Ad Lagendijk

Survival Guide for Scientists

Writing – Presentation – Email
isbn 978 90 5356 512 4
15,6 x 23,4 cm, 215 pagina’s,
paperback, 2008, prize: 20 €.
History
During the course of Dutch physicist and Spinoza Prize–winner Ad Lagendijk’s long and influential career, he has published more than 300 articles, supervised over thirty doctoral dissertations, and given countless presentations and conference addresses. Over the years, his incisive consultations, tips, and rules for scientific study have proven themselves so beneficial to the emerging young scientists under his watch that he has been inundated with requests for a written version.

Book
The Survival Guide for Scientists presents Lagendijk’s practical how-to advice on essential topics such as the foundations for writing scientific texts, presenting data and research information, and the writing and reading of collegial e-mails. Each section is organized by a collection of short rules, outlined and numbered in a logical order as self-explanatory pieces of information—allowing the reader the freedom to study any number of them in any desired order. These concrete guidelines, supplemented by an extensive index, with easy navigation—securing a place for the Survival Guide for Scientists on the shelves of scientific scholars and students alike.

Studying the principles will help researchers to give better presentations, write better papers, and to produce superior replies to referees. They just will become better communicators.

Target group
Although originally aimed primarily at undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students physics, the text very likely is also beneficial for workers in other natural science disciplines, and – to some extent – for researchers in social sciences and humanities as well. According to the author more senior scientists could also learn a lot from the guide.

But it doesn’t stop there: many of the hints, in particular those referring to presentations, are of invaluable use for a much broader audience of professionals, up to consultants and (public) managers.

Ad Lagendijk is group leader at the FOM-Institute Amolf in Amsterdam, Distinguished University Professor at the University of Amsterdam and professor of physics at the University of Twente.