Help choosing my recommender: weaker letter from faculty with PhD, or strong letter from non-PhD industry boss? I know none of the choices below are ideal, but I've exhausted my options.  I'm applying for PhD in mechanical engineering to US schools, some of which specifically stated letters must come from someone who is familiar with my academic work.  I would like advice on which person below might be the best choice, I need to pick one.
PERSON A

PhD/ mech engg professorial position (different subdiscipline than my interest), might be difficult to contact due to pandemic
I took a class.  Grade is pretty good and above average, but not stellar.  I think the letter will just be "took a class" letter.
Was adviser for an engineering undergraduate competition (in unrelated mech engg subdiscipline) that didn't reach fruition (we had to back out at the final stage of the competition, lasted several months).  It didn't go that well, so I don't think I want to remind him about it.

PERSON B

BS mechanical engineering, BS applied physics, masters in mechanical engineering in decent school in US
Taught in my university/department for a brief period, a long time ago
supervises me in my work (1 year).  I have 3 main roles:  two of which are normal engineering roles involving design/analysis, one of which is industry heavy R&D (that's largely confidential and won't have publications).  But I think he will be able to write well of my ability to work independently in R&D, and will be able to speak well of my analytical/critical thinking skills since my other roles involve problem solving
right from the job interview, I already said clearly I don't plan to stay here and my dream is to work in research and get a PhD.  So he will be able to speak of how much I want to get into PhD

PERSON C

Non PhD/ ex-faculty.  No longer affiliated with university, can't use university letterhead.
Stellar grades in class, in semi related field (he taught mechanisms, I'm interested in dynamics)
I've had conversations with him in the past, asking for advice about graduate study, so he knows me a little more than someone who just attended class.

The deadlines are on Dec. 1, and I still don't have recommendations.  I've been emailing other more "ideal" profs since last month, but I won't be able to get letters from them.  One of them, I did a workshop under him in my chosen field, got the highest possible grade in his class, and also worked with him in engineering competitions that went okay, but he rejected my request.  The other one, is the professor I did laboratory assistantship under, who also won't be able to write my letter and I can't contact anymore.  So the choices I stated above, are my only choices.

Person B seem the best person to assess your at least "academic related" work. That said, in my (non-US) experience reference letters very, very rarely if at all play a major role when making decisions whom to admit, as long as they are "kind of OKish" and the writer has at least some qualification to write them. So you shouldn't be worried of making an all too big mistake here; chances are that your success will not rely on your recommender choice. I'd probably avoid Person C but I don't think Person A will do you much harm. If I were Person A, I'd have a look at your overall results, and mention positively if they are better than what you did in my class (which apparently isn't exactly bad either).


Author removal from a published paper I have been one of the co-authors of a published paper 8 years ago. In those years I was an undergrad student. So, I had no significant scientific contribution to this paper. I have just finished my Ph.D. and I do not want this paper listed in my publications.

Is it possible to remove my name from this paper via a correction?

Clarification: I have concerns about the quality of this work. It was carelessly written and the quality is low. So I do not want my name to come together.

When you say "listed in my publications", who is doing the listing?  While changing the past isn't going to be possible, it's certainly possible to downplay it.  Obviously, on any listing you control (e.g. your CV or personal website), you can mention it or not.*  As for any professional website (e.g. your company or university's website), they'll probably ask you for what publications you want listed.

If the only reason you want to distance yourself from the paper is that you feel like you didn't 'deserve' to be included as an author, I would say that your co-authors apparently felt that you did.  If you still feel like you don't belong on the paper, you'll just have to downplay any questions about the paper.  (E.g. "Oh, the team felt that I played a significant enough role in the collecting of data that they included me as an author. Personally, I'd rather have been mentioned as an acknowledgement, but they insisted, and, especially as a junior member of the research team, I didn't want to seem ungrateful.")

But, that's only going to happen if someone asks you about that particular paper.  How often is that going to happen?

* If not mentioning it in a "Publications" section seems like a falsehood to you, branding the section as "Relevant Publications" or the like may be the way forward.


Where in a thesis should a glossary be positioned? I want to include a glossary in my master’s thesis explaining some technical terms.

My university doesn't make any specifications about the usage or position of glossaries. So I'm asking myself:

Is it better to put the glossary at the beginning of the thesis? (e.g. between the Table of Contents and the main content) That way the reader would see it first and either read it or keep in mind that he can look up unfamiliar terms there. But it would disrupt the reading flow between Abstract, Table of Contents and Content.
Or would it be better to but the glossary in the appendix? Maybe with footnotes refering to it, each time a new term is used for the first time.

The current structure of the thesis is:

- Titlepage
- Abstract
- Table of Contents
- [INSERT GLOSSARY HERE?]
- Main Content
   - Chapter A
   - Chapter B
   - ...
   - Chapter N
- Appendix
   - Appendix A
   - Appendix B
   - Table of Images
   - Table of Tables
   - Table of Literature
   - [INSERT GLOSSARY HERE?]

I suggest to follow the order reported on Wikipedia – Book design.

Here is the suggested order (skip all that is not needed in your thesis; colophons are only needed in published works, and your publisher will take care of them):

front matter

title page
colophon
contents
foreword
preface
acknowledgment
introduction
dedication
prologue

body matter

content – optionally divided into volumes, books, parts, chapters, sections

back matter

epilogue
outro
afterword
conclusion
postscript
appendix
glossary
bibliography
index
colophon


Is it ethical to ask about the professional profile of a candidate at another university before a job interview? I’m on the hiring committee for a Asst. Prof position. One of the applicants is working as a (non-TT) TA/postdoc at a dept in another university (but for only appx 6 mo) where I have a colleague (friend of a friend).

Is it ethical for me to ask my colleague about this applicant?

I could request my colleague keep my inquiry confidential, but in a competitive department, doing so may make public that this applicant is looking for another job. I don’t want to cause problems.

In most situations fitting the pattern you describe, you should not ask your colleague.  There are several possible cases:

If the candidate has requested their application be kept confidential, you absolutely must not reach out to them or to anyone else the candidate has not listed as a reference.
If the candidate is currently in a tenure-track or other permanent position, I would not ask without checking with the candidate first, because outing them could be very problematic.
If the candidate is currently in a soft-money or other contingent position, then I would similarly be very careful about asking, but the consequences are not as dire as in the previous case.
If the candidate is in a postdoc or similar position where they are expected to be looking for a permanent position, then asking is a violation of the implied confidentiality of the job application process, but it is a common violation.


What to do after missing the registration deadline for the GRE subject test in mathematics Having missed the registration deadline for the GRE math subject test, I've been looking into the option of working for a year and then applying to math PhD programs once I have my test results. While I could try applying to the top programs I'm interested in this year, they generally say that my application will either be at a disadvantage or it will be disregarded entirely without a subject test score.

Since there are some (less competitive) US graduate programs that don't require the GRE, I was wondering if it would be a bad idea to attend one of them for a year and then try to transfer out? I thought it'd be a cost-effective way to take more math classes, but I read in this answer that:

  It's difficult to transfer to a substantially more prestigious department. [...] No matter why you say you want to transfer, there will be some suspicion that your goal is to end up in a stronger department or a more desirable location. If you have another reason, you'll have to make a powerful argument for it.

So, I'm trying to figure out which idea is better: apply to a second-tier PhD program with the intent of transferring to a first-tier program, or find a job and just apply to schools after I take the subject test?

(Note: I recently asked a more general question about my options if I choose to take a gap year.)

Although not a direct answer to the question, there is a third option:

Take the October test on standby

From the ETS website:

  Standby testing may be available if sufficient space, test materials
  and staff are available at the test center. If you'd like to attempt
  to test as a standby, report to the test center by 8:15 a.m. with:

  a completed Registration Form for the GRE Subject Tests (PDF) payment
  (including the registration and standby testing fee) acceptable photo
  ID Standby registration is not available for Monday testing, testing
  in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, India, or Iran, or those
  requesting disability or health-related testing accommodations.

I don't know how many standby seats are generally available, but it seems worth a shot rather than delaying your studies by a year.


Why not notify faculty candidates of the position being filled? There is a certain faculty position (Associate Prof) that has been offered to someone, and got accepted. Is there some reason for which other candidates have not been notified of this?

I find this meaningless and rude, given that the other candidates may make serious career choices, thinking that they are still considered / there is a possibility of them getting this position (eg declining other expiring offers).

To give more context, the interviews for position happened around 2 months ago, and the offer/acceptance was made around a week ago.

This may just be a matter of timing. Such letters to failed candidates wouldn't normally be sent until there was a signed contract with the accepted person. I can't guarantee that it is universal practice to notify failed candidates, but suspect that it is the general practice.

On the other hand, the other applicants would be foolish to turn down other offers without positive assurance of success unless they are willing to risk the consequences. They have been free to ask about their status, of course.

But "acceptance" of an offer also requires certain bureaucratic procedures be completed and they take a bit of time. A week isn't enough in many cases.


How should I prepare for a research assistant interview as a cs undergrad? I've reached out to a few professors and received responses.
I'm pretty used to going to interviews for industry jobs but this is new and I feel like I have no idea what I should talk about. I'm a second year cs student.

So far, i've read 2 or 3 of their most recent research works and have a good idea of what they want to do in the future. I also have a pretty general understanding of their fields although some areas do seem to be out of my league.

What are good questions to ask a professor about their research?
Are there common mistakes students make when approaching an interview such as this one?
How do these interviews typically go?

From my experience, the academic setting is more relaxed on the interview. The interview I had for my GRA position had very few knowledge based questions. They want to see that you are highly enthusiastic about your domain of research, and that you're eager to learn.

If you have industry experience that is a huge plus! It shows you can actually work. I think one of the biggest fears of the lab director is a GRA/RA that is not able to accomplish much, i.e. losses motivation. Your industry interview will be more nit-picky about experience in a specific domain.

Being a GRA/RA is not like a course where you are told what to learn and when to learn it. You will be challenged to motivate yourself to solve research problems on your own time. It can be harder than industry in some ways, because you are given more conceptual work with no 9:00am to 5:00pm schedule to keep you active and focused.

I would focus more on touting your academic accomplishments. This assures them that you can handle a full course-load and research concurrently. I told them that I could not see myself working anywhere else, and that this line of research is the most meaningful thing I could be doing with my life. I didn't have to prepare that, because I meant it.

If you really what to know what the interview is like you can: (1) look online on Glassdoor or Reddit, (2) ask someone who is already in the lab what the interview is like.


Dropping a course as a master's student I am planning to drop a course in my master's program as it has been really difficult for me to score well in it while looking for internships this semester.
If I don't drop it I will end up with a C in that course. I already have a B- and I don't want my GPA to drop.
How badly will it my hurt my future prospects when I am looking for jobs and internships?

I am a CS major and the course is related to my field.

The only repercussion you need to worry about is how much dropping the class will affect your standing in your program. If your program/school/advisor are okay with you dropping the class I see no further harm that will come from it.

This being said, you will of course miss out on what is being taught in the class, which may indirectly affect your ability to get a job since you do not have some sort of required skill.

But again, I have never had an employer ask me why I withdrew from a class.


Adding an author to a conference paper only for sharing the cost of conference registation Is it unethical to add an author to already finished conference paper just for the purpose of sharing the cost of conference registration?

The added author shares similar research interest but has contributed nothing to the paper in question.

Yes. This is unethical. Any paper author should contribute intellectually to the paper. Even if that is supervision where the supervisor sometimes gives high level guidance.


Stipend vs employment contract in Saxony (Germany) I have found some information online regarding the differences between going for a PhD with an employment contract or a stipend, in Germany. The differences are mostly related to the time you can research stuff not exactly in line with your thesis, social safety and mandatory working hours. The salaries do not seem to change much.

In my case, I was offered the option to choose between stipend and employment contract for a post-doc position, not a PhD, in the German state of Saxony. I couldn't find much about this topic online. My field is physics, I'm 29, unmarried and no children. This is my first post-doc.

What are the fundamental differences? I'm particularly scared of the mandatory working hours associated to the employment contract option. I do work a lot, often from home, but I really value the freedom I currently have of simply skipping a day at work and working on a weekend, etc.

Recommendations:

Calculate whether the scholarship offer is a fair offer (see below).
If not, the employment contract is the only feasible option.
Check whether the institution insinuates that a scholarship is basically the same as the employment contract wrt. to your contractual duties. If so, that is (at least to me) a big red flag about an inclination to institutional abuse of power. And that means that you should also think carefully whether you want an employment contract with that institution.
At least, check the customs of your group-in-spe and how much freedom postdocs have there. Your group leader may be in a more or less good position to give you more freedom than the institution normally does.

Note I use "scholarship" here for the German Stipendium. AFAIK, the English stipend/scholarship do not directly translate to the German Stipendium.

Others have already told you that the social insurance treatment is very different. I'd like to expand a bit further on this.

IMHO the best (fair) starting point for comparison is to consider the scholarship equivalent to the employer's gross (Arbeitgeberbrutto) of an employment contract for which no income tax is due.

Scholarships for scientific work are not subject to income tax
Check with my tax office that the particular contract that is offered fulfills their criteria for this, though. One of the criteria is to check whether the contract is actually a scholarship and not an employment contract.
Health and long-term care insurance is mandatory whether you are employee or not.

Not being an employee and being young and without family, you may be able to get a cheaper private health insurance than the governmental one.

You can also go with the governmental health insurance (called "voluntary" or sometimes "voluntary mandatory" tariff, there will be no health check for this). In that case, your fee will be the same percentage as employer + employee percentages together, approximately 1/6 of your income. But while for an employee only the wage is counted, in the voluntary tariff all sources of income count (small time freelancing as a side line, interest/dividends, rental income?).

If you are coming from a foreign contry, you may be able to bring a health insurance with you. Health insurance for young academics going to work abroad for a while can be surprisingly cheap.
Unemployment insurance is for employees only. You don't have to pay, but you'll also not be eligible for benefits later on. Currently relevant: these benefits include the Kurzarbeitergeld (short-time compensation). OTOH, a scholarship is not bound to working hours, so the scholarship is anyways paid also if you cannot work due to your workplace being closed because of SARS-CoV-2.
I'd argue that you should put at least a comparable amount aside into an additional emergeny fund.
Pension cass is not mandatory. If you want, you can make voluntary contributions, though, and in that case you can largely decide how much you want to pay into pension cass. Such contributions will count both as contribution years as well as according to the amount paid in.
Again, if you choose not to contribute it is probably a good idea to put at least a corresponding amount (between 1/6 and 1/5 of your income) into your own retirement fund.

The pension cass is also responsible to decide whether a given contract is an employment contract or a scholarship - you can ask them for clarification. If they find it is not a scholarship*, there will be a big stink though, since you just exposed your institute-in-spe trying to commit social insurance fraud.

Whether these points put you at an advantage or a disadvantage will depend on your actual circumstances.

(I've had the luck to get a scholarship as PhD student that was actually fair according to this calculation - but it was the only one scholarship program that paid so much that I'm aware of. When I write "I'd argue": acually I have been arguing when that funding agency was cutting the scholarships that a fair comparison would tell the scholarship holders that while it is ultimately their own decision, they should consider the social insurance percentages as ballpark for how much they should put aside for rainy day/pension)

You will not be covered by the work accident insurance mandatory for employees. Part of this is not a disvantage: as long as your institute has employees, the place anyways needs to be safe according to work accident insurance rules.
But: you have a work accident there will be differences to you. Your treatment will be paid by your normal health insurance. But work accident insurance patients may be treated preferentially wrt. waiting times (OTOH, there is no free choice to which doctor to go initially). This includes any accidents you have on the direct way from home to work and back.

There are usually some specific advantages for scholarship holders over employees:

Many scholarships have associated training programs on various topics
Many scholarships give you additional project/book/travel money that noone but you can spend. In that respect it's like a mini-grant for you only.
You are more free in your scientific work than an employee.
Of course, many professors leave great freedom to their employed postdocs, but not all do. A scholarship legally means that you must be free in this respect.
@mmeent has a point that some institutions have a bad reputation of abusing scholarshiops, though: not only of not paying what would be fair according to the calculations above, but also by insinuating that the scholarship holders are bound to directions of the institute like employees. In other words, abuse of power.
Since you are not an employee, e.g. the copyright of software you write stays yours - it will not be automatically transferred to the university.
Same for inventions.

Again, many institutes are happy if their postdocs take software they wrote with them and go on taking care of it rather than risking more abandonware - I had one such institute that put the software under a FOSS license for this reason and I still take care of the software almost 10 years later. But I've also been at an other institute where the standard license is best described as "no bit leaves the house".

Since you may change to academic employment: at least within Germany the wages depend on your relevant work experience. Scholarship may not be counted automatically by prospective employers, but you can ask your institute to certify (write a letter) that they consider your scholarship as equivalent to you working.

Employment contract

  mandatory working hours  associated to the employment contract

In the past, this again was something that was pretty much up to your PI/professor (and when I had the scholarship the professor didn't make a difference between scholarship holders and employees - he argued that this would only create more and unnecessary friction among people who substantially did comparable work).
However, there is a newish court decision that employers must properly document the working hours of all employees. Properly tracking working times of PhD students and postdocs will create huge difficulties with overhours. Whether anything will happen in practice is a totally different question.

From the "work a lot" aspect, you'd probably be fine as employee as well because if you have overhours, you are supposed to take them off as soon as possible. This includes taking days of during the week. What is more difficult is that your employer may not be allowed to let you work the times you do now (long hours, evenings and  Sundays may be problematic)

pension cass contributions are mandatory for employees. However, if you do not reach the required minimum of 5 years of contributions, you cannot get a pension and instead you can get the employee half of the contributions paid out as a lump sum. If you have more than 5 years of contributions, you will be eligible for the corresponding pension payment once you reach pension age. Regardless of where you are (within the EU, "your" pension cass will also pay out the German part)
As an employed post doc, academic freedom does not apply to you: you are bound to the directions of your employer.
Many academic PIs let their postdocs do their own research, but some PIs or institute directors like to excercise their power...
In Germany, a fixed term contract can not be canceled by either party once the probation period (6 months) is over. (An agreement where both sides agree to void the contract is always possible, though.) The employee has the right that the employer agrees to void the contract, though, if they have a better offer. But they need to actually have such a better offer.

* there is some concern that since the pension cass will receive mandatory contributions if they find it to be an employment contract they are not exactly unbiased in these decisions in general (that's not only about scholarships, also about other contracts such as freelancing).


Which is better at verifying that a conference is reliable: Scopus, IEEE Xplore or DBLP? In the case that I got one paper published, which of the aforementioned repositories have more relevance (so that I can determine that my work has not been published in a nobody-knows-about, fake conference)? I have read that some papers that are in IEEE Xplore belong to bogus or fake conferences and there is also the same problem with Scopus. I have also seen that in some occasions Scopus miss some citations of my articles, while for example in Google Scholar they appear.

Well the bottom line, which repository is better viewed for backing up that one publication was in a reliable conference?

Anyone who is reasonably experienced in your field (i.e., anyone who might hire you) will know which venues are "relevant".  They won't base this on IEEE Xplore, Scopus, or DBLP, but on their own knowledge of the field.

Hopefully, anyone who would hire you will also know enough to evaluate your work directly to some extent, rather than relying on the reputation of the venue as a proxy for the value of the work itself.


What actions can I take about an I-do-your-homework website offering academic fraud services for money? I came across a website specific to my country (EU/Hungary) that offers to commit academic fraud. Basically, they offer to solve assignments, homework, even online tests, for money. The student sends them the assignment and the money, and he gets back the written solutions. No coaching or live discussion involved.
This website is actively advertised in sponsored posts on a Facebook page that is very popular among the student in my country - more than 50.000 followers - so I'm sure a lot of them this.  I feel like something must be done against a service offering services that are "academically illegal", even if they probably made up some half-sound legal ground.
I'm worried about the existence and widespread advertisement of this "service". I don't like that it enables unfair advantage of rich students, who can pay them for every assignment they have. Also, maybe some desperate students use their service and gets in big trouble. Even it's very existence degrades the common belief in academic integrity.
Should I take some actions, or let it go? What are the best actions I, a student, could take against this website?

This is called contract cheating.  It is an old and very well known problem.
Students cannot do anything about advertisements for contract cheating.  Since the sellers are usually unaffiliated with universities, universities cannot punish them either.
If you have evidence that someone is purchasing contract cheating services, turn that evidence in to the person responsible for academic integrity at your university.


Publishing a paper that is not related your field I am graduate student in mathematics, but I did undergraduate in a different field (Astrophysics/Geophysics). I did my undergraduate reaserch somewhat seriously and have a good thesis as an undergraduate. My advisor told me that maybe the result I got is publishable. I have never done any publishing beforehead, so preparing for it may take some time. Of course by doing that, I will have less time to focus on mathematics. Also it is not guranteed that the result will be published in the end.

Now the question is : will it be beneficial (in terms of career in mathematics) to spend time to prepare publishing my undergraduate thesis, which is different field from my current major? Will the publication make my CV stronger?

Of course I know it really depends on some factors such as 1.how much time will I loose by preparing the publication? 2.how is my undergraduate thesis related to the mathematics? 3.What is my future goal?, and perhabs more, so there is no single answer. I just want to listen to the opinions from more experienced.

My honest advise is to try to publish it.
Your work speaks for yourself.
It means you were dedicated, motivated and got some results.
If it is not some kind of 2 years writing thing, I would do it.
All your work represents you and your education and motivation, and I would always chose to work with someone who showed passion for some area, even if it is not his major.

P.S. In my country, mathematics and astrophysics are ojd the same faculty. They are connected.


Undergraduate changing research field with a deadline I have a friend who is working in the wrong field of physics at the moment (not enjoying it.) They are still undergraduate however and have time to change this.

They are currently working on a summer project which will soon end. If they leave now it will be time (and a scholarship) wasted on them, because most of the summer project was teaching them the basics of what to do (a 6 week project.)

They are about to start their final year in undergraduate physics, and in this year the university offers a project based unit, with a similar structure to a summer work project, but with assessment at the end. Students taking this project often use it as a lead in to an honours year at our university, then honours leads into PHD if they get it.

Although university hasn’t official begun here yet, the deadline to choose a project is fast approaching (March 11). To choose one my friend needs to contact a supervisor in the right field and ask to take the unit under them.
I was wondering if anyone here has experienced or seen anything similar to this before, and what their advice to my friend would be. My normal advice to them would be to take your time to find the right supervisor/field of physics, and work under them regardless of the current work. (After all, they are still undergraduate and are allowed to make a mistake.)

However, due to the deadline for the project choice, it might not be easy to find the right supervisor. Which is why I’m asking online for any advice.

I wouldn't sweat the summer spent.  It was a mistake but better not to extend it.  If you want a rationalization, just go with "at least the 6 weeks taught me what I don't want to do".

All that said, if you enjoy the work, the group, etc. despite it being laser optics when your interest is NMR (or whatever) I would not feel that you need that this project determines your grad school subfield or project. People switch interests all the time when moving to Ph.D.

After all it is just a year, part time.  Doing anything is better than nothing.  And nobody will expect you to do a Ph.D. in whatever subfield you did a short undergrad project in (or "bachelor's thesis").  IOW, there is a natural breakpoint later.  Consider some people don't even have undergrad research.  So if you like the stuff and just wants to have something for the year, don't sweat it and stick with the known quantity.

Conversely, if you hate it...bail. In terms of how to find an advisor...go beat the bushes, talk to people, look at websites, etc.  Stat.  And I would just do this exploration now, before ditching the other opportunity (so if you can't find an upgrade, you can stick with the summer topic).

[This seems like common sense, so if there is more to the situation, you need to give us those particulars.]


Is it ethical to submit to a journal if I know the editor-in-chief? Is it ethical to submit to a journal if I know the editor-in-chief?
I'm curious about 3 different cases:

Case 1: We know each other (from talks and emails) but never worked
together.
Case 2: We haven't worked together, but are currently in contact
about a potential collaboration.
Case 3: If I am one of the editor-in-chief's collaborators (but the
paper submitted is not part of the collaboration).

In all cases, I don't know if the editor-in-chief is going to give me an easy time (I am not even looking for that) or a hard time. I mean no promises. I will even ask, in the cover letter, for my paper to be reviewed by at least two referees to comply with my University's regulations (so that I can use it for promotion purposes at my Uni).

There are no ethical concerns about submitting. If there are any ethical concerns, they are completely on the other side. The editor should make some arrangements so that people are treated fairly in the interest of good scholarship. The normal way would be for them to pass all decisions about your paper to someone else.
Editors know a lot of people. Being named an editor shouldn't close out opportunities for those you know and have worked with. But care should be taken so that the process is fair and transparent.
Stepping aside also avoids the possibility that you will blame your "friend" if the paper isn't accepted.


CV for a PhD application in applied mathematics In my CV I want to know whether the following ordering of the categories is suitable. I thought of giving prominence to research work because I am applying for a PhD.

Personal Details (name,address,e-mail)
Career objective
Education
Publications
Conference presentation
Research Interest
Skills
Work Experience
Co-curricular activities
Extra curricular activities
References

Is the placing of Research Interest okay? Should I move it up? Where should I keep it?

As Career Objective should I write in general what I plan to do i my career once I finish my PhD or should it include the particular area that I am trying to research as my PhD. Say the specific field in applied mathematics.
For example: Should it be,

Applying for admission into X university’s Doctor of Y program.
or
Career objective : Become a leading researcher in the area of Z and contribute to the betterment of society

Firstly, the Career Objective section is a thing of past and should not be present in a CV or resume. Not only it is old-fashioned, it actually makes one change their CV or resume every time one applies to different organization and position. It is much better to place relevant position-focused information in a cover letter, which should be adjusted to a particular position anyway.
Secondly, do not put personal details, like mailing and physical address, on CV or resume. An e-mail address and, maybe, a phone number is more than enough. You don't expect potential employers to send you postal mail, do you? Plus, the physical address would jeopardize the security of one's identity.
Thirdly, the section Research Interests should be higher in the list - I would say, even prior to the section Education (or, at least, right after it).
Fourthly, I suggest you to create two versions of your CV (the following is not applicable to resume) - one with references, for organizations that require them as part of initial application, and another without ones, for those that require them later or using different communication channel (say, Interfolio).
Fifthly, go ahead and search Internet for examples of academic cover letters (there are plenty of them - stick with the ones from reputable universities). Hope this helps. Good luck!

P.S. I would reword section titles, as follows: Conference Presentations => Talks & Presentations; Research Interest => Research Interests; Co-curricular Activities => not sure it makes sense to extract them in a separate section - why not list them below relevant educational info; Extra-curricular Activities => Extracurricular Activities.


Is it possible to find a PhD without being in the lab all the year in Europe? I am just finishing my master in computer science in France.
but the problem that I have a hard situation, I must go to my country many times and staying for a bit long time so I cannot stay all the year in Europe. I can stay three months in Europe and three months in my country and so on.. and to make the situation harder I cannot have a contribution between a university from my country and a university in Europe because the sanctions on my country. So I am searching for advice to do a PhD while I can go and return between my country and Europe. Because as I know in France it is not possible in the rules that I could be outside the lab for three months.

There are definitely universities in Europe that allow you to be physically away from university for extended periods of time during a PhD. In fact, I would be surprised if you cannot find one in France.

I think a bigger problem than the actual rules, both for a potential supervisor and for yourself, is that it sounds like you might be too preoccupied with your external situation to do an excellent job as a PhD student.

Have you considered options for resolving your situation before you start your PhD? Maybe work in a temporary research position while you are trying to resolve it?


Academic or non Academic Journal as a professional? I'm a professional game developer looking to write up and attempt to publish some graphics & game development related items and I've found two journals but am having trouble trying to decide which I should try for first.

One journal is ACM Transactions on Graphics, which is free to submit to, but readers have to pay to get access to the publications.

The second is the Journal of Computer Graphics Techniques which both free to submit to, as well as free for readers to get access to.

Since I'm in the private / professional world, and not the academic world, it doesn't seem like I have much to gain by submitting to acm, since it seems to be primarily for, and primarily read by, academic folk in academic institutions, despite it probably being more prestigious than JCGT.

JCGT on the other hand is free, which means fellow game developers will be more likely to be able to read it (doubtful that most other game devs will have access to for-pay academic journals).  They have a partnership with SIGGRAPH too which is intriguing, since it means the possibility of being able to present there.

Is there any angle I'm not considering that I ought to be, or for someone in my position, is JCGT the way to go?  I definitely don't see value in submitting to a journal that costs money to submit to, but it also seems like putting my paper behind a paywall would be detrimental as well.

For what it's worth, I'm a self taught game programmer so have no degree, but now have 15 years of experience and am at a pretty well known game development company.  Not sure if doing research and publishing it in academic journals can likely help one earn an honorary degree or not, but I guess that would be another item to consider, if that's within the realm of likelihood!

My main goal is just to explore and share some techniques, and contribute to my field for the betterment of science as well as my fellow game developers.

Research is almost always an incremental venture: current breakthroughs are dependent on, motivated by, and understood within the context of past work and the current state of the field. Good academic journals generally aim to publish articles that are significant and novel contributions to human knowledge, and if you aren't keeping abreast of the research that is being done, then it's very unlikely that you will be able to understand how your research fits into the field and whether or not it actually is new or significant.

If you're planned article doesn't address those concerns (usually through a short literature review and the proper citations of previous work), then it will almost certainly be rejected from most reputable academic journals. You should read papers from the venues that you are looking at to get an idea of the expectations and practices, but it is very rare for someone who is not trained in and/or experienced with the research community to publish articles at their venues.

Note: I am not familiar with those particular journals and the nature of what they publish, so I do not know how "academic" or not either of them are.

To address some other aspects:

  despite it probably being more prestigious than JCGT.

If you aren't and don't plan on working in academia or doing research, I'm not sure why academic prestige would matter to you.

  Not sure if doing research and publishing it in academic journals can likely help one earn an honorary degree or not, but I guess that would be another item to consider, if that's within the realm of likelihood!

It's almost certainly not worth considering. Honorary degrees aren't actually useful in any real sense. They are more like lifetime achievement awards; if you're in a position to get one then you almost certainly have no need for one.

  My main goal is just to explore and share some techniques, and contribute to my field for the betterment of science as well as my fellow game developers.

If that's your goal, then I'm not sure why you care about publishing in a journal at all. Why not just write a blog post or put your work online at some other venue? That's free, open-access, and you retain all the rights to your work if desired.


Interested in Neuroscience programs but lack research experience & grades About me:

I'm in my last year of undergraduate studies majoring in cognitive science at a very prestigious university.
I'm very interested in going to graduate school for neuroscience.

My concerns:

I lack research experience. I recently just learned about how wonderful neuroscience is so I have a very late start compared to my already-competent peers. I did apply to RA positions but was rejected to all of them. I will be graduating in one semester so I do not have enough time to build up my research experience. After graduating, what can I do to be more competent - research experience wise?
I have a mediocre GPA (3.077). I did not take any courses like chemistry, or physics. Many programs make these a requirement. I also did poorly in my math classes - as it is not my strength. But I did very well in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, biology psychology, philosophy, and sociology. Since I only have one semester left, I don't have enough time to take classes that programs want. Will GRE subject tests be able to compensate?
Is there any hope for someone in a situation like mine? I feel very lost and hopeful, to be honest. Any words of advice would be helpful.

My current plans:

Self-learn R, Matlab, Python, HTML, CSS, and Javascript.
Take on the habit of reading papers related to the field, in order to build knowledge.
Will apply to many RA positions.

The only way to prove to your future advisor that you are capable of doing research is by doing research. Apply to be an RA (Research Assistant) in a neuroscience lab. This will give you enough experience and, importantly, will equip you with the general knowledge of the field. Being exposed to ongoing work will also allow you to start formulating your own research questions, which is an important skill that you'll definitely need in grad school.

Now, how to increase your chances of getting a good RA position?

(1) By applying early and demonstrating that you're serious about the job.

(2) By learning programming (as you mentioned). Technical skills are in very high demand!

Many people end up in grad school after working as RAs for 2+ years, so there is no rush. Take your time and make sure that graduate school is really what you want. Good luck :)


Referee made a mistake but recommended acceptance, what to do? I recently received a referee report on a math paper in a mid-tier journal.

In this paper I proved (to give an example avoiding technicalities) that all dogs are cute.
But the referee claimed in his report that I claimed that all animals are cute (that is, he claimed that I proved something much stronger than what I really proved).

There is no way to understand the more general statement from my paper, and my guess is that the referee simply did not read the paper carefuly.

Now, the referee recommended acceptance, and the editor accepted his recommendation.

Should I do something about it? should I explain this to the editor?

I would probably mention it, but not make a big deal out of it.  The referee here was lazy (by not reading carefully), the editor was lazy (by not looking at the main result of the paper), so my plan would be to be lazy too.  I'd write an email back with the final revisions and mention casually in the text of the email "just to correct the record the referee wrote animals, but they must have meant dogs which is what's actually in the paper."  Odds are the editor won't read your email carefully and won't even notice your comment, but you'll feel better.

Peer review is such a random crapshoot anyway, and you obviously thought this journal was appropriate, so there's very little actual harm here.  You can be sure that at some point the same thing will happen in the opposite direction and you'll have a paper unfairly rejected by a referee who didn't bother to read the main result and the editor almost certainly won't do anything to correct the error.


Which is easier-publication in an online free of charge journal or the standart pay-per-view one? I know this question may be seen as off-topic here or too trivial but nonetheless I would really like to know the answer. I am in an unique position-unlike most researchers I practically don't care about the impact factor I just want to get my work publish as easy as possible and available for as many people as possible but want it to go through the peer-review process. So what will be better, to go through the "standard"(pay-per-view journals)or the online free of charge(for both parties)ones?

If impact factor isn't the key which is better(and/or faster)-going through the big publishing houses who have a "well-oiled machine" and can handle my request with routine and speed or risking in the online-only free-of-charge community?

I know may be I will have problems for that but I think nevertheless I need to tell it. My topic is something quite out of "the mainstream" but I have been working on it for years and I have diverted a lot of from what is "standard" for this community so I am pretty much a lonely wolf and expect enormous troubles going through the peer-review(radical ideas). So what will be easy for me-the pay-per-view or free-of-charge online journals? Can you reflect on that?

You seem to be conflating two things, namely whether a journal is online and whether it is open access.  I'll focus on the open access part of the question, since whether there's a print edition is basically irrelevant nowadays.

  So what will be better, to go through the "standard" (pay-per-view paper journals) or the online free of charge ones?

"Better" is not well defined, but in this case the situation is simple enough that the question can be answered: neither one is better, outside of a couple of specific factors.

Open access journals have one advantage, that anyone can easily read the official published paper, and one possible disadvantage, that there might be publication charges.  Other than that, there is no significant difference between open access and traditional journals, at least among respectable journals.  There are tremendous differences between specific journals (in prestige, rigor of the review process, speed of publication, etc.), but these things simply can't be predicted on the basis of whether the journal is open access.

I said "among respectable journals" in the previous paragraph for a reason.  There are tons of obscure, predatory open access journals that will publish anything for a fee.  (They often claim to perform peer review, but it's clear from the garbage they publish that the review process is meaningless.  This problem is restricted to open access journals, because you can't make money selling subscriptions to a journal nobody wants to read.)  You should absolutely avoid predatory journals, since they will actively hurt your paper's reputation.

  If impact factor isn't the key which is better(and faster)-going through the big publishing houses who have a "well-oiled machine" and can handle my request with routine and speed or risking in the online-only community?

You are oversimplifying things by supposing that big publishers have a well-oiled machine.  Some do and some don't, and the same holds for small publishers.  Furthermore, some open access journals are published by big publishers, and some subscription journals are published by small publishers.

  My topic is something quite radical I have been working on it for years now and I have diverted a lot of what is "standard" for this community so I am pretty much a lonely wolf and expect enormous troubles going through the peer-review(radical ideas). So what will be easy for me-the paper or the online journals?

If the difficulty is with peer review, then you can't expect an easy time with any journal worth publishing in (i.e., a non-predatory journal).


Is a PhD from a developing country worth paying for? In my country, Egypt, some well-known institutes offer PhD degrees. I want to apply for a PhD program in biostatistics for which I will certainly pay a lot of money.

How much would such a program increase my chances of joining academia in the USA or Europe?

EDIT: The OP didn't specify, and possibly doesn't know, whether the university in question is a diploma mill. To keep the question open, please assume that it is not; i.e., assume that the university is legit. If anyone is interested in whether it's worth obtaining a non-legit degree I recommend starting a new question. If the OP wishes to clarify later on he should simply remove this note.

I don't think it's possible to give an answer in the abstract.  In general I wouldn't recommend paying a lot for a Ph.D. program anywhere, but it depends on how much they charge and how much money you have.  Ph.D. programs in developing countries vary enormously in quality and reputation, and how useful they would be for getting an academic job in the U.S. or Europe varies accordingly.

However, you can try to estimate this for the programs you care about.  The key question is how many Ph.D. recipients from these programs get jobs you would like.  Typically you can find lists of former students on a potential advisor's website, and some web searches will reveal what became of them.  (If you can't find any information on someone online, then they probably didn't get an academic job.)  If very few former students have jobs you would like, then that's a bad sign, while it's a good sign if many of them do.  Of course there are no guarantees either way, but this will give some context for how plausible different outcomes are.


Invited to write a review on a field that neither my Prof nor I are experts in? As a PhD student nearing the end of their degree my Prof invited me to write a review with him. A decently well known journal had asked us to write a review on a topic that is only tangentially related to our labs area of study. My prof thought this was a great idea since it "guarantees a publication" for the lab and would help get me a first author publication, but I was extremely hesitant at first because I have 2 parallel experiments running and neither the prof nor I were experts in the field. At first I was super optimistic that we could write the review but the more I researched the more realized just how in over my head I was.

Thing is that my Prof. said other grad students in our lab also wrote reviews at similar stages in their PhD degree but looking at their reviews it was clear that the their topic was either something they were actually directly studying, or something that my Prof. was an expert in. Both of which is not true for the review I have to write.

With only a year left in my PhD, I am really worried if this review is a massive waste of time, since all my experiments will need to be put on hold while i read countless numbers of papers in a field that I'm not really an expert in. Should I tell my Prof. that this review is a bad idea and cancel it?

Your prof is thinking long term. You are thinking short term. Both of those are appropriate. But don't think too short term. Within a year you will want your horizon to expand and both the good opinion of your advisor and a publication will help.

But, I didn't read you as implying that this must become the first priority over a period of time. I don't see why your experiments need to be put on hold while you read papers (probably fewer than countless).

But, if your advisor wants to do this as a joint project ("write a review with him"), then you should be able to manage it as long as it isn't all dumped on you. I suggest you set a schedule to work together on it and lay out a plan.

And maybe the new field will prove interesting and even valuable in your future.

Of all these things, I think the good opinion of your advisor is the most important to manage. If you can do that somehow other than agreeing, then there is little downside. But there might be upside to agreeing. Your call, of course.


The students listed on faculty sites, did a thesis or possibly independent study? Many faculty sites would list some students and many of those students are working or completed a thesis. Do faculty sites list also students who did an independent study?

I have only seen one professor who does list students who completed an independent study with him on his website.

However, it appears that he has a very specific goal in doing so. By looking at his website (and previously talking to him) it seems like he is trying to portray his strong motivation to instill students with real world skills by giving them projects similar to what they might work on in industry since a common critique of Computer Science programs is that they don't get students ready for industry jobs.

Other than that, I would say the norm is to only list students that you advise but there isn't a hard rule.


Is studying past exams I found online cheating? I had an exam this morning. Last week the teacher had warned us that her exams are tough; this scared me. I wanted to see what her exams were like, so to study I searched through the exam repository at my school for an old midterm. Unfortunately, the exam repository only has final exams (including this course). Then I googled "(course code) (school name) midterm", and a couple of links came up. One was an online repository (not associated with my school) where people can upload old exams. I found a lot of old midterms for this course. These midterms were all in the same format but the exact questions were different in most cases. These midterms also had the answer key. I studied them to get an idea of how much the professor expected of us and to help resolve my confusion about some concepts. The practice midterms REALLY helped clarify things for me.

Last night, a student in the class posted a past midterm in a student-run Facebook group for the class. This exam did not have the official answers on it, but it did have the ones given by the student who took the test that year. After taking the test today, I noticed that some of the questions on this midterm were identical to the ones I studied online. It dawned on me that I may have committed an academic offense.

I am wondering, is studying past exams given in the course cheating? What if those exams are found in an non-school-sponsored repository online?

This is from the Texas A&M Honor System:

20.1.2.3.6 Complicity:
Intentionally or knowingly helping, or attempting to help, another to commit an act of academic dishonesty. Examples: ...
b. Distributing test questions or substantive information about the test without the instructor’s permission.

If you were here at Texas A&M, then this is considered an act of academic dishonesty (in my interpretation), as this was uploaded to the repository, perhaps without the knowledge of the instructor (as is usually the case). If, on the other hand, the instructor had provided old exams or released sample tests, then this is okay. I personally follow this, as I only trust information from the instructor.
However, I would say this was a lucky search on your end. Unless your campus has a clause on academic conduct and the distribution of past tests, you're okay.
This answer was based on a misinterpretation of the question and is therefore not a valid one. The original text is still available.


Figures in foreign language I am currently writing my master's thesis in English in Germany. One of the sources I found has a relevant figure that I would like to show and properly cite in my thesis, however this figure is in German.

Is it okay to show the same figure in German in my English-written thesis?  Or should I adapt the figure (if possible) to English while still citing the source?

I suggest you reference the source and add a note that you did the translation for the figure you show in your thesis.


Can a student apply for a new PhD (in the US or UK) while he is currently enrolled into a PhD (in the US)? A physics student is currently enrolled in a PhD program in the US, 1.5 years into yet. After few months he will have received his MSc degree and will start working on his thesis. While his physics department is relatively strong, he is unhappy (perhaps even disappointed) because his very sub-field of interest is particularly weak and researchers in this sub-field very rarely publish decent papers.

He's seriously considering starting again from scratch and apply for a new place where people are stronger at his field. Can he apply while still being enrolled in his PhD?

How much negativity does the fact that he plans to drop the current PhD add to his application?

Is it better to apply to UK universities, since in US he will be required to repeat the coursework?

It is possible (provided you meet the requirements of the second institution), but the more important question is whether it is advisable. In the general case, switching to a different university halfway through your PhD is something that you should contemplate only if staying at your current university will significantly adversely affect your career prospects or your personal life. It looks like this is the case for your student, as he wants to study an area of physics under-represented in his current university.

The issue of whether he should apply to UK universities to avoid having to go through the basic coursework again is irrelevant, I think. If he feels so strongly about switching locations exclusively on the strength of programs, then he should also be ready to graduate a couple years later. Although some students think doctoral programs have an excessive course load, going through the advanced basics of the field is unbelievably useful.


How can I create a sense of community in a research group? I am beginning to develop research projects that will incorporate undergraduate researchers.  I have observed that some faculty manage to create a strong lab culture, where the students that work with them seem to get a sense of achievement from simply being part of the lab and the lab culture.  (I work in biology but I have seen this across disciplines)

Similarly, I would like to create an environment where there is a sense of community associated with my lab. What steps should I take to accomplish this?

Enthusiasm: Students in a lab should get the feeling that the professor is someone who shows as much interest and puts in as much hard work in the project as themselves. The professor may have a lot of credentials and experience, but his enthusiasm level must be the same as that of his students.
Emotional management: Sometime there could be students who lose their focus on research; at others, there could be slight rifts and differences in opinion between the professor and student because of their approach to the problem. There may also be problems within the students which could be distasteful. The professor must be mindful of these, try his best to ameliorate the situation and not let things go out of hand. Without getting smarmily personal, the professor must manage his lab as though it were his second family.
Ensuring good placement: Placement is not an indicator of research, but in reality, people use this record to gauge a lab's quality. The professor must build contacts and be willing to counsel and recommend their students to good places (each according to his ability, etc).
Good Results: The most important point. If students must feel a "sense of achievement from simply being part of the lab", then the output from the lab should be sensational. This involves a lot of man-management; knowing what each student is good at and how to get the best out of each one of them. Finally, though it may sound cliched, hard work is the key to good results.


Can I ask to be the first co-author? I am working in a lab as a research assistant for the last 3 years.

During this time, I published three papers (1 first author) and three of them were published in good journals. In one of my published work (I am a co-author), I had to repeat almost most of the works (writing, figure, table). The project was done by another person and rejected several times. Then he went for a Ph.D. and he did not bother and did not continue with that project. As we have the same supervisor, so the supervisor asked me to work on that paper. I had to correct a lot, had to do experiments again. Then the paper got published. Even all the major corrections (that reviewers asked was done by me) as the main author had no idea at all. That time I was thinking I should be the first coauthor as I worked really hard on that project. That project was kind of dead and I started to work on that after two years and it got published.

Now I have two more projects like this (both were done in 2015 and none of the authors care about them anymore). Again I have to give the same efforts as a new project. So is it worth to ask my supervisor to make me the first co-author? Is it too much to ask for?
I am happy that I get many projects to work on, but personally I think I should be the first co-author as I have to work hard to get them in shape.

PS: My supervisor is very pleased with my work till now.

Yes, of course you can ask. But in some fields there are other considerations that are considered important and first authorship is assigned for reasons not obvious to people from other fields. Sometimes those reasons are just political, but people go along with them to keep peace. It might also be necessary to keep the peace with a supervisor who has authority over you and can affect your career.

So ask, even if you might not get what you think is fair. Think long term and preserve relationships. Having a publication, even if not as first author, is still valuable.

And there may be future work that you can extract from the project that won't bump up against the same considerations, making your own first authorship the obvious choice.


Benefit of published papers for grad admissions I'm currently finishing up my 3rd year of undergrad at a large state school and wanted to know how helpful first-author papers are for someone in physics when applying to grad school at a place like MIT or Caltech.

I've had the chance to work with two great professors in different areas of quantum physics. Thus far, I've published three papers as first author (one in PRX, two in PRL) and have three other papers in the works (one accepted to nature physics assuming some revision). Since my work was quite substantial, the postdocs and graduate students in both groups are using my techniques to study other problems and I anticipate having at least 5 other papers with my name in the 2nd and 3rd author position by the time grad admissions comes around.

In all cases I found/solved problems that were far beyond what my supervisors thought an undergrad could solve and they are both very happy with my work. I am wondering how much this would help with grad admissions? The reason I'm asking this here is I almost feel silly asking my supervisors since the schools I mentioned seem extremely prestigious and I wanted to gauge if I had any chance.

Any paper you publish as an undergraduate is a huge benefit to your application. Most grad school applicants do not have any publications, let alone five with some first author ones. You're way ahead of the curve, and it should make a very substantial positive difference in your application.

Of course, this does not constitute a guarantee that you will actually be admitted to the very best places. Other factors go into the consideration as well, but having read several hundred applications, I can tell you that your publications will be seen very positively.


Has anyone transfered from an MPhil to a Phd? Has anyone applied for an MPhil then switch to Phd 1 year into the course?
How is the process like and are there any implications?

I have applied for Phd program but I was unable to secure any scholarships for Phd. Therefore, I was thinking of applying for an MPhil first, then if possible, switch to Phd halfway through the program.
Is this possible and advisable?
Is the scholarship selection threshold lower for MPhil?

Some programs are designed like that, start on MPhil and transfer at a suitable point to PhD.

The suitable point is usually agreed with your advisor.

You need to discuss with your advisor and plan accordingly.


Before interviewing at a grad school, how much background research should I do into its research groups? I was recently invited for on-campus Interviews at Austria‘s top graduate school. I picked 5 Group Leaders, of which 3 will eventually conduct the interview.

Naturally, I’ll be prepared for any and all questions regarding my previous thesis, internships and classes.

Questions:

How much reading should I do about the research of the groups I’m interested in?
Can I expect detailed questions regarding their latest publications, etc.?

My experience interviewing was in the US, so it might or might not apply to you in Austria.

None of the schools where I interviewed expected me to know the details of their latest work. I read a few of their recent papers so I had some idea what the groups did and I could have an intelligent conversation with professors and other students. It seemed to go well.

Good luck!


Why do some arXiv preprints have increased line spacing? Some preprints on arXiv have 1.5- or double-spaced lines, making it less pleasant to read and more wasteful to print.

Is there a reason for it, except for the laziness/sloppiness?
(If drafts were >1-spaced, one need to change only one option.)

I think the real underlying cause is just what Anonymous Mathematician said, that having a double-spaced version of a paper is more convenient for going through and making notes on a printed copy. But it's not just a phenomenon of the dark ages; many people still do this today during the revision process when a paper is being prepared for submission.

In fact, at least in physics (my field), the tradition of double-spacing is perpetuated by the fact that at least one of the major journal publishers' LaTeX class defaults to a preprint mode which sets the line spacing to double. It is possible to change this to single line spacing by passing a class option for the appropriate journal (pra, prb, prl, etc.), but many authors forget to do this - and somewhat understandably, I think, because their job is to do research, not to be proficient with LaTeX. I would imagine that a similar situation might arise with LaTeX classes used by other publishers and in other fields.

It's worth noting that arXiv recommends not submitting in double-spaced mode. But probably very few submitters have the patience to read through the instructions in their entirety.


One of my former professors no longer works as an academic, Can I still ask her for a recommendation letter? I am applying for a graduate school which has a special reference form to be filled. On the form, the referee should write his/her name and position. Does that mean all referees must be current academics?

Yes, you can ask your former professor.  No, it's almost certainly not required that all referees be current academics.  There'd be no sensible reason for a graduate program to require that.

Your professor can use her best judgment as to whether to fill the form with her current position or something like "Professor (former)".  In the letter, she should explain what her position was at the time that she worked with you.


How do I email my co-authors asking them to review a manuscript very quickly? I feel really bad asking for my co-authors, who are also my dissertation committee, to provide edits on my paper so quickly, but it looks like it needs to be done.
I submitted a paper to a journal a few months ago. They got back to me a month later with "major revisions" recommended. I got a lot of great comments, but they will take me some time to complete. The journal gave me only a month to get it done and send it back in. Due to the other things on my plate, this was extremely unrealistic. My primary advisor said it is impossible to do with everything I have going on. So, I asked the journal for an extension. I emailed them multiple times. They did not reply. The submission date came and went and I still didn't hear from them. As a result, I assumed I was not granted the extension.
However, I received FINALLY an email from them about a week and a half ago stating that I have been granted a new deadline of August 5th. Again, I still have A LOT on my plate and those revisions are not my top priority. However, I got a major portion of my thesis finished yesterday so now I have time to work on these revisions. My primary advisor is aware of this new deadline but wasn't sure if it was feasible. However, we had a meeting today where we discussed it. The game plan is to hand it into the journal a week late and hope they accept it (she said many journals are OK with this and won't have an issue). August 5th is still unreasonable. And my department and my advisor are very supportive of mental health and having a work-life balance so they would never want me to work overtime on this (my advisor even stated today that I should not kill myself over this as research is supposed to be fun and remember to take a lot of time during the week off). In my department, most students work from 9-5 or 8-4 since it's strongly encouraged that we have downtime and a life.
Anyways, now that we have a game plan moving forward, I need to let my other co-authors know what will be happening. I will need to ask them to review my edits to this paper over the course of a week. A two-week turnaround is standard in the department, but I will request only a week. My committee also has another paper of mine to review at the moment and there may be some overlap there, so this is a lot to ask and I feel guilty (even though it is not my fault) and bad about asking them to review something in such a short period of time. In addition, my secondary advisor is a lead researcher in the country for COVID-19, so she is extremely busy with that as well.
My question is: what should I say in the email to my co-authors / committee? I really do not want to sound like I am expecting them to review it in such a short time and that I do not value their time or understand they have a lot of other things on their plate?

It's much more important to send something right away, so that they have as much time as possible to look at it, rather than wasting precious hours finding just the right words.

State clearly and concisely what you are asking them to do, and when you need it done by

Explain briefly the reason for the short deadline

Apologize for the rush and acknowledge that they may be unable to do it in time

Have a backup plan in case they cannot meet the deadline.   You can always ask the journal for another extension.  Given the amount of effort they have already put into reviewing your paper, and the promise they evidently see in it, they have an incentive to work with you.  The worst case is they say no, in which case you may need to withdraw your paper and submit to another venue later.  That is annoying but not the end of the world.


What affiliation to put on a research paper as a college student? I am an undergraduate, and I want to know what to put as an affiliation on a research paper.

Normally, if you are a student, your affiliation will be the school / college / university that you attend (or if you have recently changed institutions, the one you attended when you did the work and wrote the paper).


How do I convince a colleague that plagiarism in a grant proposal is bad? I frequently find myself editing the grant proposals of a colleague of mine for English grammar. Each time, I find that he has copied sections of other peoples' writing wholesale, usually in introductory sections. This plagiarism is very easy to spot, as the writing style and diction often change dramatically for a few sentences.
I have tried multiple times to convince him that this is plagiarism, and that it's wrong. Despite this, I keep finding new instances of copied material. He claims that it's fine because it's not copying ideas, just introductory information, but I disagree.
How can I convince him that this is wrong and that he should stop?
If it matters, both of us are Chinese, but I grew up in the US and he grew up in China. He claims that this is just a "cultural difference," but I think that this is still misconduct, however minor it may be.

It seems that you have already tried to convince him, and it has been unsuccessful. I don't know what else you can do to convince him.
I would say that if I found plagiarism in any part of the work, the entire work, as well as the authors become suspect. It would very likely be automatically rejected.
My advice to you, is to stop working with him or, if you continue, to make sure your name is not affiliated at all with those proposals.


Is there funding for non-research related projects? Nowadays to obtain a PhD or a postdoc one needs to conduct independent research and present new results. However, at the frontiers of science there are many non-research related things that could still be done which are not being done by the professors since it would take a lot of time - examples include writing textbooks, translating a classical reference from one language to another (in some areas the classical reference is not available in English, for example), writing websites or programs which could assist one in learning the material.

I was wondering if there are any funding opportunities or academic grants available to hire a student/PhD/postdoc for those sort of projects. To me it would make sense to give such a job to a student rather than a researcher, as a student is learning that material anyway (and so can on his way adapt it so that the next generation can benefit from it) and it doesn't force the researcher to abandon research in favour of writing a textbook for a couple of years.

Paragraph removed by Dirk's suggestion

Sure:

The DFG in Germany awards grants for projects to organize digital libraries.
The ministry of education and research in Germany funds large projects on higher education (one of them is the Qualitätspakt Lehre - you hire people (often at the PhD or postdoc level) to organize or develop new courses, course concepts or course material).
There are grants for projects on history of science.
Universities offer reduction of teaching load or sabbaticals for writing books (which is really some kind of a grant, you get paid with time not money).
In books you often see acknowledgements for some funding.

Granted, in many of these grants the money or time does not go to PhD students or postdocs but at least the first three things fit the bill.

Note however, that as soon there is no research involved, you can not get a research degree for this work. So these kind of positions are not attractive to some students.


Getting into a PhD program with a low gpa but good profile I am going to apply to few PhD programs in Microbiology (I'm particularly very interested in Microbial ecology) but I'm afraid my undergrad gpa (8.5/10 for the first 6 semester as I'm currently in my 7th semester) might hold me back (however I have scored 9/10 in all core biology subjects). But I have a lot of other aspects to my application. For e.g. :

I have co-authored 3 research papers which are published in peer reviewed journal.
I have co authored 6 book chapters (4 in peer reviewed journals like springer, Elsevier etc)
I have presented 4 of my papers in 3 different international conferences (2 of them I was the first author)
I received funding from ISRO-ASI scholarship (Indian Space Research Organisation- Astronautical Society of India)  to attend one of the aforementioned conferences.
One of my team projects received a funding of 38,000 USD from our college trust.
I have conducted 3 months full time research internship in a research laboratory Tsinghua University.
I have also done 2 company trainings of 10 day each.
Plus few extra curricular activities like I was in tedx team, entrepreneurship cell etc. And as part time job I also taught few high school kids.
By the way I should mention my college is well reputed  (best in the state) in my country (India) but is tier-2

I need your help! I have no idea as to which colleges I should target ( my dream College would be University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) because of this particular professor Bruce W Fouke. He's amazing!) But I don't know if I would be accepted. I'm also not very rich so I can only afford the application fee for 10 colleges. I need your advice! Do you guys think I should apply to M.S. first get good grades and then try out for PhD. What kind of colleges I should target? (I actually concentrate more on the laboratory and not on the affiliated University but the University would be the one screening my application).

Given your other accomplishments I don't think the GPA will be disqualifying, and normally I would say don't worry about it, but in your case it's more of an issue. Your accomplishments are exceptionally strong for a rising senior in microbiology and are out of line with your weaker GPA, which will raise the obvious red flag that either your CV or your application are fraudulent.
You should address this in your applications. Specifically detailing your role in your major accomplishments and when you did the work would be a good way to head off any concerns from an admissions committee. You should also try to have your letters of recommendation be as specific as possible about exactly what you have contributed to the respective publications, which is another good way of keeping admissions from worrying too much.
I would also discourage you from applying to MS programs - most in microbiology are unfunded now and applying to a program you cant afford is pointless.


Does dropping a Coursera course look bad in a PhD application to the university offering the course? A few weeks ago I've enrolled in a Coursera course offered by university A, without asking for a certificate. I've completed some of the work, but now my university holds a course on the same topic, to which I am enrolled for credit.
Consequently, I decided to stop doing assignments from the Coursera course and focus on the course I'm enrolled in.

University A is one of the universities I am planning to apply to for my PhD studies next year, possibly in the topic of the course (or even with the professor teaching it).

How likely is it that the professor and/or the committee will check whether I've already been enrolled in something offered by them, and will get a bad impression because of me dropping the course? (e.g they might conclude that I'm not serious/committed when it comes to studying.)

Do committees generally look for academic information on applicants other than in the documents they provide in their application?

AFAIK Coursera is not for credit, thus should not impact your phd record in any way.


College in high school and math graduate school admissions I am a senior in high school and will be starting at the University of Washington in the fall.  My goal is to become a successful research mathematician (in academia), and, from what I can gather, my chances at this goal are increased if I am admitted into a "top" math graduate school for my PhD studies.  Hence I am trying to be as proactive as possible in preparing for graduate school.

Here is the deal: I have had a very different educational experience; namely two years of basically no math in 9th and 10th grade, and then math at community college in 11th, and finally an honors sequence at the University of Washington this year, in 12th grade. The class covers single variable calculus, some multivariate, ODEs, and linear algebra, all with rigor.  Going in to college in the fall I will have over 100 quarter credits completed (so I will be at the level of a junior).  Moreover, I will be in the senior level algebra sequence and in another honors sequence that covers some real analysis and complex analysis.  After my freshman year I will only have a few undergrad classes left to take (namely one year long sequence).  Lastly, I am currently self-studying (baby) Rudin.

So considering my background and current level, it seems I will be taking a large number of graduate courses in my college career if I stay for four years. (Indeed, theoretically at least, I could largely complete the coursework for a PhD by taking two sequences per year). I am worried that if I do stay for four years I will be looked upon negatively by graduate schools, since they might think I am being lazy.  Moreover, what will they think when they see 6 years of college transcripts? Should I plan to finish my degree two years from now to avoid this situation?  Or perhaps in 3 years?

Edit: Perhaps lazy wasn't the appropriate word.  I get the intuition that if an applicant had taken 6 years to complete his/her degree, whilst taking graduate courses even, the admissions committee would think them strange.  What I am wondering is, would my situation be any different?

You are getting worried about nothing.  You will not be judged negatively for having taken college classes before starting your BA, even a lot of them.  Graduate committees want to have students coming into their program who are going to be successful, and they don't care much whether it took 6 years or 2 years to get that preparation.  They are going to look at what you did with your time, not how long you took.  As long as you're happy and it's not too much of a financial hardship, there's no reason to graduate in 2 or 3 years.  Instead, take the time to concentrate on things that will strengthen your application:

Take the hardest courses available which you can perform well in.
Build relationships with faculty.  Taking graduate courses can help with this, but you can also seek out research opportunities or get involve with things like math club.

Performing well in challenging classes and having stellar letters of recommendation are the basis of a strong application to graduate school.  Issues of timing make absolutely no difference in comparison to them.  Other considerations:

You could do a second major, if there's something else you really want to try.  I think this has probably taken on a totemic significance with students beyond its real import (math grad schools are mostly concerned with how you've done in math; being well-rounded is something like a tertiary consideration), but it sounds like you have the room in your schedule, and certainly no one will think you're lazy.
Find good ways to occupy yourself over the summers. REUs are one good possibility. It sounds like you'll have a decent shot of getting into one after your freshman year. Another is if you can find a counselor position at summer program like PROMYS.
Consider spending a year or semester somewhere else. There are highly regarded study abroad programs specific to mathematics in Budapest and Moscow, and also programs like Penn State's MASS.  There's also Part III in Cambridge, which perhaps you could do after graduating in 3 years (or in 4).


What's the right time to transition from postdoc to PI? I've been a neuroscience postdoc for the past ~2.5 years and have recently applied to Assistant Professor positions in various R1 universities within the US. I decided to apply mainly for timing reasons: there were lots of good open positions and I'd had a very productive 2018 (with many pubs from grad school coming out). Now, having received several interview invitations, I'm starting to wonder what I'd do if I got offered a job.

The reason for my hesitation is that I have changed areas in my postdoc (going from experimental work to theory/modeling and machine learning). I really like my new research area, but I feel like in the past 2.5 years I haven't learned enough about it yet, nor have I established myself as a theorist/modeler. There's so much more that I still want to explore, and I feel that as a PI I would not have the time to learn and develop new research directions, new collaborations, etc.

If I do end up getting a job offer, would I be crazy not to take it, given how competitive the market is? More generally, what's the right time to transition from postdoc to PI?

If you do get a job offer, then yes, I think you’d be slightly crazy not to take it - more precisely, to not take it based on the concerns in your question would be a somewhat irrational decision. However, one thing you could do in that situation is negotiate a late start date that would give you time to continue your postdoc for X more years (assuming that is an option that’s available to you). I have seen this done and think this has a reasonable chance of success with X=1. For higher values of X I have never heard of anyone doing it, so I suspect the chances are not high, nor do I think it’s particularly advisable, but if it’s important to you you can still look into whether that’s a possibility.

In general, while you are somewhat correct in thinking that when you start a tenure-track position you become less “free” than a postdoc, and have more responsibilities and duties and therefore a bit less free time than a postdoc to explore and learn new areas, I think that’s beside the point. All the things you can do as a postdoc, you still can do, and in fact are still expected to do, as a PI. You also start acquiring important new skills and abilities that enable you to take your research and career to the next step. If you don’t feel ready for it, that’s probably because a lot of people don’t feel ready for it, so that’s completely normal. But regardless, the best time to do it is whenever people judge you are good enough to offer you a job that appeals to you. Good luck!


To whom is title "Professor Emeritus" given in the US? Is the title given to those professors who have had a huge impact by their research and/or teaching and now on reaching the autumn of their career are less active in teaching and taking students but attend seminar and give talks? (The description is from personal experience)

What does this title mean? Does the title depend on age? Being as reputed as he is, is Terry Tao a possible candidate at UCLA? Or is he too 'young'?

Is this a nominated position or do they have to apply? I haven't seen any university policy about this.

In the U.S., "professor emeritus" simply means "retired professor".  It's a courtesy title offered to retiring professors to acknowledge their continued scholarly role even after formal retirement.  It typically includes library privileges and a computer account, and emeritus professors may also have offices (this depends on departmental policy and the availability of space).  It's sometimes possible to teach, but this is a special arrangement rather than a job requirement.

At many universities every retired faculty member is offered this title, with rare exceptions for people who committed misconduct or angered the administration.  At other universities one has to apply for the title and make a case for why it is justified.

In particular, professor emeritus is not a higher title or special distinction.  It can be viewed as a retirement incentive: even after retirement, you'll still have a respected role as well as necessities like library access.  However, there's no advantage to becoming an emeritus professor beyond the benefits of retiring from your job (i.e., giving up duties and focusing only on what you prefer).


Ph.D At mid 40s - US - Lecturer A quick question. If someone start his/her Ph.D at the age of 44 and finish it by 50, what are the chances of joining academic world as a tenured lecturer in US

(copying from my own comments above with some tweaking)

Lecturer is primarily a teaching position and is not tenure track.  Tenure track comes with research responsibilities.  Entry level on tenure track is assistant professor. If you publish and do well, you might be promoted to associate professor and gain tenure after perhaps 3 to 7 years. It's very unlikely you would "join" with tenure.

If your objective is simply that you'd like to teach at a university because you think it would be rewarding (it is) and you're not so interested in research, you want to be a lecturer, even though it will never get you tenure. And you may be able to do that now with only a master's. These positions often require PhD but not always. It depends on how the search committee decides to write their ad.  You might also consider teaching as an affiliate lecturer.  These are part-time appointments that don't require a competitive search, usually only a faculty vote.


How should I write an appropiate email for a PhD position? I am a graduated Master's student from Asia and really want to take a PhD position in Canada, America or Germany. My English language skills are good but I don't have an IELTS degree. Some of my friends say that if I talk to a professor who I want to work with, I do not need a high grade in English exams like IELTS and I do not have any reaserch or projects or paper because it is unusual in master of pure math(which I studied) to have any of them(because it is so hard to do). On the other hand, I wrote the following email but I am so nervous of the whole structure and its content. Would you please guide me for sending a better email for a PhD position? Thank you in advance.

Dear professor “ “:
My name is Dal.OL. This year, I graduated from
Shahid Beheshti University with a master's degree in geometry with GPA
3.69. My interesting field for researching is dynamical systems in geometry and my master’s dissertation was in hyperbolic dynamical
systems which was really exciting for me and made me Curious about the
hole concepts used around it, therefore I am deciding to continue
studying in this field of Geometry. I am seeking admission to the PhD
studies in related with my master’s dissertation and I also like to
work on the manifold concepts and their extension in dynamical
systems. In the other hand I reviewed your profile and thought that it
would be wonderful if you would be willing to take me as your PhD
student.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanking you for your consideration. Sincerely,

Welcome to Academia.SE; I personally think that many parts of this question are clearly addressed in answers to some other questions on this site; and I think that this may be closed. Just read the existing questions which answer many of your questions about writing emails, questions on requirements, language tests, etc.
As a general hint to form your emails, you should be specific in your emails about what mutual research interests are with the potential advisor you are contacting and how your academic background may help the research team with their current and on-going projects. This may be shown by mentioning your related projects you have been involved in, parts of programming and codes you have developed which can be found over an online repository or publications, papers and reports you have had out of your research projects and masters thesis.
Moreover you may attach a complete resume and possibly a portfolio which shows your academic activities to the potential advisor and make sure you narrate your resume and edit it to contain publications and activities which are specifically related to the topics of interest of the research group you are eager to join.
Official required documents like degree reports, language tests and recommendations are sometimes required to be pressented to the admissions committee of the university you want to join. Some of these (like funding letters and language reports) are required for students visa applications which may be less of attention to the advisor and more of importance to official procedures.
Good luck with your search and hope you find a good desired PhD position.


Do you know about status date changes in Elsevier editorial I submitted an article to an Elsevier Journal in (Jan, 2018)
The status and the status date changed after one week in "under review".
Now status remains "Under review" but the status date is new (Sep 2018)
Could you please tell me what it means?
Thanks

It means something went wrong with the review process. For example either of these could have happened:

The editor handling your paper resigned from the editorial board, and the journal assigned a new editor.
The reviewer who was reviewing your paper submitted a review, which updates the status to "required reviews complete" or to "decision in progress", but the editor decided the review was poor and invited new reviewers.

One thing that didn't happen is "nothing". Something definitely happened, or the status would not update.


If you get stuck in research, at what point in time should you ask for help? It's always worthwhile to take some time to try to figure it out by yourself. But eventually there's a point where you're unsure how much more time it would take to figure it out by yourself (which could take far longer than you originally think), and when asking for help could be more helpful.

So for analytical or computational research, what are some guidelines for when you should ask for help (from either your adviser, other grad students, or other researchers) when you get stuck?

I find that grad students always wait too long to ask for help, either out of fear of looking "stupid", or out of inexperience, or out of a misplaced sense of stubbornness. If you've spent a few weeks on something and you're thoroughly stuck, then you should absolutely ask someone (advisor, other students, anyone with knowledge). You'd be surprised at how often you were merely barking up the wrong tree, or just didn't know a very important fact or reference, or just had to reformulate the question differently. All of this takes experience, and that's what an advisor is supposed to provide.