January 23 Professional Development

Professional Development Acquiring skills that help you to be successful in your profession as a research scientist Technical and scientific knowledge Lab management (equipment, people, money) Communication skills (written, oral; formal informal) “Politics” (knowledge about who does what, who is who, where the funding comes from, who has influence)

Technical and scientific knowledge This is your day-to-day business. This aspect will happen, and you focus on it the most. Some bullets from last time Read everything you can about your topic and related ideas; textbooks, popular articles, journals, theses. Find out what journals are important and scan them every week. Read one article at least. Think, think, think, think. All the time. About your results, about the physics, about where to go next.

Lab management Do you have the right tools and equipment? If not, can they be purchased or repaired? Where? How much? Delivery time? How do you pay for them? Get on the web and on the phone and learn the procedures. Negotiate prices. (We should prepare a set of guidelines for this. Talk to advisors and senior students.) People. You have share equipment and collaborate on projects. Establish protocols for equipment sharing. Plan joint projects and understand each other’s responsibilities. Meet often. Deliver, and deliver on time

Lab management cont’d Supervising undergraduates is valuable. Treat them as you would want to be treated. Respect their time and effort. Show them techniques, guide them to journals, help them measure, analyze, and interpret. Help them write. Keep work contained and well-defined.