Navigating Graduate School and Beyond: Sow Well Now To Reap Big Later Teams Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

Teams Pick your committee members Think of your committee members as part of your team Take time to put together your team Become a team player Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

Committee members Pick CMs who will challenge you Pick CMs who are willing and able to put in the work Follow university rules about selection of CMs Choose a representative for a potential employer to be on your committee Ask your advisor for advice on committee selection Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

Meet the expectations of your CMs Work closely with your advisor Contact each CM at periodic intervals with updates and progress reports Meet with each CM separately Ask for feedback and follow up with email Set a target date for your defense Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

Prepare for defense Set up a committee meeting 3-6 months before defense Go over a mock defense Highlight your work and your plans for the final stages Listen to suggestions and take notes Work out any difficulties before the actual defense Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

Food for thought Describe your ideal committee member List situations that prevent you from making periodic contact with your CM. How can you circumvent these situations? How do you handle a CM who is suddenly “too hard” on you and your research? If you were a CM, how would you like the student to interact with you? Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

Benefits of strong team dynamics Sharing of ideas Quality research Positive interaction with others Good work ethics Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

Problems with poor team dynamics Poor work ethics Backbiting Hoarding information Suspicion of other team members Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

Become a team player Share resources and information Cooperate with others in both interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary work Collaborate with others and offer co-authorship Be accountable and diligent Convey your plans for another scientist’s data Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

Deciding co-authorship Each person on co-authorship must contribute in some way In some disciplines, give precedence on the co-author list based on level of input Also acceptable to list first author and list co-authors in alphabetical order Convey your plans for data or tools obtained from other scientists. Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

Why offer co-authorship? Offer to a scientist if using their data or tools They know the most about that particular data set and the quality You will be able to ask all the relevant questions regarding the data set They can provide a section detailing their data Some will involve themselves rigorously. Others will simply make sure their data is used properly. Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

Final thoughts about teamwork Don’t be a loner. Work with others. Diversify your research portfolio Connect to others in your field Keep your focus and integrity Follow through with any promises you make to co-authors or scientists who give you data. Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu