Starting New Research Programs and Building Collaborations

1. Starting New Research Programs and Building Collaborations Cutting Edge Early Career Workshop Washington, DC July-Aug, 2013 Prof. Michael Wysession Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, Missouri 63130 USA

2. Relevant Professional Service: • Editor of Geophysical Journals • NSF Panel Reviewer

3. Stage 1: Development Creating a Strategic Plan for Research Research theme:______________________ Topic A: New or Continuing Plans for obtaining facilities or instruments Available Resources: Needed Resources: Plans for recruiting students and collaborators Stage 2: Implementation What to do if not funded? Beginning Field Work or Setting Up Laboratory Conducting Research Writing Proposals Stage 3: Dissemination Formal Publications Web Sites Initial Presentations Ph.D. Dissertations New Research Ideas? Student Projects Honors & M.S. Theses Independent Studies

4. Mixture of types • Federal vs. private foundations vs. industry • Instrumentation (do as a research “group”?) • Student support • Collaborations (etc.) • Use smaller grants to • Build your experience & capabilities • Collect preliminary data • Build confidence/credibility in your capabilities • (Typical award size of a ‘new investigator’ project is not as large as that of veterans, but may have higher success rate) • Set realistic goals for # & type of proposal submission. Think about what you NEED to run your lab/research Build a Portfolio of Grants

5. Make sure that your topic is of broad importance • Don’t choose a topic that is so narrowly defined that it is only of interest to you • “More of the same” doesn’t sound very fund-worthy • It takes as much time to do research on a problem of low importance/interest as one that is of high interest/importance (your time is limited!!) • However, don’t aim too big; don’t claim to answer questions that your experiments/models could never actually resolve. • The topic needs to be solvable given your experience/capabilities/expertise Choose a Project Carefully

6. Do your research to find out what is being done in this field (it is embarrassing to write a proposal for something that someone else is already doing or has done!) • Go to meetings to see the latest work and who the major players in the field are (This also helps to inform your Bibliography!) • Cultivate interesting and important ideas • Collect ideas (keep a Notes page open) • Allow TIME for choosing research topics, winnowing and sorting, revision and improvement (START EARLY!) • Consider institutional/departmental expectations and/or strengths Choose a Project Carefully

7. Consider a collaboration • Collaborative grants, in additional to having the potential to do things that individuals could not, can be very enjoyable and rewarding (it is possible to have friends who are collaborators! “frorks”) • Senior colleague? (there are pros and cons) • (Example: My Madagascar project) Choose a Project Carefully

8. Foster a Community • If you find people doing work that is similar to yours or what you want to do, contact them • Perhaps you can write a collaborative grant – do you have skills or background that would be helpful to them? • They might be at your own institution or at another • Ask for copies of their papers (and maybe even proposals) • Invite them to your institution/department to give a presentation • Serve on professional committees and panels • Go to small workshops (e.g., Gordon conferences) • Go to smaller functions at big meetings (i.e., AGU) Choose a Project Carefully

9. Let people know what you are doing! • Reviewers, panel members, and program directors should know of your work • Blow your own horn (at the right time and in “tune”, of course) • Publish papers, write proposals • Balance your time spent on activities that are complementary to your research and help maintain your reputation as an expert (reviewing proposals and publications, organizing workshops, presenting papers at meetings, being a journal editor, professional committees and boards, public outreach, popular media such as interviews for magazines or newpapers, etc.). Stake Your Claim

10. Build upon your previous papers to write your proposals • but they have to be incorporated and edited so that they entirely fit in the new context • Use parts of your proposal in your future papers (e.g., Introduction, Data and Methods, Reference list, Figures) • Align your teaching with your research when possible • Try a graduate or senior undergraduate seminar on the topic • Align your advising with your research when possible • e.g., senior thesis; class assignments Professional Synergy (i.e., Reusing and Recycling)

11. Make Plans: Regularly set aside time to carry out “strategic planning” for your career, without being distracted by the little things. • The saying, “Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves” – is not true! • Better to say, If you don’t steer a car, you will drive off the road (and you will certainly never get where you want to go) • Set goals for where you want your research to go, and identify what is needed to make it happen, otherwise your career will drift wherever chance takes it. Plan Ahead

12. Chance can be a great thing, but be prepared to seize the moment when it does • “Chance favors the prepared” • “Luck is spelled W-O-R-K” • There are no coincidences. There is only preparation. • Most brain capacity is untapped • (Analogy of extreme human memory) • “Bourne syndrome” • Train yourself to be mindful Plan Ahead

13. Have a short-term “To Do” list (deadlines, letters of recommendation, paper/proposal reviews, class preparation, committee work, etc.) and a long-term “To Do” list (research projects, papers, proposals, collaborations, etc.) • Strategic Planning  “SWOT” • What are the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats to your research • Actually writing these out helps to keep them clear • Identify the Critical Success Factors that have to happen for you to meet your research goals Plan Ahead

14. Mentor Mindfully: Try to assess what motivates the students/staff who work for you. • Is it a carrot or a stick? Tailor your mentoring accordingly. • Assess Their Strengths: Are your students/staff good at theory? Obtaining data? Modeling data? Programming? Writing? Tailor the tasks you give them accordingly. • (This goes for you, too.) Develop a Team

15. Mentoring a Student Changes over time: At first you may need to monitor closely, set multiple short tasks, meet often. As they learn, you can give them more responsibility. • Develop a Critical Mass: Students often learn best from each other. It is good if you can reach a critical mass, where students/staff are teaching and learning from each other. • Monitor Closely: Even if a student is doing well, you still want them following your direction and not drifting. Let them explore and find new avenues, but keep a close watch on them. • And know when to cut them loose. Develop a Team

16. Have a Variety of Projects: Follow some areas of research that have long goals and some with short ones. • If one gets stalled for external reasons (unavailable equipment, unavailable data, incomplete theory) you can focus on another until the time is right for the first project. • This will also give you multiple ideas for multiple student research projects. • This will also ensure that you can be writing up papers (on the short-term goals) while you are working on the long-term projects. Diversify Your Research Portfolio

17. But Don’t Spread Yourself Too Thin: “A jack of all trades is a master of none” • It is important for you to be recognized as an expert in some area(s), so that when people think of that topic, they think of you (and invite you to give talks, submit papers, etc.). • It is helpful to branch out into other areas, but do not lose your reputation in your main field. Diversify Your Research Portfolio

18. Do the Research That You Like To Do: • After all, you only get to do all of “this” once, so you might as well enjoy it. • You will do a better job. You will be more willing to put in the effort and hours needed to make it successful and convince others that your research is worthwhile. (Story of “Little, Big”) Enjoy What You Do

19. Forbes Magazine (from Careercast.com)

20. “Since writing the above piece I have received more than 150 comments, many of them outraged, from professors who say their jobs are terribly stressful. While I characterize their lives as full of unrestricted time, few deadlines and frequent, extended breaks, the commenters insist that most professors work upwards of 60 hours a week preparing lectures, correcting papers and doing research for required publications in journals and books. Most everyone says they never take the summer off, barely get a single day’s break for Christmas or New Year’s and work almost every night into the wee hours. . . All of that said, to me the most striking thing about the comments I received is the fact that so many professors write that while they find their jobs stressful, they are deeply satisfied and happy in their work. This comment from David Perry is typical: “I love my job. It’s definitely deeply rewarding. But the stresses are intense and the workload never ending.” (Susan Adams, Forbes staff)

21. How do you establish priorities for your research? Approach Your Research Plans Mindfully