or not. And, another experiment has a risk of not working which just makes things more complicated. I know that my method works, but there are sometimes complications in the model that can't be prevented - in the two less-than-stellar experiments, the results can be explained. But, it just gets more difficult and obscures the good results by adding more experiments. And, working on that specific figure is difficult as some of the data inputs weren't collected in initial experiments when the objectives weren't aligned as they are now. Nothing like shifting over time - let's try this, this time - then pooling results from across experiments together.
Guess I need to stop complaining and buckle down for several hours of work on this cold Saturday. It is times like this that I wish I didn't have to drive an hour to see my girlfriend later today - seeing her is good, but I'd like to get that hour to do more productive things than sit in my car.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Thinking towards tenure
I like these two recent posts at Pondering blather on working towards tenure. While the content of a tenure packet seems straight-forward, I like this listing of good things to keep in mind. And, it isn't a surprise that the number of publications is important...but the target itself is unclear and probably moving, even within a single department.
In the coming year my current advisor will be submitting his tenure packet. I see him as a shoe-in for tenure, given his solid research and funding record, as well as involvement in many teaching and service opportunities. Having students move towards graduation at a faster rate than peer faculty can't help. It'll be interesting to observe the process and learn as much as I can.
In the coming year my current advisor will be submitting his tenure packet. I see him as a shoe-in for tenure, given his solid research and funding record, as well as involvement in many teaching and service opportunities. Having students move towards graduation at a faster rate than peer faculty can't help. It'll be interesting to observe the process and learn as much as I can.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
States I've been to...
30 out of 50 isn't a bad percentage. All but WV and NV I've at least stayed overnight in - those two had plane lay-overs and drive-through breaks:

visited 30 states (60%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or try another Douwe Osinga project
visited 30 states (60%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or try another Douwe Osinga project
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Advisor Calendar!
I thought of another thing I'd like to do when I'm a professor. As a grad student, there are plenty of times where I just need a small thing or a signature from my advisor but I don't know when he'll be around. Or, there are other times when he's locked away for days (or weeks) on end working on a grant before the deadline. I can appreciate that he's very busy most of the time and it isn't his responsibility to be at my beck and call. But, it would be nice to have an idea of when he might be around or be available. Occasionally we'll get this info, during a lab meeting when we ask about an upcoming week or he gives us a heads-up about a deadline. I like what a professor that I TA'ed for does. He syncs his calendar schedule with the campus online calendar (I think some other labs here may make use of Google calendars). So, any Case person can look him up and see when he is booked or even double booked. It made it easy for him to agree on a meeting - just tell me to find an open time in his schedule. The contents of each slot were, of course, not available to me. But, I really liked having an easy access to this information. I think most students would appreciate having this extra bit of knowledge, and if I'm using the right software it shouldn't require any extra work on my part. As a fan of Office, I use Outlook and keep the calendar updated (which synchronizes nicely with my smartphone). I'll just continue doing this in the future, integrating something like Google calendar or the school calendar - whatever syncs up with the minimal involvement from me.
Thinking about a post-doc
I just had a good conversation with a NIH program officer. She liked my proposed research, saying it was clearly within their mission as opposed to several other centers. And, as expected from correspondence with other program officers, she was pushing me towards doing a F32 than a K01. Too bad that K's are dominated by applicants with several years of experience....and that I'm pretty swamped now working on dissertation materials that finishing a solid K app by 2/12 would be near impossible. Hopefully I can fit in the F32 deadline of early April with everything else I'll be finishing then. In a perfect world, I'll get the F and submit a K01 ~1.5 years later which will carry me into a tenure track position.
This has given me a chance to think more about post-doc-ing. I know, it should be a higher priority. But, graduation in May is paramount in my mind. Having an open opportunity to remain in the lab after graduation makes it easier to put off the post-grad plans. I finally had a brief talk with my advisor about it the other day - discussing some specifics instead of the vague comments that have been made. Short of me really changing my mind, I plan to remain in the lab for at least 9-12 months, continuing aspects of my PhD work - hopefully getting some clinical subjects. During that time I'll submit one or two post-doc grant applications and investigate post-doc labs elsewhere. By 2010 I should know whether I have funding to remain where I am or if another location has enticed me away. Aside from tying up loose ends of my grad studies, my focus while here will be to do experiments that aren't directly tied to my PhD studies. This should help minimize the "too similar to PhD work" risk that comes with staying at the same place, and working with the same mentor.
Speaking of post-doc thoughts, this was an excellent discussion on choosing a post-doc. And, here's a document that might provide a few pointers on obtaining a post-doc. Sometime I need to come back and review these TED blog posts about the funding of science, which will also affect my post-grad career.
In a few hours I'll have my (hopefully) penultimate PhD guidance committee meeting, in which I'll wow them with my progress, impress them with the new Aim 3 that I've done to replace a stagnant clinical study, and show them that I'm on track to defend in March. Fingers crossed....
This has given me a chance to think more about post-doc-ing. I know, it should be a higher priority. But, graduation in May is paramount in my mind. Having an open opportunity to remain in the lab after graduation makes it easier to put off the post-grad plans. I finally had a brief talk with my advisor about it the other day - discussing some specifics instead of the vague comments that have been made. Short of me really changing my mind, I plan to remain in the lab for at least 9-12 months, continuing aspects of my PhD work - hopefully getting some clinical subjects. During that time I'll submit one or two post-doc grant applications and investigate post-doc labs elsewhere. By 2010 I should know whether I have funding to remain where I am or if another location has enticed me away. Aside from tying up loose ends of my grad studies, my focus while here will be to do experiments that aren't directly tied to my PhD studies. This should help minimize the "too similar to PhD work" risk that comes with staying at the same place, and working with the same mentor.
Speaking of post-doc thoughts, this was an excellent discussion on choosing a post-doc. And, here's a document that might provide a few pointers on obtaining a post-doc. Sometime I need to come back and review these TED blog posts about the funding of science, which will also affect my post-grad career.
In a few hours I'll have my (hopefully) penultimate PhD guidance committee meeting, in which I'll wow them with my progress, impress them with the new Aim 3 that I've done to replace a stagnant clinical study, and show them that I'm on track to defend in March. Fingers crossed....
Labels:
academia,
great posts by others,
post-doc,
writing
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Still writing
I'm making good progress on my dissertation. This past week had a lot of data analysis cranking as well as some writing. I need to get a first draft of my dissertation discussion to my advisor by Tuesday....just so we can say that we've reviewed it at my committee meeting on Thursday. The meeting is an important one in which I need to convince the committee of the importance of my new specific aim 3, that my progress is strong enough to only need one more experiment (regardless of its outcome) and that I'm on track to finish things in time to graduate in May. My advisor is on board with everything, so I'm confident. I also need to get back to updates to the dissertation Introduction and Chapter 4 - which will be my third paper. Write, write, rrrrite. :-P
Speaking of writing, I like this witty synopsis of the different stages of grant writing. I can feel the similarities to the writing I'm doing too. I also like this recent post and commentary on generating ideas...some good thoughts to keep in mind in the future.
Speaking of writing, I like this witty synopsis of the different stages of grant writing. I can feel the similarities to the writing I'm doing too. I also like this recent post and commentary on generating ideas...some good thoughts to keep in mind in the future.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Researching Defense?
I can't remember where I saw a link to this, but it has been sitting on my firefox tab list for a while waiting for me to link to it. This is hilarious: in the early 90s, someone did a study comparing "undergraduates" opinion of the better defense (hand-waving/stationary) against actual shooting accuracy for those defenses (and control of none). This is only an abstract, so I can't pull apart the methods like I would like to. Undergrads? Come on...everyone should know it is harder to see through a stationary object (wall) than a moving one (like looking through a fan)....except for whatever 140 people they polled. When playing, there's plenty of other moving distractions, aside from whatever your defender is doing, that good shooters don't notice the distraction. But, if you can't see the hoop, things get a little harder (duh):

I'm curious what is meant by the authors that opinions were independant of exposure to basketball. Watching or also playing?
Then, the shooting competition? Again, I wish I could see the full methods. For starters, though, what kind of shots are these (and who is shooting them) where the average FG% without any hand in the face was under 40%? Maybe they were recording shots during "game-action" but regular players should be able to hit free throw range and in well over 50% of the time, and I wouldn't expect them to test beyond the arc. But, if they had random people doing the shooting, I'd expect the variances to be much higher, showing a spread of abilities (the near similar values are fishy to me). Showing that it is "linear" for those "x-inputs" is pretty funny. ...at least the results meet what I'd expect as far as what has the higher percentage:

I've gotta look around the internets to see if I can find other work by these authors...
Well, at the lead-author's 2001 Arizona State research page, it says the (1993) abstract is in preparation. hmmm...
Looks like the lead author is still looking at interfering with shooting.
Given that this author is a researcher AND into sports, he's OK in my book. I'm sure that abstract has all kinds of details behind the scenes or it was an undergrad project...makes for good fodder for reading as-is. Plus, he's at the granter of my Master's degree, so that gives him another bonus. Go Devils!

I'm curious what is meant by the authors that opinions were independant of exposure to basketball. Watching or also playing?
Then, the shooting competition? Again, I wish I could see the full methods. For starters, though, what kind of shots are these (and who is shooting them) where the average FG% without any hand in the face was under 40%? Maybe they were recording shots during "game-action" but regular players should be able to hit free throw range and in well over 50% of the time, and I wouldn't expect them to test beyond the arc. But, if they had random people doing the shooting, I'd expect the variances to be much higher, showing a spread of abilities (the near similar values are fishy to me). Showing that it is "linear" for those "x-inputs" is pretty funny. ...at least the results meet what I'd expect as far as what has the higher percentage:

I've gotta look around the internets to see if I can find other work by these authors...
Well, at the lead-author's 2001 Arizona State research page, it says the (1993) abstract is in preparation. hmmm...
Looks like the lead author is still looking at interfering with shooting.
Given that this author is a researcher AND into sports, he's OK in my book. I'm sure that abstract has all kinds of details behind the scenes or it was an undergrad project...makes for good fodder for reading as-is. Plus, he's at the granter of my Master's degree, so that gives him another bonus. Go Devils!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Publishing Gauntlet
Found this hilarious comic over at Lab initio. Pretty funny, even for my limited publishing experience...
Saturday, January 3, 2009
When I'm a PI....
...as in principle investigator, and thus (hopefully) in a tenure-track academic/professor position, there are a variety of things that I'd like to do. From time to time I notice things that PIs are doing, or are not doing but could, that I'd like to try and remember to do when I've got the opportunity.
-Have weekly lab meetings with all personnel, where key lab-related items are discussed, students can touch on points where they'd like others input, and general research-type advise can be dispensed. My lab has this now, though it didn't start until well into my 2nd (or was it 3rd?) year. It is good to have when experiments involve multiple lab personnel and for the many weeks when it is the only hour that we'll see our advisor.
-Once a month, have a lab member give a ~15 minute presentation on current research progress. IMO, students need as many opportunities as possible to talk about their research in front of an audience. It is one thing to have a discussion with one or two advisors, but putting together a planned talk in front of even a small group is a good practice. We don't do this in a group setting, in my lab, although the research centers that I'm affiliated with give one opportunity per year for each student to give a talk. That is great, for a larger audience filled mainly with student peers and several PIs. But, a greater number of opportunites would be an even better thing, I think, especially in the controlled environment of fellow lab-mates who are more likely to ask questions and know the subject better.
-I've thought of a few things that'd be cool to give as PhD-completing gifts, but only one is coming to mind right now. As a kid, I was an AVID baseball (and to a lesser extent basketball) card collector, amassing a collection of well over 20,000 cards. So, things along those lines catch my eye. I like the current NCAA marketing push to show NCAA athletes as going pro in some 'non-sport', especially the sports-card commercial (yes, I know it is very hypocritical, given the major $$$ that are made by the "not for profit" NCAA during the big money sports) that is playing now. That led me to the thought that it'd be cool to give a set of 10 or so "player cards" for a person. The front could be an "in-action" research picture. On the back would be a head shot from their early days in the program. Vital stats could include publications, conference presentations, any awards, and special work in the lab. I think this would be a nice little "souvenir" of grad school that would be easy to pull out down the road and look at.
-Another good potential PhD-completing gift would be a book for the next career stage. There are many potential good ones. My parents are (supposedly) ordering for me The Academic Portfolio as a late birthday gift. Other books on my wish list that may be appropriate include The Graphic Syllabus and Outcomes Map, At the Helm: A Laboratory Navigator, or a science-ethics book like Cantor's Dilemma or Biomedical Ethics for Engineers.
-And, on the lighter side, PhD completing gifts or prizes for completing research projects or grants could be science-related t-shirts. Examples include: Recycle Ideas t-shirt from PhD Comics, the "Research" shirt from PhD Comics, or "Research Tool" also from PhD Comics, I'm going to try Science t-shirt from XKCD, and the "Doctor...of philosophy" shirt from PhD Comics - I received one of these for my birthday, and can't wait to wear it for the first time after I get my degree.
I guess my mind is busy with getting gifts (it is the season) and finishing my degree. ha. There are a bunch of other "as-PI" things I've thought of, but they are all currently hiding in the recesses of my mind. I'll throw them on the blog as I think of them...
-Have weekly lab meetings with all personnel, where key lab-related items are discussed, students can touch on points where they'd like others input, and general research-type advise can be dispensed. My lab has this now, though it didn't start until well into my 2nd (or was it 3rd?) year. It is good to have when experiments involve multiple lab personnel and for the many weeks when it is the only hour that we'll see our advisor.
-Once a month, have a lab member give a ~15 minute presentation on current research progress. IMO, students need as many opportunities as possible to talk about their research in front of an audience. It is one thing to have a discussion with one or two advisors, but putting together a planned talk in front of even a small group is a good practice. We don't do this in a group setting, in my lab, although the research centers that I'm affiliated with give one opportunity per year for each student to give a talk. That is great, for a larger audience filled mainly with student peers and several PIs. But, a greater number of opportunites would be an even better thing, I think, especially in the controlled environment of fellow lab-mates who are more likely to ask questions and know the subject better.
-I've thought of a few things that'd be cool to give as PhD-completing gifts, but only one is coming to mind right now. As a kid, I was an AVID baseball (and to a lesser extent basketball) card collector, amassing a collection of well over 20,000 cards. So, things along those lines catch my eye. I like the current NCAA marketing push to show NCAA athletes as going pro in some 'non-sport', especially the sports-card commercial (yes, I know it is very hypocritical, given the major $$$ that are made by the "not for profit" NCAA during the big money sports) that is playing now. That led me to the thought that it'd be cool to give a set of 10 or so "player cards" for a person. The front could be an "in-action" research picture. On the back would be a head shot from their early days in the program. Vital stats could include publications, conference presentations, any awards, and special work in the lab. I think this would be a nice little "souvenir" of grad school that would be easy to pull out down the road and look at.
-Another good potential PhD-completing gift would be a book for the next career stage. There are many potential good ones. My parents are (supposedly) ordering for me The Academic Portfolio as a late birthday gift. Other books on my wish list that may be appropriate include The Graphic Syllabus and Outcomes Map, At the Helm: A Laboratory Navigator, or a science-ethics book like Cantor's Dilemma or Biomedical Ethics for Engineers.
-And, on the lighter side, PhD completing gifts or prizes for completing research projects or grants could be science-related t-shirts. Examples include: Recycle Ideas t-shirt from PhD Comics, the "Research" shirt from PhD Comics, or "Research Tool" also from PhD Comics, I'm going to try Science t-shirt from XKCD, and the "Doctor...of philosophy" shirt from PhD Comics - I received one of these for my birthday, and can't wait to wear it for the first time after I get my degree.
I guess my mind is busy with getting gifts (it is the season) and finishing my degree. ha. There are a bunch of other "as-PI" things I've thought of, but they are all currently hiding in the recesses of my mind. I'll throw them on the blog as I think of them...
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Recent good reads
Finally getting to some of the interesting reads that I've kept open on my Firefox tabs...
I need to schedule weekend time (ha) to review the career advice published by Science. Looks like some good stuff in the homestretch of my grad "career." [hat tip]
Good things to keep in mind for post-doc training and keeping myself on task.
It is nice seeing what challenges lie ahead for first-year professors.
Reading through the comments on this post, it is interesting seeing the variety of publications that make up a dissertation across different disciplines. For me, in biomedical engineering, we're required to have one publication accepted and another publication submitted. When writing the dissertation, students write Introduction and Discussion chapters (and usually have several appendices) with middle chapters filled by the relevant publications verbatim. This is usually 3 chapters, with the final chapter in-prep for publication during the dissertation-submission stages. I'm in good shape, with two chapters done and a third one in second review with my advisor (but pending 2 experiments). I've got the Intro at about 80% ready for a first advisor-review and a solid outline of the 5 potential appendices that will probably be culled to 3. That reminds me...I should be writing!
I need to schedule weekend time (ha) to review the career advice published by Science. Looks like some good stuff in the homestretch of my grad "career." [hat tip]
Good things to keep in mind for post-doc training and keeping myself on task.
It is nice seeing what challenges lie ahead for first-year professors.
Reading through the comments on this post, it is interesting seeing the variety of publications that make up a dissertation across different disciplines. For me, in biomedical engineering, we're required to have one publication accepted and another publication submitted. When writing the dissertation, students write Introduction and Discussion chapters (and usually have several appendices) with middle chapters filled by the relevant publications verbatim. This is usually 3 chapters, with the final chapter in-prep for publication during the dissertation-submission stages. I'm in good shape, with two chapters done and a third one in second review with my advisor (but pending 2 experiments). I've got the Intro at about 80% ready for a first advisor-review and a solid outline of the 5 potential appendices that will probably be culled to 3. That reminds me...I should be writing!
2009 already?!?
Time has been flying recently. A run of experiments in November and December, holidays and traveling tends to run the days together. I went back to my parent's place for 10 days (including travel days). It was a good trip, of course. But, we were plenty busy, going to several family things...and doing last minute shopping (not me) and cooking. Now it is back to the grindstone. Day 1 of being back in town (Tuesday) was another experiment, which wasn't as successful as desired.
I'm not a resolution person - why should some single day push you to change your ways when you could have been doing something different long before? But, I do like to have goals.
This year, I will:
-get my PhD
-get published for a third time
-submit a NIH grant
-get a post-doc job
-take a trip post-graduation
-run a 10k and at least 3 5k races
I hope to:
-submit a 4th manuscript later in the year
-travel off the continent...for the first time.
-complete a 5k in under 22 min
-run at least a 10 mile stretch on my own
We'll see what the year brings. The past month has kept me busy enough that putting my thoughts on here hasn't happened too often. I'll try to do it more often, but it may be sporadic until after I (hopefullly/better) submit my completed dissertation in April.
I'm not a resolution person - why should some single day push you to change your ways when you could have been doing something different long before? But, I do like to have goals.
This year, I will:
-get my PhD
-get published for a third time
-submit a NIH grant
-get a post-doc job
-take a trip post-graduation
-run a 10k and at least 3 5k races
I hope to:
-submit a 4th manuscript later in the year
-travel off the continent...for the first time.
-complete a 5k in under 22 min
-run at least a 10 mile stretch on my own
We'll see what the year brings. The past month has kept me busy enough that putting my thoughts on here hasn't happened too often. I'll try to do it more often, but it may be sporadic until after I (hopefullly/better) submit my completed dissertation in April.
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