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.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
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....
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.
Monday, December 15, 2008
More Grad School Demotivators
Apparently I was the only one to submit demotivators to the contest. ha. Well, at least appropriate ones, as two submitted were apparently NSFW in one manner or another. No big deal, except the three previously noted were displayed during a grad student meeting. Thankfully, they didn't say who submitted each. The graduation one got a few chuckles, there was silence during the collaboration one (expected, though someone commented that people were busy reading it...doubtful) and there were plenty of laughs during the accuracy one, which was agreed to be "good."
In the week following that meeting, a few others have been thought up, in collaboration with others. First, several of us were discussing the collaboration one. I noted that I wanted to point to competing with the guy in the back of the image. We came up with this improved tagline:
While looking at pictures I had selected as potential demotivators, another student came up with the tagline for this one. I can only claim taking the picture, which we liked as it can be suggested that grad students are like rats, trapped with ideas (lit bulb) being sucked out of our brains by the administration (connections to head). Kinda funny:
Recently there was a hiliarious SNL music video. Using our juvenile humor, another student and I batted around potential demotivator taglines after he did a screen grab from the video. This demotivator is funny only if you've seen the clip....which made it too-NSFW for the competition. Oh well...we had fun making it.
Finally, when noting someone using wordle on their thesis (can't recall location), I got the idea that it would be appropriate for something like a qualifier exam. With all kinds of things flying through your head during a test, the different sizes and angles of a wordle creation were appealing. So, I grabbed text from my department's website about the qualifying exam and popped it into wordle.net. The first output is a simple one with just the text. I like the second one better, adding in the equations and drawings in the background with a little photoshopping. In the lower right hand corner is an image I found of a spanish inquisition torture...appropriate in a tongue-in-cheek way.
So, now I've got a bunch of submissions. ha...made for an interesting side thing to try and work on creativity with words.
In the week following that meeting, a few others have been thought up, in collaboration with others. First, several of us were discussing the collaboration one. I noted that I wanted to point to competing with the guy in the back of the image. We came up with this improved tagline:
While looking at pictures I had selected as potential demotivators, another student came up with the tagline for this one. I can only claim taking the picture, which we liked as it can be suggested that grad students are like rats, trapped with ideas (lit bulb) being sucked out of our brains by the administration (connections to head). Kinda funny:
Recently there was a hiliarious SNL music video. Using our juvenile humor, another student and I batted around potential demotivator taglines after he did a screen grab from the video. This demotivator is funny only if you've seen the clip....which made it too-NSFW for the competition. Oh well...we had fun making it.
Finally, when noting someone using wordle on their thesis (can't recall location), I got the idea that it would be appropriate for something like a qualifier exam. With all kinds of things flying through your head during a test, the different sizes and angles of a wordle creation were appealing. So, I grabbed text from my department's website about the qualifying exam and popped it into wordle.net. The first output is a simple one with just the text. I like the second one better, adding in the equations and drawings in the background with a little photoshopping. In the lower right hand corner is an image I found of a spanish inquisition torture...appropriate in a tongue-in-cheek way.
So, now I've got a bunch of submissions. ha...made for an interesting side thing to try and work on creativity with words.
Continuing the busy times
The past few weeks have continued the busy streak. Due to the timing, remaining work needed on my end, and higher priorities of my advisor (a major factor, from my point of view), we decided to not submit a F32 at the start of December. That lifted a huge load off my shoulders, after the writing I had planned to complete in November. Since then, I've been busy analyzing recent experiments and working on paper #3.
Paper 3 is progressing well. My advisor has pushed me to focus on the logics of the study, to make sure that it is solidly supported prior to an upcoming committee meeting. I put solid work into it, anticipating a review meeting before I (possibly) spend too much time going down the wrong path. My advisor says he'll review it...then spends the rest of the week locked away working on a grant of his own. ha. At least with the paper "off my desk" I was able to get a lot of data analysis work done. One thing that bugs me is that I've got a small number of successful trials in 2 experiments and a bunch in a 3rd experiment (which we may omit from the paper as it was in a slightly different model - save for next phase). I guess if my next two experiments go well, then there should be sufficient data for the paper/dissertation. It just doesn't feel like a lot. But, the results are MUCH BETTER than previously published results. And, there are two papers from a competitive lab for experiments in a different model which had a similarly "low" number of trials and experiments....though they always tack on the author list a long, long established researcher which seems to allow their papers to get published easier. Here's where a meeting with the advisor would settle any concerns I have...
Now it is on to working on my dissertation introduction. My (suggested) goal is to have it in good shape by the end of December. That's pretty do-able, considering it just needs to be a couple of pages and I have the Intro for a previous student's dissertation that has overlap with mine. I just wish there was more time between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. I'm only going home for little over a week, but already that time is coming soon. And, when going home, my productivity falls off. I got work done over Thanksgiving...given more days at home during this upcoming break when I'm not traveling/doing something, I plan to be more productive.
After turning my wonderfully reviewed paper #2 back around quickly, it is back in the "in review" status with the journal. That's odd...I thought it was accepted pending minor revision. Perhaps they didn't like the fact that we didn't revise the manuscript for the single comment, but rather we provided a detailed answer and noted that in-progress research would address the question. It was a good point, but there wasn't really a good place in the paper to directly address the comment (without making part of the discussion disjointed), and my paper #3 does address the comment. It'd be nice to have it truly "in press" soon.
At the same time, I've got to keep part of my mind thinking about post-graduation plans. We're still planning to submit a K-award in February for me to stay here. And, even if I don't have a fellowship, I have been told that I'd be supported to stay here for a year or two. The alternate opportunity that I've got also sounds good. When the time comes to really approach the job market, this is an excellent post. Something to come back to in the future...
Paper 3 is progressing well. My advisor has pushed me to focus on the logics of the study, to make sure that it is solidly supported prior to an upcoming committee meeting. I put solid work into it, anticipating a review meeting before I (possibly) spend too much time going down the wrong path. My advisor says he'll review it...then spends the rest of the week locked away working on a grant of his own. ha. At least with the paper "off my desk" I was able to get a lot of data analysis work done. One thing that bugs me is that I've got a small number of successful trials in 2 experiments and a bunch in a 3rd experiment (which we may omit from the paper as it was in a slightly different model - save for next phase). I guess if my next two experiments go well, then there should be sufficient data for the paper/dissertation. It just doesn't feel like a lot. But, the results are MUCH BETTER than previously published results. And, there are two papers from a competitive lab for experiments in a different model which had a similarly "low" number of trials and experiments....though they always tack on the author list a long, long established researcher which seems to allow their papers to get published easier. Here's where a meeting with the advisor would settle any concerns I have...
Now it is on to working on my dissertation introduction. My (suggested) goal is to have it in good shape by the end of December. That's pretty do-able, considering it just needs to be a couple of pages and I have the Intro for a previous student's dissertation that has overlap with mine. I just wish there was more time between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. I'm only going home for little over a week, but already that time is coming soon. And, when going home, my productivity falls off. I got work done over Thanksgiving...given more days at home during this upcoming break when I'm not traveling/doing something, I plan to be more productive.
After turning my wonderfully reviewed paper #2 back around quickly, it is back in the "in review" status with the journal. That's odd...I thought it was accepted pending minor revision. Perhaps they didn't like the fact that we didn't revise the manuscript for the single comment, but rather we provided a detailed answer and noted that in-progress research would address the question. It was a good point, but there wasn't really a good place in the paper to directly address the comment (without making part of the discussion disjointed), and my paper #3 does address the comment. It'd be nice to have it truly "in press" soon.
At the same time, I've got to keep part of my mind thinking about post-graduation plans. We're still planning to submit a K-award in February for me to stay here. And, even if I don't have a fellowship, I have been told that I'd be supported to stay here for a year or two. The alternate opportunity that I've got also sounds good. When the time comes to really approach the job market, this is an excellent post. Something to come back to in the future...
Monday, November 24, 2008
Busy Times
The last couple of weeks have been like a whirlwind. Sure I've had short breaks from time to time, but for the most part I've been swamped with work or attending commitments. My writing progress has taken a big hit, which I expected. The main cause of this business has been several experiments of mine, which really eat up time. The last two weeks, plus a third today, I've had experiments - each of which chews up a day-plus not counting time to prepare then one to two days afterwards to summarize, analyze and do "post-op" work. The positive note is that the experiments have been very successful so far! If today's experiment follows the same pattern, my advisor hinted yesterday (yes, we were both in on a Sunday) that I may have enough data to start writing up for paper #3! And, paper #3 is the last leg of my PhD dissertation, which has to be finished by the start of March for me to graduate in May. So, no pressure on today, of course. ha.
Another highlight is that the submission of my 2nd paper/manuscript to a new journal, after our first choice made a bad decision, was ACCEPTED with minor revisions. The reviews were VERY brief and positive. There was a single minor comment/question from the two reviewers and editor, which were outnumbered by comments like "well designed study," "Congrats, nice work," and "very novel work." Wow! That made my Monday last week. Unfortunately it took until Sunday to get to the paper, to make a few minor changes. It is funny how the reviewer process can be so different from journal to journal. Granted, this manuscript did get reviewed at another journal but we only addressed a couple of their comments and the new journal didn't know about the previous submission (no need). My first paper had somewhat similar issues as noted elsewhere, where in the second round of comments, the harshest reviewer asked for extra work that should have been raised in the first round. Sometimes it seems like such a crapshoot - get good reviewers (and/or brief ones) and the world is a happy place...get random comments from left field and the stress levels get ratcheted up a notch. Life in academia...
Also, something I'd like to keep in mind if/when I have my own lab to direct: making sure to integrate discussions about proper research conduct into regular meetings. We've talked about topics like this occasionally, but usually they get pushed aside by the daily/weekly items of note and the fact that most in our lab aren't planning to stay in academia and "don't care" as much - their loss. We aren't a poor-conduct lab by any means, but I like the method discussed in the link.
Time to finish preparations for today's experiment. Hopefully things go smoothly and I don't finish too long after midnight...I've got plenty to do tomorrow before leaving for Thanksgiving on Wednesday.
Another highlight is that the submission of my 2nd paper/manuscript to a new journal, after our first choice made a bad decision, was ACCEPTED with minor revisions. The reviews were VERY brief and positive. There was a single minor comment/question from the two reviewers and editor, which were outnumbered by comments like "well designed study," "Congrats, nice work," and "very novel work." Wow! That made my Monday last week. Unfortunately it took until Sunday to get to the paper, to make a few minor changes. It is funny how the reviewer process can be so different from journal to journal. Granted, this manuscript did get reviewed at another journal but we only addressed a couple of their comments and the new journal didn't know about the previous submission (no need). My first paper had somewhat similar issues as noted elsewhere, where in the second round of comments, the harshest reviewer asked for extra work that should have been raised in the first round. Sometimes it seems like such a crapshoot - get good reviewers (and/or brief ones) and the world is a happy place...get random comments from left field and the stress levels get ratcheted up a notch. Life in academia...
Also, something I'd like to keep in mind if/when I have my own lab to direct: making sure to integrate discussions about proper research conduct into regular meetings. We've talked about topics like this occasionally, but usually they get pushed aside by the daily/weekly items of note and the fact that most in our lab aren't planning to stay in academia and "don't care" as much - their loss. We aren't a poor-conduct lab by any means, but I like the method discussed in the link.
Time to finish preparations for today's experiment. Hopefully things go smoothly and I don't finish too long after midnight...I've got plenty to do tomorrow before leaving for Thanksgiving on Wednesday.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
College Hoops have finally returned
Although I haven't been able to watch any yet (mainly because I'm not blessed with ESPNU but also because I haven't had the time), it is great to finally be back in the college basketball season.
This will be a frustrating year for my primary alma mater (Illinois) who are still lacking talent and lost several key players from last year's "most losses ever" squad. After barely slipping by a DivIII school in the last exhibition game, warm fuzzies are not being felt by the fan base. Still, like for every program, there's a sense of hope like at the start of a baseball season. Anything can happen in a given season, if players come together and injuries are minimized. (And, having a bunch of top recruits sign paper today is a mental bonus). Plus, the supposedly easy pre-season schedule of many teams lends itself to some victories and a chance to build confidence. I'm looking forward to watching as many games as possible.
I've read a lot about what players and teams are predicted by others to be the best. Not much to add there as people are pretty consistent. Here are some players and teams that I'm interested in watching this season:
Teams:
-Illinois (duh, although they will give me high blood pressure and cause more hair to fall out)
-UCONN - with Thabeet & Adrien inside and Price outside, they should be fun to watch on both ends of the court...especiall with the smack talk Thabeet is doing.
-Oklahoma - Blake Griffin is a freak of nature - can't predict what he'll do, and the outside work of Willie Warren will make this team exciting.
-Michigan State - I always enjoy Tom Izzo teams. I expect this team to outlast Purdue in the Big10 and make some noise nationally.
-Indiana - every loss will bring me joy
Players:
-Demitri McCamey - Illinois PG. If he is consistent (rarely last year), he could put up big numbers. 30 points in a game last year...but less than 10 the following game
-Alex Legion - Illinois SG. He is eligible late December after transferring from Kentucky. If he plays up to the hype (top recruit out of HS), the Illini have a chance at the Big Dance. If not (limited PT at KU which led to departure), it will be a disappointment.
-Stephon Curry - Davidson PG/SG. Um, who doesn't want to watch this guy?
-Eric Maynor - VCU G. I went to the Bradley-VCU game last year and Maynor was clearly the best player on the floor. He's a fun floor general to watch, even more so after his game-winner a few years back against Duke.
-James Harden - ASU G/F. In ASU's first game last year against Illinois, his team was lost, but you could really see Harden's potential. He's getting a lot of ink, and should have a great season.
Unballsy predictions:
-Illinois will finish in the bottom half of the Big 10 (I really really really hope I am wrong)
-UNC will get to the final four, but won't win it all
-MSU will win the Big 10
-Blake Griffin won't win the national player of the year that some are predicting
BRING ON THE GAMES!!!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
A day of experimenting and interesting reads
Today and yesterday were crazy experiment days. In my lab, we tend to have experiments 3-4 times a month (when we're at speed) which each last from 20 to 50 hours. One student doesn't stay the entire time, for ones longer than a day, but the three main grad students in the lab trade off who is testing or monitoring. So, this week an experiment started yesterday in which another student was primary experimenter. I came in early to do some of the "prep work." Then he "tested" and "changed settings" from ~10 am yesterday until ~5 am today. I came back in at 4am and followed him with testing until we ended the experiment after 11 this morning. It is a fairly efficient model, which allows multiple students to get data - for me this was mainly a dry run for a specific future experiment. I learned a thing or two, which was sufficient. The problem is that the sleep schedule is really messed up. Getting up 3 hours early put me in a funk this afternoon, so I came home to nap...to recover a bit before an intramural volleyball game this evening. I hate napping as I always wake up groggy. It looks like it takes me 30-45 minutes to really wake up, as I feel fairly decent now. Putting in my contacts should seal the deal.
In the meantime, there were several very interesting blog posts today. A post on Poverty and the Brain at the Frontal Cortex was enlightening. The ties between mental stimulation of a child and their intellectual prowess aren't surprising, I guess. The need to constantly provide input to a kid is something I want to remember (and focus on) when I've got kids of my own.
I like watching TED videos when they are posted to the TEDBlog. A new one today talked about using "play" for creative thinking. As I think that I am personally not an innovative person (partially the grad-school self-doubt syndrome, I know), some of the things to keep in mind struck me. I know that I have a sense of self-editing when I think. Like Tim Brown suggests - I need to limit doing that and spend more time just writing down random ideas. A colleague in my lab (semi-"wise old man") talks about coming up with at least one idea a week, only a few of which pan out. I think he is a good innovator and probably follows this principle.
And, finally, Professor in Training talked about preliminary data requirements for new investigators. The points discussed struck home things my advisor has said about the need for preliminary data being CRITICAL. I also find it odd that filing for grant applications apparently wants you to have performed the studies you want money for, to show that they are feasible. Then, if/when you get funded you are expected to finish the study so that it is publishable. It is a strange vicious cycle where you have to have data before getting $$, but getting data requires $$...most likely from already obtained grants on previous or other research. I wonder what the expectations are for R21 grants, which are for exploratory studies that "may not" have preliminary data. While I'm finishing up my PhD studies, I'm going to try and take every opportunity to try a few things in other people's experiments, to add to my repertoire of "preliminary data" while keeping in mind the above points about innovation/critical thinking.
Interesting....and thought provoking...time for volleyball...
In the meantime, there were several very interesting blog posts today. A post on Poverty and the Brain at the Frontal Cortex was enlightening. The ties between mental stimulation of a child and their intellectual prowess aren't surprising, I guess. The need to constantly provide input to a kid is something I want to remember (and focus on) when I've got kids of my own.
I like watching TED videos when they are posted to the TEDBlog. A new one today talked about using "play" for creative thinking. As I think that I am personally not an innovative person (partially the grad-school self-doubt syndrome, I know), some of the things to keep in mind struck me. I know that I have a sense of self-editing when I think. Like Tim Brown suggests - I need to limit doing that and spend more time just writing down random ideas. A colleague in my lab (semi-"wise old man") talks about coming up with at least one idea a week, only a few of which pan out. I think he is a good innovator and probably follows this principle.
And, finally, Professor in Training talked about preliminary data requirements for new investigators. The points discussed struck home things my advisor has said about the need for preliminary data being CRITICAL. I also find it odd that filing for grant applications apparently wants you to have performed the studies you want money for, to show that they are feasible. Then, if/when you get funded you are expected to finish the study so that it is publishable. It is a strange vicious cycle where you have to have data before getting $$, but getting data requires $$...most likely from already obtained grants on previous or other research. I wonder what the expectations are for R21 grants, which are for exploratory studies that "may not" have preliminary data. While I'm finishing up my PhD studies, I'm going to try and take every opportunity to try a few things in other people's experiments, to add to my repertoire of "preliminary data" while keeping in mind the above points about innovation/critical thinking.
Interesting....and thought provoking...time for volleyball...
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Change?
And so, a new era begins. Can one man truly bring about CHANGE? I'm skeptical, especially with his history of staying on one side of the aisle and minimal experience. But, there certainly are legions of highly excited people (especially in academia - many of my colleagues). On the Republican side, there certainly wasn't the kind of excitement that Obama generated. Is it anything more than disillusionment with the current group? A little bit, I know. How much can one person really affect anyways? In the big picture, I don't think it is much, especially with congress also appearing to go democratic. I wonder, though, that with this CHANGE, will there be a greater confidence by many which will provide fuel to the economy? So, a collective pulling out of the recession by a increase in confidence rather than any policy changes? We'll see.....
Sunday, November 2, 2008
November Writing Goals
Well, to put it in writing, here are my research goals for the month:
-Finish writing a F32 post-doc grant and have it go through at least one pass with my advisor. If it gets done, it has to be submitted by December 8th (otherwise wait 4 months). I've already got a lot of writing done on this - all the relevant sections are at least started, and the Specific Aims are pretty solid. But, this is a lower priority than dissertation research, and getting feedback from my advisor (still waiting on Aims and training portion for weeks) isn't easy.
-Bulk out the outline of two dissertation appendix items. These were small studies that weren't investigated enough for a paper, but I'll have to stick in the appendix so they can be referenced in the future.
-Start outline for dissertation 3rd aim work. After spending 2007 getting together the hardware and preparing for the studies, then having an experiment in early 2008, it is pretty certain that my original plans for Aim 3 aren't going to happen. 10+ months of waiting on others to have more experiments. What a joke. Granted, there have been several staffing changes and clinical work always has challenges, but the inefficiency of team members and the lack of updates from the advisor on this has been maddening. So, I can't wait any longer if I can still hope to finish by May so I'm looking into a replacement aim. I'm not overly confident of being able to finish it in time, though. We'll see...plenty of experiments to come yet this year...
-(low priority) Write outline and first draft of paper for professional society magazine. This magazine is for BS grads of the last 10 years, and it had an open call for articles on career development and other categories. I figure it'd be semi-easy to write about my BS-MS-industry-academia path - with thoughts and things to consider. It is low priority, but would be a good way to bulk my CV without having to wait for advisor feedback, and to get my name out there a little more. I'm hoping I can get motivated on this...we'll see. It has to be submitted by 12/1. I've gotta get feedback from someone on a draft by Thanksgiving if I'm going to make it.
-Finish writing a F32 post-doc grant and have it go through at least one pass with my advisor. If it gets done, it has to be submitted by December 8th (otherwise wait 4 months). I've already got a lot of writing done on this - all the relevant sections are at least started, and the Specific Aims are pretty solid. But, this is a lower priority than dissertation research, and getting feedback from my advisor (still waiting on Aims and training portion for weeks) isn't easy.
-Bulk out the outline of two dissertation appendix items. These were small studies that weren't investigated enough for a paper, but I'll have to stick in the appendix so they can be referenced in the future.
-Start outline for dissertation 3rd aim work. After spending 2007 getting together the hardware and preparing for the studies, then having an experiment in early 2008, it is pretty certain that my original plans for Aim 3 aren't going to happen. 10+ months of waiting on others to have more experiments. What a joke. Granted, there have been several staffing changes and clinical work always has challenges, but the inefficiency of team members and the lack of updates from the advisor on this has been maddening. So, I can't wait any longer if I can still hope to finish by May so I'm looking into a replacement aim. I'm not overly confident of being able to finish it in time, though. We'll see...plenty of experiments to come yet this year...
-(low priority) Write outline and first draft of paper for professional society magazine. This magazine is for BS grads of the last 10 years, and it had an open call for articles on career development and other categories. I figure it'd be semi-easy to write about my BS-MS-industry-academia path - with thoughts and things to consider. It is low priority, but would be a good way to bulk my CV without having to wait for advisor feedback, and to get my name out there a little more. I'm hoping I can get motivated on this...we'll see. It has to be submitted by 12/1. I've gotta get feedback from someone on a draft by Thanksgiving if I'm going to make it.
Will the Bulls be good?
Well, after 3 games, it looks like my prediction of a 0.500 season may be pretty accurate. They beat two mediocre teams (Memphis and Milwaukee) and were blown out by an excellent team (Boston). It feels like a season of winning most games they should but not many against playoff teams...
Granted, the Boston loss was on the road against one of the top teams in the league. But, for the parts that I watched, the Bulls clearly looked outclassed. Tyrus Thomas is on a horrible shooting spree. Against the Celtics he kept forcing shot after shot, ending up 2 for 17 from the field. Wow. For a forward with many of those coming around the basket, that is one frustrating night. It was pretty obvious from watching, too, as he was really forcing things. But, he kept hustling, which I liked. He's young and will have nights like those (which semi-continued yesterday against the Grizzlies with an 0-5 shooting night offset by 5 blocked shots).
The stud so far has been Derrick Rose. Wow. He looked quick and in control when I watched against the Celtics. Yesterday's 26 point, 6 rebound dismantling of the Grizzlies was fantastic. Yeah, he's young and will have plenty of off-games this season. But, I like what the future holds. It is interesting to see Hinrich and Gordon continuing to come off the bench, with Sefalosa starting. I wonder how the rotation will shift when Larry Hughes starts playing again. I sure wouldn't mind if he were left off the rotation.
At least the Bulls haven't started off the year terribly. We'll see if they can avoid the November swoon that often hits.....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
