Tag: originality

Otto Muskens Otto Muskens 19 May 2010

Getting scooped

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Miscellaneous, PhD life

scooped 300x256 Getting scooped

Over the last 6 months I have been checking regularly the journals to see if anyone has published something in the direction of our research project. This morning, when I was just going online to check some references, the article hit me right between the eyes. There it was, my idea, the result looking exactly as I had expected it to be. Only the names of the authors are different; a leading US research group has apparently pursued the same concept and has already obtained the result we have been looking for during the last months.

Ad Lagendijk Ad Lagendijk 16 December 2009

Five-million dollar question

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Tips for junior scientists

The career path in the academic world is tough. After a demanding undergraduate period, you will enter graduate school and another period of at least four years of hard work lies ahead. After acquiring your PhD you will have to work as a postdoc for a number of years.

In all those years other people tell you what to do or what to study. Your own input, as far as research subject goes, is marginal. For the majority of young scientists the final goal is to become a principal Investigator themselves, or at least to work in a group where their influence on the research direction is substantial.

When you have almost finished your PhD or just started your postdoc period, the future of being a group leader seems far away. You have other problems on your mind. Nevertheless there is question that you should ask yourself over and over again. The earlier you start with considering this question the better. Here is the question:

million dollars 257x300 Five million dollar question

What research subject would you choose, and what equipment would you buy if you would get five million dollars?

Ad Lagendijk Ad Lagendijk 10 April 2009

Will the reviewer of my grant proposal steal my ideas?

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Ethics, PhD life, Presentations quality, Tips for senior scientists

Writing grant proposals is a fact of live for every group leader. This writing can be quite time consuming. Your chance of success depends on a number of factors. The factor I want to discuss here is the originality and the detail of the proposal Reviewer running away with my ideas.

New idea
Pursuing a new idea is what makes the life of a scientist fascinating and challenging. But alsonew1 300x255 Will the reviewer of my grant proposal steal my ideas? demanding. Just continuing one’s research on old ideas is much easier. But a new idea is very difficult to come by.  Continuation of old stuff is much easier. Grant organizations want new ideas. Supporting continuation is in our society never appreciated. ( Unless it is Scottish whisky.)  So even when you are just going to do the same research you have to package it in the form of a new idea.