Every scientist wants to squeeze a holiday or two into their calendar. However, finding the time in between all of your other commitments can be hard. Adeline, much like the rest of us, is desperate to get away from campus for a while and find somewhere to relax for a few days, so here I …[Read More]
The Sassy Scientist – Working in a Warming World
You’ve spent months battling with radiators and cold wet weather, but the summer is finally upon us and to make things even worse we’re heading into a heatwave. The office that just weeks ago seemed impossible to keep warm is now so sweltering it feels as though you’re stepping into the sauna when you arrive …[Read More]
The Sassy Scientist – Supervision Dilemmas
The quality of supervision is arguably the most important discriminant between a nice academic experience and a hellish one. For early career scientists, supervisors are the sole responsible for our choice to leave or stay in academia. As the name suggests, supervisors are there to supervise our research activity, as it is all too easy …[Read More]
The Sassy Scientist – Challenging Yourself
Single author papers. You have seen those. Early in your career you look at them and think “Wow! This person must be really smart to publish all by themselves”. Later on, your reaction shifts to “Ahah! Look at this person, publishing the tenth paper by themselves! Nobody wants to be associated with this stuff!”. Whether …[Read More]
The Sassy Scientist – Remembrance
Questions permeate our daily life. What socks do I want to wear today? Which of the 10 insipid meal choices at the campus canteen do I want as my lunch today? Will I treat myself and get a Mai Tai tonight, or will I stick to a refreshing, good ol’ beer? As geoscientists, asking and …[Read More]
The Sassy Scientist – Natural Trainwrecks
We all somewhat agree that publishing in Nature is a recognition of the value of our research and of the usefulness of our academic career. It does not matter that “our” research topic was bestowed upon us by our supervisor. And it certainly matters not, that we want to leave academia next year. At least …[Read More]
The Sassy Scientist – The Spinning Top
Whether from posed questions, other blog posts and cinematic detours, the core of Earth is every now and then sparking some interest. In a similar way “Inception” or “Shutter Island” spark interest: it sounds cool, you want to get what is going on, but although you tried several times, you still don’t get it. Today …[Read More]
The Sassy Scientist – Programmed Screaming
Live from the EGU assembly, from an anonymous chair in an anonymous room in the Vienna International Centre, during an anonymous session on some geoscience-related topic, my commitment of reporting the truth as-is does not stop. Siri has recently asked a very practical question concerning the organisation of your EGU experience: How do you make …[Read More]
The Sassy Scientist – Where’s That Tree? I Need Another Didgeridoo!
Mathieu is putting the final touches on his presentation for next week’s crazy science rumble also known as the EGU GA. A hybrid meeting of sorts nonetheless. Scrolling through the schedule, he exasperates: How do you make the most of yet another, sorta-kinda hybrid meeting? Dear Mathieu, Well…. you don’t. You just go through he …[Read More]
The Sassy Scientist – Fake It Till You Make It
“Impostor syndrome” is a condition that leads some of the most brilliant minds of our generation to question their right of being called a “scientist”, even if they are researching a cure for cancer. Or the Earth sciences equivalent of curing cancer. Tatiana may have impostor syndrome as she brilliantly describes one of the symptoms …[Read More]