scholarly journals The physics of an academic career

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 493-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merry L. Lindsey ◽  
Lisandra E. de Castro Brás
Keyword(s):  
Academic Career ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Academic Environment ◽  
Career Plan ◽  
Successful Academic

We adopted well-known physics equations to illustrate concepts for developing a successful academic career plan. Formulas for distance, force, momentum, and power are used to explain how to define goals and set a pace that maximizes success potential. Formulas for synergy, balance, and stress are used to highlight common obstacles encountered by both junior (untenured and early career) and established faculty and provide ways to circumvent or limit damage from setbacks. Combined, these formulas provide tips for thriving in an academic environment.

scholarly journals Reflections on Being a Successful Academic Researcher

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaun Pather ◽  
Dan Remenyi
Keyword(s):  
Academic Career ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Doctoral Degree ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Academic Researcher ◽  
Research Career ◽  
Specific Research ◽  
Academic Researchers ◽  
Research Uptake ◽  
Successful Academic

Research is central to the life of the career academic. However, the framework in which academic research is conducted is not generally well understood and neither is it often articulated or discussed. The literature tends to rather focus on issues in relation to specific research methodologies and the evaluation thereof. Additionally, previous research argues that it is common for university academics to have little or no formal preparation for their role as teachers. This paper posits that the same applies to that of the academic’s role as a researcher. It cannot be assumed that the mere obtaining of a Doctoral degree, prepares the novice academic for a research career. Early career academics are expected to acquire an understanding of how to survive as a researcher through a process more related to osmosis than to the principles of academic discourse. This paper commences with an overview of the origins of the academic career and the doctoral degree. Thereafter, it introspects the requirements to be a successful academic researcher. Aspects of the academic researcher’s agency in relation to personal values, characteristics, integrity, research uptake skills, as well as the benefits and challenges of a research career are explored. By unpacking the salient elements of what is required to be a successful academic researcher, this paper provides a basis for those who are considering a career in academe to make an assessment if such a pursuit is feasible. In addition, the paper provides a yardstick by which early or even mid‑career academic researchers may judge their progress towards being a successful researcher, thereby identifying areas for improvement.

Career Goal Profiles of Early Career Scientists: A Person-Centered Approach

2021 ◽  
pp. 089484532110172
Author(s):  
Ruth Noppeney ◽  
Anna M. Stertz ◽  
Bettina S. Wiese
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Latent Profile Analysis ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Profile Analysis ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Career Goal ◽  
Transition Analysis ◽  
Flat Profile ◽  
Career Options ◽  
Person Centered Approach

Obtaining a doctorate offers various career options. This study takes a person-centered approach to identify interest profiles. Career goals (professorate, entrepreneur, etc.) were assessed at two time points (1-year interval) in a sample of doctoral students and doctorate holders from the STEM fields in German-speaking areas ( NT 1 = 2,077). Latent profile analysis revealed that a four-profile solution provided the best data fit: At T1, 33.0% of the participants aimed for a management position in industry, 16.9% pursued an academic career, 30.1% were interested in activities without leadership responsibilities, and 20.1% had a relatively flat career-goal profile. Latent transition analysis indicated that most changes occurred for those classified into the flat profile, while strong interest in a management career was very stable over time. Additionally, the attainment of the doctorate seemed to be a good predictor for profile membership: Doctorate holders were more likely to be clearly dedicated to an academic career.

The Pransky interview: Dr Yoky Matsuoka, Vice President Technology, Nest Labs

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 481-486
Author(s):  
Joanne Pransky
Keyword(s):  
Computer Science ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Industrial Robot ◽  
Vice President ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Smoke Detector ◽  
Foundation Engineering ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The University

Purpose – This article is a “Q&A interview” conducted by Joanne Pransky of Industrial Robot Journal as a method to impart the combined technological, business and personal experience of a prominent, robotic industry engineer-turned entrepreneur regarding the evolution, commercialization and challenges of bringing a technological invention to market. Design/methodology/approach – The interviewee is Dr Yoky Matsuoka, the Vice President of Nest Labs. Matsuoka describes her career journey that led her from a semi-professional tennis player who wanted to build a robot tennis buddy, to a pioneer of neurobotics who then applied her multidisciplinary research in academia to the development of a mass-produced intelligent home automation device. Findings – Dr Matsuoka received a BS degree from the University of California, Berkeley and an MS and PhD in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She was also a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT and in Mechanical Engineering at Harvard University. Dr Matsuoka was formerly the Torode Family Endowed Career Development Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington (UW), Director of the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering and Ana Loomis McCandless Professor of Robotics and Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. In 2010, she joined Google X as one of its three founding members. She then joined Nest as VP of Technology. Originality/value – Dr Matsuoka built advanced robotic prosthetic devices and designed complementary rehabilitation strategies that enhanced the mobility of people with manipulation disabilities. Her novel work has made significant scientific and engineering contributions in the combined fields of mechanical engineering, neuroscience, bioengineering, robotics and computer science. Dr Matsuoka was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in which she used the Genius Award money to establish a nonprofit corporation, YokyWorks, to continue developing engineering solutions for humans with physical disabilities. Other awards include the Emerging Inventor of the Year, UW Medicine; IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Early Academic Career Award; Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers; and numerous others. She leads the development of the learning and control technology for the Nest smoke detector and Thermostat, which has saved the USA hundreds of billions of dollars in energy expenses. Nest was sold to Google in 2013 for a record $3.2 billion dollars in cash.

scholarly journals Perspectives on Marine Data Science as a Blueprint for Emerging Data Science Disciplines

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria-Theresia Verwega ◽  
Carola Trahms ◽  
Avan N. Antia ◽  
Thorsten Dickhaus ◽  
Enno Prigge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Science ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Heterogeneous Data ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Doctoral Research ◽  
Crucial Component ◽  
Interface Science ◽  
Marine Data ◽  
New Research

Earth System Sciences have been generating increasingly larger amounts of heterogeneous data in recent years. We identify the need to combine Earth System Sciences with Data Sciences, and give our perspective on how this could be accomplished within the sub-field of Marine Sciences. Marine data hold abundant information and insights that Data Science techniques can reveal. There is high demand and potential to combine skills and knowledge from Marine and Data Sciences to best take advantage of the vast amount of marine data. This can be accomplished by establishing Marine Data Science as a new research discipline. Marine Data Science is an interface science that applies Data Science tools to extract information, knowledge, and insights from the exponentially increasing body of marine data. Marine Data Scientists need to be trained Data Scientists with a broad basic understanding of Marine Sciences and expertise in knowledge transfer. Marine Data Science doctoral researchers need targeted training for these specific skills, a crucial component of which is co-supervision from both parental sciences. They also might face challenges of scientific recognition and lack of an established academic career path. In this paper, we, Marine and Data Scientists at different stages of their academic career, present perspectives to define Marine Data Science as a distinct discipline. We draw on experiences of a Doctoral Research School, MarDATA, dedicated to training a cohort of early career Marine Data Scientists. We characterize the methods of Marine Data Science as a toolbox including skills from their two parental sciences. All of these aim to analyze and interpret marine data, which build the foundation of Marine Data Science.

Career planning

2019 ◽  
pp. 1057-1066
Keyword(s):  
Career Planning ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Successful Outcome ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
Application Process ◽  
Situational Judgement Tests ◽  
Foundation Programme ◽  
Online Submission ◽  
Situational Judgement

Chapter 56 provides advice on early career planning, with specific reference to Foundation Programme applications, Academic Foundation Programme applications, and career taster opportunities. The Foundation Programme application process is summarized, with details about the types of application, timeline of application, online submission, educational performance measures used, situational judgement tests, and top tips to maximize the chance of a successful outcome. The situational judgement test forms a significant part of the overall score: the chapter covers example questions and the rationale for the preferred response. Academic Foundation Programmes allow additional scope and funding for research and form the early stages of the academic career pathway. Career taster weeks allow an opportunity to look closely at a career of interest by spending a week in that specialty. Advice on how to organize a taster week, what to ask about, and top tips in organizing your own career taster are provided. A comprehensive list of resources is provided for the reader.

scholarly journals In Defense of an Academic Career in Microbiology

mSphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick D. Schloss
Keyword(s):  
Social Problems ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Academic Environment ◽  
Academic Values

ABSTRACT The rise of Quit Lit describing the myriad reasons for leaving academia and constant complaining by mentors leave many trainees with little desire for an academic career. Although there are clearly structural and social problems in academia, I feel that they are outweighed by the benefits of working and living in an academic environment. Every academic values different things about their job, and here I outline the factors that keep me in academia. To make sure that our best scientists are not scared away from academia, we must provide balance to the negativity that regularly surrounds discussions of careers in academia.

Engaging Undergraduates in Informal Learning Experiences

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 247-256
Author(s):  
Bruce J. MacFadden
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Informal Science Education ◽  
Field Trips ◽  
Early Career ◽  
State Parks ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Nontraditional Careers ◽  
Classroom Laboratory

Undergraduate paleontology education typically consists of formal coursework involving the classroom, laboratory, and field trips. Other opportunities exist within informal science education (ISE) that can provide students with experiences to broaden their undergraduate education. ISE includes out-of-school, “free-choice,” and/or lifelong learning experiences in a variety of settings and media, including museums, science and nature centers, national and state parks, science cafes, as well as an evergrowing variety of web-based activities. This article discusses ISE as it pertains to university paleontology education and presents examples. Students can participate in the development and evaluation of exhibits as well as assist in the implementation of museum-related educational programs with paleontological content. They also can work or intern as explainers either “on the floor” of museums, or as interpreters at science-related parks. ISE-related activities can also provide opportunities to engage in citizen science and other outreach initiatives, e.g., with undergraduates assisting in fossil digs with public (volunteer) participation and giving talks to fossil clubs. During these activities, students have the opportunity to communicate about controversial topics such as evolution, which is neither well understood nor universally accepted by the general public. Engagement in these kinds of activities provides students with a combination of specialized STEM content (paleontology, geology) and ISE practice that may better position them to pursue nontraditional careers outside of the academic arena. Likewise, for students intending to pursue an academic career, ISE activities make undergraduate students better equipped to conduct Broader Impact activities as early career professionals.

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