Group Expectations
I have several expectations of incoming and continuing group members, which are intended to help you succeed during your time in the group.
For everyone
Take your research seriously: You are here to learn and become an effective researcher. Take this task seriously and aim to voraciously learn and improve as much as you can. Research is very non-linear and asynchronous; good ideas or good work do not happen overnight, rather they come from regular and persistent effort over time. I take my role as your advisor very seriously and I expect you to do the same as a graduate student, undergraduate student, or postdoc. YOU must be invested in the process as well for the process to work.
Be courteous of those around you: Our aim is to do good science and also be good people. This includes all oral and written communication to those within or outside the group.
Take charge of your project: You are expected to be proactive and responsible for any project(s) you are involved. Depending on if you are the main or contributing person to the project, this will look different. Nevertheless, your project(s) are your responsibility.
Be proactive in applying for external (funding) opportunities: Including travel grants, fellowships, scholarships. Prepare yourself by knowing when the deadlines are and what the application requirements are. See here for more information.
Ask for feedback: from your peers and mentors.
For items that will be public (e.g., presented, published), you must first communicate with Wennie well in advance of any deadlines.
Be proactive in your career development: Whether this be preparing for a job interview, participating in seminars, applying for external funding, going to conferences
Be aware of, communicate, and meet deadlines: This includes external deadlines on applications and grants and internal deadlines set by the PI. Deadlines and changes involving others must be communicated in a timely manner (i.e., repeatedly and well before the deadline itself).
Be present in the group and university: I expect everyone to be present and active in group- and research-related activities. I do not require fixed work hours or work locations, but I do expect every group member to make an effort and be present in the office during regular work hours for at least half of the day. This is the time to make connections with people, to have (impromptu) discussions, and to have meetings.
Be punctual: Punctual means the meeting starts on time. This may mean you need to arrive 5-10 minutes earlier to set up and hash out any technical difficulties. In this era of zoom and video calling, this is especially important. Communicate well in advance of changes in meeting plans. Respect each other's time.
Maintain your workspace and documentation: Being organized is a useful skill in research as you will be handling many deadlines and files. It pays to document your progress early and frequently. This includes, but is not limited to:
Updating and adding to the group wiki. The group wiki is a big resource for institutional and group knowledge. It is also a great way to keep in touch with what others are working on.
Updating the group github. Similar as the group wiki, but for more analysis-oriented tasks and scripts
Take all individual and group meetings seriously: This is good practice for presenting your results, for "thinking on your feet". Our goal is to be the most critical and supportive of the work coming out.
Conference attendance: I expect everyone to regularly attend conferences. In order to attend a conference, you will be expected to have a project and manuscript draft near completion.
Be mindful of the group's resources: Including physical office space, group allocations on the supercomputing clusters, and yours and others' time
Your time here is what you make of it: My goal is to train you to get to the next level of becoming an independent researcher/scientist, but it requires YOU to be invested in the process as well.
For Undergraduate Students:
Dedicate regular hours to the research: To have a meaningful experience in the group, it is important to dedicate regular hours to research. Research is hard work and it takes time before things come to fruition. Typically, this is on the order of >10 hrs/week during the semester and >20hrs/week during the summer.
Become involved in the group activities: Talk to group members, participate in group meetings, attend group seminars
Publishing is not necessary but a huge plus: The goal in academic research is to publish and put out your results for the rest of the world to see. While it is not expected for an undergraduate to publish (though this is increasingly less so for competitive programs), it is highly, highly recommended to have this as a goal to work towards when coming in
For Graduate Students:
Coursework: You are expected to do take your courses seriously and do well. Your classes are the foundation from which you will build off the rest of your scientific career. Be active in your learning- do the homeworks, go to office hours, set up study sessions.
Timeline for courses: Most of your courses should be completed by the end of your third semester in residence. Sometimes a relevant/interesting class is offered later, so please come talk to the PI if this is the case. Relevant courses may also be found in the MS&E, Physics, Chemistry, etc. departments, so keep an eye out for them. Ask your classmates or group members about the class, look up past syllabi to see if it is a good class for you.
Timeline until defending: Be aware of the deadlines and timelines of your graduate program and periodically check if you are on track to defending. In general, you will need an appropriate GPA for the core courses, a pass on your candidacy exam (check the department specific to you) and have several first- and nth-author papers published.
Publications: I expect you will have made enough progress in the first year of residence (2 long semesters + summer session) to have a first-author journal paper near completion by the beginning of your second year. In general, a sign of a productive graduate student is on at minimum 1-2 first author papers per year + other nth author papers that come out in the interim.
For Postdocs
Mentoring: As a more senior member of the group, please take an active role in mentoring graduate students and undergraduate students.
Writing: As you develop and launch your own independent career, a major skill you need is technical writing in papers and (especially) grants. You will likely be heavily involved in several grant writing activities happening in the group.
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