Month: August 2020
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High energy neutrino experiments and related physics
The high energy neutrino experiments that we discuss in this post are: IceCube ANTARES ANITA ARA IceCube and ANTARES are optical Cherenkov experiments that look for high energy neutrinos on the lower end of the high energy spectrum (1011−1015 eV). ANITA and ARA use radio techniques to look for high energy neutrinos on the higher…
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26 Tips on Giving a Successful Job Talk
Here are 26 tips on giving a successful job talk. You can use this list as a guide when working on creating your research presentation for an academic position or research-based role. Good to have pretty pictures on the title slide. A “quick orientation” slide quickly provides information to the audience on what to expect.…
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An introduction to Gamma-ray bursts (with short videos)
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most luminous transient events in the observed Universe. They were first discovered in 1967 by the Vela satellites flown by the U.S. Department of Defense to look for any possible breach of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. A short video on Gamma-ray bursts These intense bursts of gamma-ray radiation continue…
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How to break up with your PhD advisor
Even in an ‘ideal’ research group, grad school is really hard. In my humble (and biased!) opinion, the grad school experience is not worth going through unless you have found an advisor/group/research combination that clicks for you. You need to be filled with much-needed motivation to return to school day after day, maybe night after…
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30 things that are awesome about being almost 30
Now that I’m 29 and turning 30 in a couple of months I am starting to appreciate ageism. It’s definitely a thing. People are making a big deal of the big 30 number. I, for one, have always liked to look at the positives, and at my old age, too, I shall do that. Such…
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Story Of My Postdoc Applications (Part 2)
Continuing from the previous post on the Story Of My Postdoc Applications… here is part 2! Story: MIT Postdoc Application MIT was, of course, super interesting, as always. So, to remind you, this is where I got promptly rejected for the Pappalardo Fellowship after getting angry emails saying that the committee should not be sent…
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Story Of My Postdoc Fellowships Applications (Part 1)
The table here shows the summary of where I applied and what happened at each place including the two postdoc fellowships applications: MIT’s Pappalardo Fellowship and Berkeley Lab’s Chamberlain Fellowship. These were big competitions and sort of a huge deal to even get an interview for. Then I also applied to a lab at UC…
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17 Tips on Successfully Applying to Postdoc Positions
To summarize the major tips for successfully applying to postdoc positions Be selective and apply to specific positions that excite you and where you can make a strong case for yourself. Know the name of the person who would be hiring you and do your research on them. Don’t send out generic applications just to…
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17 Tips on Successfully Applying to Postdoc Positions
You know from this blog and/or my book what went into successfully applying to postdoc positions and what the outcome of it all was for me. In general, I tend to warn people about postdocs being temporary and not coming with a guarantee of a career in academia. At the same time, I wanted to…
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26 Tips on Giving a Successful Job Talk
Here are 26 tips on giving a successful job talk. You can use this list as a guide when working on creating your research presentation for an academic position or research-based role. Good to have pretty pictures on the title slide. A “quick orientation” slide quickly provides information to the audience on what to expect.…
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Story of my best job offer
My first, real postdoc offer came after a few major rejections. It’s the best job offer that I will ever get because of the impact it had on my psyche. I was filled with relief, excitement, and disbelief. I had done it! Until it happens you really don’t know that it will happen. It was…
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How to ace a job interview (research talk tips)
The research talk I gave to ace the job interview and successfully land a postdoc offer had only about 30 slides. In a way, it was quite minimal and delivered with a lot of confidence. I gave this talk over Skype during the Michigan State University interview with the professor who would hire me. The…
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Why I might sell my extremely beautiful house
Why I might sell my extremely beautiful house is, first and foremost, a business decision. If it does not make sense business-wise, I won’t do it. It is true that life has been a hot mess in some ways (divorce), but I am never too stupid or sad to profit. I hope. The pandemic is…
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What to do if your advisor is not on the same page about graduation
As a senior graduate student, you might face a situation where your advisor is not on the same page as you about graduation. The recommended approach, in this case, would be to tackle the problem step by step, and not all at once. It may very well be that the last person to get on…
