After reading last week’s post Ilona asks how to switch research topics to something more impactful during their lifetime: How do I transition from a PhD in mantle convection to a postdoc in satellite geodesy? Dear Ilona, What a moon-shot you are aiming for! But, have no fear, nothing is impossible. Undoubtedly, space is cool. And looking from a distance at our lovely rock spinning and float ...[Read More]
Nerea cannot get enough of writing papers, reports and proposals. However, actually reading scribbles, especially those jotted down by (under)grad students, leaves her a histrionic gasp. She thus ejaculates: LLSVP or LLVP or LL(S)VP – why must we prolong the acronym wars? Aupa Nerea, The Americans. No doubt. It has got to be them. Just like so many things, they’ve ruined that beloved English ...[Read More]
…but it helps. Everyone has one colleague with that pinned above their desk. Sometimes with pictures of kittens. Lucile doesn’t want to be that interview candidate, so she asks: How can I prepare for an academic interview? Dear Lucile, Tips on how to appear to be a sane, motivated, enthusiastic, friendly, people-loving, positive, high-achieving, committed scientist? You’ve come t ...[Read More]
Lockdown rumination resulted in new research ideas for Amélie. Her quests at the intersection of multiple subfields left her wondering: How to write an interdisciplinary proposal? Dear Amélie, I salute your efforts at bringing together multiple disciplines to tackle some of humanity’s most urgent questions regarding planetary interiors. I am myself an interdisciplinary scientist and a polyma ...[Read More]
