Tag Archives: Research

How many hours a week can you work on research?

What are my colleagues around the world doing on this Sunday, a brilliantly sunny February day too warm for a jacket in St. Louis? Are they out hiking, bird watching, or cooking a delicious meal? Are they playing with their … Continue reading

Posted in Daily routines, Follow a scientist, Life in a biology department, Managing an academic career | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ten tips for writing successful NSF full proposals from a recent panelist

Right now a lot of us are waiting to hear if we won the NSF lottery. Someone recently on a panel who did not want to be identified shared some thoughts about what makes a good proposal. Some of these … Continue reading

Posted in Grant proposals | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Are rotations really worth it?

I think a rotation is kind of like a trial marriage, without the most fun bits. Or maybe because of that, and the power relationships, a trial adoption is more like it. Some students start graduate school really certain of … Continue reading

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What happens when you don’t publish promptly?

If science is a relay race, when you don’t publish, the baton goes to someone else. If science is a quilt, when you don’t publish, someone else’s square will go in the place saved for yours. If science is a … Continue reading

Posted in Publishing your work | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Hurry! We have an opening at Wash U for an ecologist in any specialty!

Please share this exciting position for a tenure track ecologist of any flavor! We have a great group and are in a world clss city! Join us! Below is the advertisement.   Washington University in St. Louis Department of Biology … Continue reading

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What are you paying your work-study students?

This is the time of year when we begin to think about our classes, the fall excitement, and a crop of new students coming through our doors. Many of those will qualify for work study. This is a federal program … Continue reading

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Exactly how independent should your research be?

The significance of a Ph.D. degree is that you can do much more than excellent research. You can also think of what questions to ask. You know how to push at the most important unknowns. You can read the literature … Continue reading

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Science is problem solving: two crucial first steps

I have an extremely intelligent friend with a Ph.D. in something really fancy who raised his kids with a great deal of freedom. I’m sure he did this for a number of reasons, but one that he articulated early on … Continue reading

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Make sure your prospective Ph.D. adviser is taking students!!!

Grad school applications are very different from applying to college. It is nearly always the case that in ecology and evolution, you only get admitted if there is an adviser who will take you. This is true even if there … Continue reading

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The monastic glory of a seven year Ph.D.

Anything you do for seven years is a way of living, not preparation for something else in the tangle of life. It is the time from birth, when you are just working out that you are no longer a part … Continue reading

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