What are the time demands on a PhD student who is helping set up a lab?

From what I have seen in general for molecular biology labs, there is generally a risk. Some of this risk is connected to the PI and some of it is connected to factors outside their control. I am in my 7th year right now and finishing up but my lab just moved across the country to set up a new lab. While this does not affect me, we have rotation students and I can see the impact it is having on them.

  What constitutes as normal and what is a red flag for PIs requiring
  start up assistance?

This will vary based on the lab's research needs. You can expect to be involved in a lot of organization/inventory, equipment setup, purchasing, account setup, and above all, a lot of waiting around. If the PI has a lot of specific needs within the building, then there may be specialized construction that has to take place. This could take week to months - both for the actual construction as well as general red tape and unforeseen delays.

In general, you should know that your research will almost certainly be delayed. However, there are other ways to use your time that I elaborate below.

For red flags, I would say that you should try to determine the funding situation of the lab and what grants are active. There is no point waiting around if you have to wait even longer afterwards to get started on funding to come through. If you notice that the PI has had the lab space for 3-6 months and still has no progress, that could be a major red flag. On the other hand, the PI could be using that time very effectively to write grants and make connections. This is very situational.

  Are there benefits to being involved heavily with lab setup if you are
  not really committed to the academia route?

This depends on what you chose to do instead if you are not following the academia route. If you work in industry - say R&D or testing for a major company or a career technician, many of these skills may be of use to you. Other potential benefits could relate more to your PI and future research. For example, a startup lab may have a new, enthusiastic professor exploring new areas of research. This can be an exciting environment to be in. There may be new students to change up the dynamic. It might be a great environment to bond with colleagues and so forth. This depends highly on the PI in question.

As NMJD pointed out in the comments, many of the tasks you will be involved in during lab set up could be very useful if you ever decide to stay in academia. You will be ordering equipment, setting up new technology, and budgeting for most of your academic career. This experience could also serve to prepare you if you ever start a lab of your own.

  What generates the time sink that seems to overburden most students?

A lot of the burden comes from waiting time (which isn't exactly a time sink). Setting up labs take a while but it isn't physical labor or time involved that takes the longest. Much of it comes from processing, financial constraint, and red tape.

I would be far more worried about these kinds of issues that may happen after setup:

Delays in setting up animal facilities/breeding pairs or animal
lines.
Cell culture contamination problems in a new building/room.
Weird technical variability in experiments.
Getting used to new department/building procedures
Filling the responsibilities of departed graduate students that took care of the day-to-day in the lab
Lack of mentorship or guidance

  How can you mitigate this impact to time to degree?

Depending on the nature of the setup and how far along the lab is, you may be able to use this time to become deeply familiar with the literature in this field or participate in grant writing. This would be excellent for your training  and is very important. Take some statistics classes - it is far more important than most molecular biologists will have you believe!

Get to know people. Get to know the field and co-workers. Go have drinks with other labs and learn about their research. Find collaboration opportunities. If your program requires you to be a TA, get that out of the way early on. Focus on your classes.

You can use this time to either prepare for the lab post-setup or get things out of the way that would interfere with your research later.

  Where does one draw the line between beneficial experience vs being taken advantage of?

Ultimately, I think you really need to talk to students in the lab or those nearby to get a better sense of what it's like "from the inside". You can only glean so much from the outsider perspective. Just know that in most cases you are taking a risk. But you can offset this by using your time wisely. If it's research you really want to do, it may be worth the risk.

If the trade-off between the time spent waiting and working through the bumpy starts are not outweighed by the research opportunity that could be provided then it is not worth it. If you find yourself wasting time, doing menial labor, and see no end in sight for the start up it's not worth it.

You have to decide if it's worth it and it can be difficult without already being there.

Good luck!


Why is a PhD thesis typically 150 pages?

I don't know where your 150 page idea comes from since I have never heard this as a guideline. However, in my field, "staple theses" are common, composed of roughly 3 papers stapled together (either already published or publishable drafts), with an added introduction and conclusion that tie the works together and may get a bit deeper into background than is acceptable in a published manuscript.

Therefore, they must be at least the length of three research papers, and aren't typically all that much longer than that. However, theses are also typically formatted in a longer form, more similar to the original word-processed manuscript, whereas journal articles are composed in a dense, newspaper-like format. Figures may have their own pages. In sum, a manuscript that is 10-15 published pages can easily be 30-50 pages in this format.

No embellishment necessary to get to 150 pages.

I'd also add that a post doc in my field who only produced 1 paper in 3 years would probably have their next job in industry; a graduate student with only one paper will have been quite disappointing (it may happen that only one paper is publishable due to being scooped or unexpected failures, but even those outcomes can be part of a thesis). Not necessarily, it's possible that paper could be highly impactful, and might be reasonable in some subfields, but generally that would not be a suitable output for an academic career.

Edit: decided to pull up my own thesis from the archives. 230 pages. Of those, 53 pages are "thesis-only" pages; the other 177 pages are verbatim copies from 2 published papers and a third draft manuscript which was later revised and published, all reformatted to fit the thesis formatting requirements. Of the remaining 53 pages of "fluff," 6 pages are title/contents/acknowledgements/abstract, and about 19 are references for the introduction/conclusion chapters, so about 28 extra pages of generously spaced writing, to be treated as "embellishment" if you wish, or alternatively, to provide enough background and context for the work for someone familiar with the field but not previously familiar with my research area, such as members of my thesis committee besides my advisor.

In summary, even if my thesis had nothing but 3 published/publishable manuscripts, it would already be >150 pages.


How to judge a potential graduate student based on a short interview?

When interviewing candidates for industry jobs, I concentrated on two issues:

Is the resume accurate, or if inflated how much? A resume is a sales document, and candidates do try to present themselves as favorably as possible, but it should be fundamentally truthful.

Can the candidate discuss technical issues in the relevant field?

Everything else is covered by the paperwork.
Fortunately, there is one form of question that can help resolve both issues. Pick a topic, such a research project they claim to have done or a course they did well on, and ask about it. Do they know as much about the topic as the resume indicates, and can they discuss it?
As Buffy suggests in a comment, zero error rate may not be possible. Ultimately, you just have to do your best and accept you will make mistakes.


How to respond to "How much funding will you bring?" as an interview question for a faculty job?

This is an invitation to discuss your plans for obtaining external funding.  They want your answers to questions like the following:

What agencies fund research like yours?
What projects do you have that you think would be successful in gaining external funding?
Why do you think you would be successful?  Can you point to similar (but not too similar) projects that have been funded?  Why would a funding agency agree your work is worthy of support?  Why would they agree that you are a qualified person to carry out the work, and that your project is likely to actually produce useful results?  How would you convince them?  What supporting evidence would you use?
How large would those grants be likely to be?  How do you know?
When do you propose to begin applying for such grants?  Is there anything specific that needs to happen first?
Do you have collaborators in mind with whom you might co-apply?  Have you discussed this with them?


Large conferences have "main tracks" where the normal papers are received, peer-reviewed and published/discussed in the traditional format. In these conferences there is more and more often the tendency to provide researchers to write "cutting edge" research, that should not undergo the formal peer-review process, or simply the acceptance rate has a clearly lower bar than the normal tracks of the conference. This second type of papers will be published in the "adjunct proceedings".

One would then have two sets of proceedings, one where the normal papers are, and the other one where more experimental papers are. This separation has got a reason: the program committee of a conference wants to keep the two types of papers separated, since the papers in the normal proceedings will be cited more often than the ones in the adjunct proceedings


Is it possible for me to seek a Ph.D. position in the future?

Is it possible for me to seek PhD in the future?

Yes. It is possible to seek a PhD at any point in one's life, although at some point you will shift over into the "unconventional student" category.

Some universities/faculty do tend to overlook unconventional students. However, if you keep publishing articles, learning new skills (and demonstrating them), and staying up to date on the research in your field (and demonstrating that you have), then you'll be in a good position to get accepted by the more open-minded universities whenever you decide to apply.


After my employment ends, can I keep working without pay at my current research center, on independent research?

Of course anyone can be an independent researcher.  Just do it.  But that's not what you're really asking.  The question you're really asking is this:

  How can I convince my former supervisor to let me continue using their equipment and resources after my current contract ends?

And the only reasonable answer that question is to turn in on its head.  What's in it for them?  How would they benefit from giving you an office and access to their equipment?  Is the payoff for them worth more to them than the resources that you would expend?  The fact that the project is good for you isn't enough.

There's an even more basic question: Do they have resources that they can give you access to?  The equipment that you want access to may be tied to the specific project.  They may not be able to give you access.  But the only person that can answer that question is your former supervisor.

Some updates in response to the updated question:

  However , i need my supervisor to draw public/scientific attention , make a paper with him out of it etc.

No, you don't.  You can write and submit a paper yourself.  You can publicize it yourself.  You can ask your former supervisor to help you publicize it; if your supervisor was your advisor and not just your boss, they'll be happy to help you, because your success makes them look good.

  I am afraid that he could simply use my idea with the engineers that still have a contract there.

You don't trust your supervisor.  So don't work with him.  Your mistrust is probably misplaced, but that's your call. To quote Howard Aiken: "Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats."

  of course my supervisor be the one that would present it and his name next to mine

Why "of course"?  Just do it yourself.

  i dont want my supervisor to demand things on the project.

No, that's not how it works. If you want your advisor to put his name on something, you must give him partial responsibility for that something.  That's what coauthorship means.

  I am thinking of proposing to him a complete solution of exactly what i have in mind , let me work on it with my time , without any fundings , but he ll be the one to present it and draw attention on it.

In other words, you want to do all the fun stuff, using your supervisor's resources, and leave the hard work of writing and presenting to your supervisor, but not allow them any actual input, and then claim credit for yourself.

That's just not going to happen.  If you want something from someone else — working space, laptops, Internet connection, help with writing and presentation, anything — you have to offer them something in return.  Either offer to make your supervisor a full partner, including veto power, or you do the work yourself, including all the writing and presentation, with your own equipment, on your own time.

Having the project on your CV will open more doors if you do it without your supervisor.


If I want to become a professor, do universities care what field my PhD. is in or just that I have a PhD?

Generally, you're going to need a PhD in a field very close to the one you want to teach in. Many programs make this information available to applicants, and indicate that they are looking for a PhD in field X, Y or Z. This is because these are the subjects where the information and experience that you gain during the course of a PhD are directly relevant to your ability to then teach the subject you are applying for. Simply getting a PhD isn't going to make you much more competitive for a position, unless your PhD shows that you have gained skills directly relevant to the position.

You mentioned the possibility of doing research or getting other certification of your skills, depending on where you want to be a professor, these could be a better option for you. If you can find a university willing to support your research, and get it published, this definitely shows that you have developed relevant skills for teaching in that field. Added to the fact that you have taught at a community college (indicating that you have some ability to perform a CS teaching job), and you have a much more competitive application than you started with.


How does average profile of person that got accepted into top university look like?

For reasons mentioned in the comments, I will just briefly address grad school: It's typical to have taken a number of advanced classes (possibly including graduate classes) in your discipline from a good school, and to have done well in them.  You should have strong letters of recommendation.  In some fields (not in math, and I don't think in CS) it's typical to have done some research.  It's pretty common to be international, and straight out of another (bachelors or master's) program.  But I don't know that an "average profile" is the right thing to look at.

  What does one need to have to feel reasonably secure about being accepted into top universities?

You're not in a good position to judge yourself, so talk to your professors.  What kind of schools do they think you should apply to?  What kinds of schools do they think you can get into?  After all, they'll be writing letters for you, which are one of the primary factors in deciding your admissions.


Applying to jobs in multiple disciplines. How much does name of degree matter?

Before I say anything else, I want to say that the answer to this can't be easily generalised and very much has to do with the particulars of your discipline(s). Mine isn't going to be like yours and without telling what A and B are, any folks here with direct experience will not be able to offer it.

That said, I have a BA, and MPhil and a PhD in "apples" and for the past 7 years have been permanently employed by an "oranges" department". If I told you what the two subjects were you would look at me blankly as you tried to figure out how there could be any connection between the two. To say that there isn't crossover of people between the two disciplines is an understatement. That said, about 4 years ago I was offered (and turned down) a promoted position in an "apples" department ("oranges" matched the offer), I've had some "apples" departments attempt to poach me, and I'm considered an applesologist among other applesologists still, while mostly passing for an orangologist in those circles. I am now moving to another University's "oranges" department. I'm keen to stay in "oranges" as there is a lot more funding in that field and PhD students that I graduate have a much better chance of finding work than if they were in "apples".

This is the long way to say that if your A and B are close enough that there is any crossover whatsoever amongst the faculties and researchers you are looking at, you are likely fine where you are. I've always found that what research I do and how well I do it is far more important than what discipline is printed on my degree (because seriously, the two disciplines I am set between are like apples and oranges). If your current location gives you excellent support and the opportunities you need to do excellent research, and as long as you keep your network going across both A and B, you should be fine. Generally speaking...


How to overcome "No Research Experience" in CS Ph.D applications

If you need research experience for a program, then you need research experience and there's not much you can do about it besides gaining that experience. Even if you did gain entry into such a program, you will lack the research skills of your peers. You'll be starting off on the back foot.

A PhD is a long-term commitment to poorly paid slave labour. What if you find out you don't even like research, 1 year in? I would strongly advise the "try before you buy" approach. Get a Master's degree or a postgraduate diploma, that has a reasonable research component.

A good PhD program will want you to prove that you have the commitment and research skills to pull it off. Once you can do that, you have a good chance for admission. If research experience is a requirement, then you can't just shrug it off.


Publishing an article in a journal without a related degree

No editor will care (or for that matter could know) about your degree.  What matters is the contents of the submission, and if it meets the standard of the journal.  There are plenty of chemists or electrical engineers who publish in physics journal, plenty of physicists who publish in chemistry or engineering or math journals.


If I understand your question and comments correctly, the sequence of events is this:

The editor handles your paper at time X.
The editor submits their own paper, with a submission timestamp after X.
The editor does not cite you.

If this is the case, then the editor should certainly have been aware of your paper at the time that they submitted their own, and thus been able to cite you.

Failing to cite you thus seems likely to be a case of scientific dishonesty.  There are, however, certain circumstances where failure to cite might be acceptable, such as:

Other papers similar to yours are already cited (e.g., "phenomenon X has been noted a number of times, including [cite, cite, cite]")
You are somehow misinterpreting the date stamps

From what you've written, however, it seems unlikely that one of these cases applies, and more likely that you're dealing with a case of dishonesty.


What are the general ethical procedures to restart abandoned research?

It seems to me that the ethics here really relate to the foundation upon which you will build. Conducting additional research and writing additional papers is not problematic in itself, but if you must use materials, data, and ideas from informal conversations then you have ethical and/or practical considerations. If you have never met the other researchers and have just read some papers, found it interesting, and then they stopped publishing, I don't see how you would have any obligation to those researchers. This is academic life- we build on the work of others. In fact, you might say we have an ethical obligation to advance the field.

Coming from this perspective, what is acceptable with respect to the foundational elements would be governed by the normal rules. So here are some examples:

Data: If you need actual (generally unpublished) data from the other researcher(s) then you will have to ask for the data and have their permission to publish that data. You should acknowledge the source of that data in any related publications.
Materials: If you need code or study materials, you will have to ask for it as well and you will be bound by any relevant licensing restrictions. Again, this should be acknowledged.
Ideas: If you are building on informal conversations with previous researchers, then you should seek their permission and acknowledge that as well. This is about not losing friends, unless you are under NDA, in which case it may be a legal matter as well.

There may also be cases in which your reputation and friendships may be at stake, for example if you publish research that competes with that of your old advisor. This should not generally be a big concern with projects that are abandoned. If in doubt, you should probably communicate your intentions and seek their blessings.

In many cases, particularly if others have given advice, it may be a good idea to ask if they want to be involved as a coauthor. A researcher who has had to stop doing their research, perhaps due to lost funding or changes in their employment, may be excited at the opportunity to help advance the field while improving their own CV, by just providing some past data and helping with some writing.

The most important thing is to be sure to always give credit where it is due.


Do refreshments attract audience to seminars?

I think you should approach the question slightly differently - don't ask whether more people will come to your presentation because there are refreshments. Instead, ask whether refreshments will enhance the overall experience. In my experience, refreshments help to keep the group together after the event is over, which in turn allows for people to mingle, share ideas, and get to know one another better. When refreshments aren't provided, people tend to bolt out the door immediately following the end of the lecture. In this sense, refreshments give you the chance to build community, and give undergrads, graduate students, and junior scholars the chance to bend the ear of a senior scholar.


Which domain should I choose for my personal website?

Apparently, .com conveys a sense of credibility so that it would be the best option, regardless of whether you pursue things commercially or not.
It seems to me that .org doesn't suit a private homepage.
But for a private homepage, you can generally be creative and look for any other options that suit your biography (e.g. citizenship) or name (e.g. if your surname is Li, why not choose .li?) or interest (e.g. if you do research on marine life, then you could use .fish).
And for research-related purposes, there are also top-level domains such as:

.science
.engineering
.academy


Why do some papers have 10-20 co-authors?

In my field, where author numbers between one and six are the norm, reasons for having more include the following:

The paper results from a large-scale collaboration between different groups that developed different parts of the overall work.
The paper is supposed to give a broad picture overview of something, like in the case of a survey paper or a research roadmap paper. The authors are experts for the different considered areas.
The paper results from a collaborative brainstorming effort. Such papers are sometimes written by the participants of a research meeting (like the famous Dagstuhl seminars), or a breakout group from such.
The paper results from a student project, and most of the co-authors are actually students.


Is it wise to develop skills that do not immediately benefit short-term research productivity?

I think this is a good question, but I have only a brief, partial answer: you may have to accept that, in pursuing the interdisciplinary topics that interest you, the time and energy you spend will not be repaid with any kind of academic currency, but only in less tangible forms.  In other words, you may never get a better job, get an extra paper published, or even get an extra pat on the back from a colleague; but you may nonetheless, in a subtle and unsung way, advance the anti-specialization principles you espouse simply by doggedly producing quality work that embodies them.  This may sound cynical, but I mean it seriously.  Of course, you need enough tangible reward to keep your career going, but it sounds like you're asking about how or whether to invest the energy to go the extra mile above and beyond that.  It's possible to derive internal comfort from believing that you're doing your best to produce the kind of work you think needs to be produced, even if doing so doesn't earn you any praise or advance your career in any concrete way.  In the end, whether you continue to do this work will depend on whether you can be happy and sane doing it, and drawing strength from your inner conviction, rather than from external validation, can help with that.


Splitting conference expenses between authors

Creativity and asking the financially responsible person at both author A's and B's institutions about what is possible (maybe suggesting a few ideas) is key here. In fact there are a lot of options, and if the funding budgets at the two institutions have different regulations it may add flexibility for you to exploit. Some ideas are:

Author A travels to the conference, but in a (partial) mission for author B's institution, so the latter agrees to cover travel cost (lodging and flights). They might be able to buy tickets / reserve a hotel directly, or pay a reimbursement.
Author B's institution handles (and pays) the registration of Author A to the conference - with A's name of course! Or A gets a reimbursement for the registration fee from B's institution.
Author A gets a honorary into his own pocket from author B's institution for preparing and giving the presentation of author B's contribution to the paper, and pays part of the travel cost out of this own pocket (be careful with taxes etc., but if the honorary is not more than the personally covered cost I would hope it's not a problem in author A's legislation).
Author A's institution initially covers all cost, but since it's also partially done for Author B's institution, they issue a bill with the previously agreed contribution.

Universities as well as research institutes should generally have a process for reimbursing someone not employed at the place - it's needed for all sorts of things from academic guest speakers to people participating as test subjects in research projects.


Is it possible to add a co-author in conference paper?

The likely answer is yes, but it is the conference committee that makes the rules here. You need to seek advice from them.

Alternatively, and maybe a better path, is to just do it and submit the paper with the appropriate authors. If the committee has a problem with it they will tell you, but I doubt that would occur.

But you say abstract in one place and manuscript in another. I'm assuming that the abstract was just a placeholder for what was to come. Acceptance wasn't based on the authors, but on the content of the abstract. Most conferences want to publish and promote the highest quality work. That would probably outweigh other considerations. But they may want to just publish the abstract, in which case they might judge it differently.

But they make the rules. We don't.


Why do we not introduce the concepts and professions of "Academia" to younger students?

In terms of work:

Because the world is gigantic and varied and for all its intriguing features, academia is only a small part of it.

Think about your high school cohort and where they ended up. Some of them are seeking a baccalaureate degree. Many aren't. Some of the latter group are in trades, others working retail or food-service, others health or other personal service, others finance, and so on. The number that will even so much as consider a career in academia is tiny; the number that will actually achieve one even smaller. Why, then, privilege academic work?

In terms of information sources:

I do think it would be worthwhile for more high-school-age students to be taught a little epistemology ("how we know what we know") with specific reference to academic research. This happens to some extent with science fairs and National History Day and so on, but more would be welcome!

Again, though, academic research is only one information source among many... and given how much of it is paywalled away from everyone who isn't a career academic, what's the point of making a big deal out of it to people who mostly won't ever have access to it?


Search for StackExchange citations with Google Scholar

According to this answer to "Publications that cite Stack Exchange":

Legally, anyone citing a Stack Exchange post must credit the author's user profile (among other things), which looks something like this:
https://site.stackexchange.com/users/#####/username

A Google Scholar search for "stackexchange.com/users/" yields many results.


How does Faculty of Graduate Studies work?

I can't comment on the specifics of the Canadian system, but in general the university wishes to ensure that standards and requirements for (say) a PhD in theoretical physics are equivalent to those for a PhD in German Literature. Thus, the faculty of graduate studies will be responsible for establishing the basic structure and standards to which the various graduate programs must conform. They then delegate the detailed implementation of any given program to the department concerned.

In practice, this may indeed generate all sorts of "interesting" internal politics, as the faculty of graduate studies attempts to justify its existence, and the departments try to assert their independence.


My guess is that "optimal outcomes" may have the same problem as "likelihood" etc.

One possibility would be to restructure the sentence a bit, for example

  Such-and-so procedures promote ... (perhaps "success").

It's much easier to help with a question like this if you give us some of the actual language you're going to use.


Is there a max number of authors for a paper of math?

No: Authorship is governed by the number of contributing mathematicians, rather than some arbitrary limit.


How to define the scope of exploratory research?

A good bit of my own research falls into something like your "exploratory" category, and I think my own approach to it would best be described as "publish early and often."

My basic feeling is as follows: if you're doing good work, why hide that work from your community while saving up for the "big paper"?  Every time you hit an interesting and significant milestone, it's worth considering whether to put it into a paper---that way you can get feedback, others in your community who are interested can learn about what's working and what's not working in that direction of investigation, they can start getting interested in your work and start collaborating and citing you, and you also never have to worry about being scooped.

In computer science, where I work, such a strategy is well-supported by the range of peer-reviewed publication opportunities.  Small and preliminary results go into workshops, larger ones to conferences, longer-term "archival" work to journals.  It's also nice that the workshops and conferences turn up on a regular basis with fixed deadlines, so I can look at the state of my work and ask: "Do I currently have chunk of new work of appropriate size for this publication opportunity?"  Journal special issues are great for this purpose as well---just submitting generically to a journal is far to easy to let slip back one month at a time while you wait for "just this one more thing."  I don't know if your field also has meaningful peer reviewed conferences, but I have noticed that in those fields without such, there is a generally some equivalent in journals, ranging from more narrow-community journals that may be receptive to smaller steps to high-impact "big hit" journals.

Now, if you're in a field that worships the impact factor or if you're trying to get patents or build a company, then you may want to save up your big hits instead.  I have been fortunate enough to be in fields / sub-fields that appreciate publications evidencing a research program, and I find that to be a useful and collegial way to behave.


Prospects for getting an assitantship | How do professors hire in Canada?

First of all, the notion of " top engineering school in Canada " only makes sense in the academic bubble. I did my B.Eng., M.Sc.A. and PhD in a lesser-known French-speaking university in Montreal (École de technologie supérieure) and I work with people from Stanford, MIT, UBC, UWaterloo, etc. I did go to UBC for an international internship program during my bachelor's degree and it has many things going for it including the magnificent scenery, but I didn't go there for my postgraduate studies even if it does have an excellent reputation and better name recognition. All this to say that, in my opinion, you shouldn't put more pressure on yourself because it's UBC or any other brand. Amazing research is being done in places you've never heard of. You could lessen your burden by de-narrowing your scope.

To answer your question directly, to my knowledge, it is common for professors to share their research enthusiastically with prospective students regardless of if they think they'll hire them or not. There are too many unquantifiable variables to ascribe any sort of value to the chance of getting the assistantship you're seeking. What I can tell you is that professors are starving for competent students. If you're competent relative to your peers, you can bet you have more than a coin flip's chance of getting it. This is as close to an actual measure as I think you can get.


In most math PhD programs in the US [I believe most turns to "all" as you approach the pure side of the mathematical spectrum] students are admitted and funded by an admissions committee representing the department as a whole, not primarily by the recommendations (or funding) of individual faculty members.

So if you are contemplating showing this work to a professor in the hope of getting admitted to that department's PhD program: that is not a very direct route.  If you are applying to that department anyway, then by all means contact all faculty members with whom you feel a connection and especially in the situation you described.  You should also mention this work in your application, e.g. in your statement of purpose.  That way it is likely that the admissions committee will contact the faculty member and ask about your case.  If you have correctly answered a question from one of their papers [and especially if this answer has not already appeared elsewhere in the literature; it would be a good idea to try to find that out], then they are certainly likely to put in a good word for your application.  However, you should understand that students are being judged mostly on the quality of their coursework, the present state of their mathematical knowledge and their potential for future achievements, and not very much on their own research achievements [e.g. because it is common for top candidates to have no research achievements].  So you should not expect this to offset any major weaknesses in your application.

By the way, having no letters of recommendation is a major weakness: in fact, it will cause your application not to be considered at most programs I know.  Maybe your idea is rather to get into a correspondence with this professor that will allow them (in time) to write a letter for you?  If so: yes, that could work.

By the way, I am currently the Graduate Coordinator [and ex officio chair of the graduate admissions committee] of the mathematics department at the University of Georgia.


Should I list my degrees chronologically, or in order of relevance in my CV?

I would stick to the standard listing. As you say, the reader wants to spend only 10 seconds, so don't write it in a way that might confuse them. If you list a lower ranked degree before a higher ranked one, they may stop reading at what they imagine the end.

In general it probably isn't good to get too clever in lists of things. Be clever in your letter and interviews.


As a new faculty, should I attend students' thesis defense in my department but not in my field?

It's normal to advertise PhD defenses broadly in some systems; in many cases defenses are open to the public (at least in part; detailed questioning by the committee is often separate), but as in just about everything in Academia this varies by university/field/country.
It's not expected that everyone that receives such a notice/invitation should attend, but there may be some benefits for you in doing so: you see how defenses are carried out in the department, you learn what your colleagues are up to, you participate in the community of your department.
There are also advantages for the student. I'm in an interdisciplinary field myself, and while I don't understand all the details of research for people in areas further from mine, it is expected that a thesis defense cater to both a broad and narrow audience. Someone who can fit in the same department should be able to get something out of it, even if it isn't narrowly in their research field. PhD students in my program were even required to have one outside person from the department on their thesis committee (not outside the university, as is common in some other areas, but outside their field of interest) to help encourage that breadth of target audience.
I doubt everyone in your department attends every thesis defense in the department, but one good way to find out is to just show up for one. Hopefully you'll learn something new, and maybe you'll have an opportunity to ask a useful "outsider" question. I think it's extremely unlikely you will suffer any direct harm from not attending (that is, I doubt anyone will see it as rude or keep a written tally of who doesn't attend defenses), but you might miss out on opportunity.


Is it OK to use "/" in scientific writing?

"It's best to avoid using and/or," Mignon Fogarty, Grammar Girl, "You'd be hard pressed to find a style guide that doesn't admonish you to drop and/or and rewrite the sentence with just and or just or."

Rather than "Many of these articles belong to School of Thought A and/or School of Thought B," try

  Many of these articles belong to School of Thought A, School of Thought B, or both.


Is it acceptable to email an author to ask for a copy of his book that is currently out of print?

A question like this is almost always acceptable to ask. I cannot imagine that somebody will take offense at this, and I expect most academics appreciate high-school students looking for help and a reliable source, and I expect most will try to help if they have the time. However, time is big limitation for most academics, so do not be put-off if the author doesn't respond, or possibly bluntly mentions they cannot help. This will not be personal.
Make sure to keep your email polite, but especially, make it to the point. They will not really care about your life story, but introduce yourself as a high-school student, introduce your topic/research and mention that you want to use their book, but are not able to find it and don't have the funds to buy it, and ask if there is any chance that they can help you by the means you proposed, but do not outright ask if they can send you a copy for free. Thank them for any time they invest.


Contribution vs. novelty in the papers, especially in computer science?

It depends.  Novelty simply means "something that hasn't been done before", while "contribution" specifically talks about pushing the state of the art and solving a problem that hasn't previously been solved (or solving an old problem better).

To illustrate the point, assume you are working on a big data application and you realize that no one yet has ever tried algorithm X on that problem.  You apply algorithm X and try to publish simply because no one has done so before.  This is novelty, but it probably wouldn't be considered a contribution unless algorithm X is clearly better and you provide a solid justification for why.

A contribution is all about pushing the boundaries of what is known.  To continue our example, let's say now that you produced a new algorithm, Y, and are able to prove that in this specific problem it is better compared to other algorithms.  Then this would be both novel and a contribution.

When writing a paper with a "contributions" section, you usually should stick to the contributions in the sense described above - how does this work push the boundaries of the field.

It should be clear from the introduction that:

A problem exists in the field that hasn't yet been solved (or that can be solved better)
Your work solves/helps that problem (this is the novelty - if your work doesn't do this, then what's the point?)

Then in your contribution section, you can specifically explain what your contribution is ("we propose an algorithm for... that uses... to solve...")


How to check international academic credentials/degrees?

There are a number of checks that can be done.

You can ask for a copy of their degrees but for added comfort you can ensure that they get a third party to certify them. For example I know in Ireland you can get a lawyer to view the original of a document, they photocopy it and certify that it is a true copy.
You could ask the graduation department of their university to confirm that they graduated with their degree.
In cases where the certificates are in a foreign language you could have a pre-approved translation service that the applicants have to use to translate any documents. Again for example (in a different field) when my brother and his wife emigrated to a country in the UAE the immigration office would only accept their official documents if they had being translated by a certain translation service provider.


Omitted from paper for which I gathered data

If you gathered data for a manuscript, you should generally be given a chance to participate in the writing of that manuscript and to become an author of the resulting paper.  Moreover, it sounds like this was an explicit understanding at the time when you started the project, in which case it would be even more clearly inappropriate to renege without a clear discussion.

Regarding what you should do: the first key question is whether you have documentation of the earlier plans the PI had made with you, e.g., in email.  If so, then you have a much clearer and less ambiguous position.  If not, then it is possible that there might be a legitimate misunderstanding---or that the PI might attempt to convince people that this is the case.

I would then recommend beginning by talking with your advisor.  I would also recommend approaching the subject not by claiming that you have been wronged, but from a perspective of discomfort and concern about the situation.  Your advisor will probably have longer experience with this colleague and a better outsider perspective and can hopefully help to either mediate the situation or else point you to the appropriate people in the department or larger university who can do so (e.g., ombudsmen).  The best case scenario, however, is that this can all be sorted out amicably with a minimum of fireworks, and a quiet approach beginning with your advisor is a likely good path for doing so.


Google Scholar citation missing because of name mismatch?

I would suggest that you email Nature, and the authors of the publication providing proof that they have not cited your work correctly. If either of them address this issue - which they should - then you should end up with the citation being correctly attributed to you.

On a side note I would suggest that you sign up to ORCID so that you claim a unique identifier for your research.

  As researchers and scholars, you face the ongoing challenge of
  distinguishing your research activities from those of others with
  similar names. You need to be able to easily and uniquely attach your
  identity to research objects such as datasets, equipment, articles,
  media stories, citations, experiments, patents, and notebooks. As you
  collaborate across disciplines, institutions and borders, you must
  interact with an increasing number and diversity of research
  information systems. Entering data over and over again can be
  time-consuming, and often frustrating.

  ORCID is an open, non-profit, community-driven effort to create and
  maintain a registry of unique researcher identifiers and a transparent
  method of linking research activities and outputs to these
  identifiers. ORCID is unique in its ability to reach across
  disciplines, research sectors and national boundaries. It is a hub
  that connects researchers and research through the embedding of ORCID
  identifiers in key workflows, such as research profile maintenance,
  manuscript submissions, grant applications, and patent applications.


Is it a good idea to put equations in a research proposal?

While I am not a physicist (I'm a mathematician, but this doesn't particularly make me any more partial to equations), the point behind the quote on that website is that you want your proposals to be easy to understand, and not make the reviewer wade through a sea of technicalities.  Since you're writing for experts, if equations make the proposal easier to read and understand, please use them.  Everything should be made as simple as possible...


Is it possible to attend grad school in cognitive sciences without a medical degree?

At least in the US, a neuroscience or cognitive science PhD program generally admits people with undergrad or masters degrees, which generally can't be medical degrees since many US schools do not offer medical degrees at those levels.

So the answer to your first question is yes.

As for the specifically a math background, I expect that most schools would consider such an application. Even in fields that have corresponding undergrad majors, it's not uncommon for people to enter PhD programs from very different undergrad studies. An application would have to address the question of having an adequate background and understanding of what the field is like.


How do graduate schools in Mathematics view advanced graduate courses taken at a less prestigious undergraduate institution?

For context: I am a relatively senior faculty member in a math dept at a fairly well-ranked state university in the U.S., ... and have been involved in graduate admissions, advising, etc., for 35+ years.

First, at nearly every (but not every...) U.S. university, the purely undergrad curriculum is a bit lightweight for people wanting to go to a serious graduate program. Thus, to have a more serious-looking undergrad transcript, it is highly desirable to have some "graduate-level courses".

Second, the content and demands of "graduate courses" vary widely. There is no enforcing authority, etc. But, at least, such things explicitly aim to address mathematics for future mathematicians, as opposed to just having some course-of-study for U.S. bachelor's-degree requirements. (Whose breadth is generally a good thing, but whose "major area" requirements are very thin by world-wide standards.)

So, no, taking grad courses at X versus Y are not automatically equivalent. But nevermind about that. Take as many, and as advanced, courses as you have available to you. And reading courses with faculty.


Is providing a slow response to journal reviews a common/good strategy for minimizing the number of review requests?

I can imagine someone purposefully delaying reviews, but in my experience it's not a widespread or standard part of mathematical practice, and I haven't heard it offered as common advice.  I don't think referees have an obligation to inconvenience themselves to finish a review as quickly as they can, but it seems bizarre to deliberately delay when it would have been convenient to complete the review earlier (or, worse yet, when it was already done but not yet sent).

I don't see a real risk here, or a need to avoid review requests.  There's nothing wrong with turning them down, and you can use a vague excuse like that you are already busy with other refereeing and don't want to cause unnecessary delays for this submission.  In fact, a prompt reply will be appreciated; it already puts you ahead of the people who require reminders to reply to referee requests.  (When a referee declines quickly, there's almost no cost, while it's annoying if I send several e-mails over a period of weeks but never hear back.)  From my perspective as an editor, I'm not looking for people who will complete a review as quickly as possible.  Instead, my ideal referee is someone who is responsive and reliable, who promptly lets me know what they can reasonably do and then does it within the timeframe they estimated.  If they do that, they can turn down as many requests as they like.


Should I rewrite completely an extended paper?

A rewrite is a matter of how you an expand your manuscript. i am sure you can start by using the existing text and add whatever is needed. Once that has been accomplished, or during that process, you will get a sense of whether the new material requires some or complete reorganisation of the original manuscript. so there is no clear answer, yes or no, it will clearly depend on the original manuscript and the material you add.

To start by completely rewriting everything does not sound like an efficient method unless you feel such an approach will free your mind from constraints imposed by the old manuscript. As a rule, I would say use the old manuscript as a basis since complete rewriting would probably take much more time. I am sure certain parts of the manuscript could easily be modified while particularly the results and the discussions sections is where most of the work will be.

Regarding the self-plagiarism, it has become evident from posts on Academia.sx that this is seen differently in different disciplines. You need to check with colleagues in the discipline about this issue but the fact that there is a request for the product you aim to produce indicates that no such issues exist.


Admitted to plagiarizing (second misconduct), and afraid of expulsion. In need of advice

Consider asking to meet with your Professor (e.g. during reception hours). At that meeting, or by email if you can't schedule a meeting, ask her for a copy of the report she submitted. Alternatively, ask the disciplinary body if a procedure has been opened involving you, and if it has, ask for a copy of the complaint through there. If your Professor asks what you need it for (which she shouldn't, it's obvious) - tell her that you're anxious and it's important for you to know how your story was reflected to the higher authorities, given that it involves all sorts of circumstances and details.

This may not solve any of your problems but at least you'll know what you're up against better.


How to remove my name from submitted paper

Submitting a manuscript without the consent of the co-authors is scientific misconduct.  You colleague needs to be made aware of that, if they are not already. If they are willing to withdraw the submission once they are aware of the potential seriousness of the issue, then that is the simplest resolution. You might also be willing to simply remove yourself from the manuscript in order to get out of the situation, but that is definitely a lesser choice.
If they understand your objection but do not care, then options become much less pleasant.  In order of recommendation, I would suggest:

Contact the journal to withdraw the manuscript. If the journal is honest but just not very highly ranked, then they should be willing to engage with you and your co-author on this, because they will not want to support such misconduct.
If the journal will not act, then you can contact your colleague's supervisor. You don't say if they are a student or a professor, but in any case there will be somebody who has authority over them who has responsibility for dealing with misconduct by your colleague.
Ultimately, if all of these paths fail (e.g., your colleague is happily dealing with a predatory publisher and their department doesn't care), you might just have an embarrassing thing out there with your name on it that you have no control over. In that case, just leave it off your CV and tell anybody who asks you about it that your name was used without your consent.  Don't worry about it too much, though: at that level of misconduct, your name could have been used without you ever being involved. Just like having your credit card stolen, once you've done your due diligence to deal with the situation, it basically ceases to be your problem.


University metalshop / makerlab - metric or imperial?

The decision will be decided based on where, or in what, you think the resulting parts will be used. Since you are in the US, going for the imperial would make most sense.If you start machining metric based parts you will soon find that you may have problems adding off the shelf parts. I think the sound way forward is to figure out if you will depend on parts from elsewhere and to what extent these will likely be metric or imperial. Being able to switch will solve some issues but as you state, if there are mechanical differences in the machinery, you may end up with less accurate parts when switching to whatever system the machinery was not made for.


How can I increase my productivity through my daily habits?

Actually, my advice would be quite different from "work smart", though there are aspects of that also.

Get enough sleep. Every day. If you have exams, don't "cram" for them or stay up too late. Make sure you work steadily enough so that cramming isn't necessary and a brief review of essentials is all that is required. Just review your notes (and summaries).

Get enough exercise. Every day. Part of it is aerobic if possible, though just walking can also be a benefit. The time it takes for this isn't "wasted" as it lets your mind integrate the things you are learning.

Eat healthy and on a regular schedule. Avoid high caffeine and high sugar snacks. Or, limit them, at least. Avoid fad diets for balanced diets with fruit and veggies included.

Engage socially with people, face to face. At least a bit. Don't close yourself off.

Generally, watch your health and deal promptly with any issues. Don't neglect mental health.

As for the "work smart" part:

Take a lot of notes. Summarize those notes. Paper is known to be better than electronic (yes, there is research) as it engages your mind more completely.

Do a lot of reinforcement, such as by doing a lot exercises in your courses. Get a lot of feedback on what you do and what you write. Strongly prefer working on exercises over looking at solutions.

Ask for help when you need it, but try to answer your own questions first so you can respond intelligently to "What have you tried?".

Don't let social media dominate your life. Step away from the keyboard.

Have a schedule for work and play. It can be flexible, but stick to it unless there is a sufficient reason to deviate.


Valuation of existing Systematic Literature reviews before starting a new one

Yes and yes:

"Can I refer these to justify my review with the fact that they do not cover my whole research area?" When publishing any scholarly research, it is important to demonstrate the originality of your work. If you can show that people have done work similar to yours yet not quite on topic or not as comprehensive, then it shows that you are aware of other scholars' work and that you are clear on your unique contribution to the body of related literature.

"or refer some interesting points raised by existing reviews in my review?" Since the other reviews are similar, then certainly you should summarize and quote them on aspects that do have some bearing to your own topic. After all, you probably learned something from reading them that informed your own work; you should present these parts to your readers for their learning as well.


Is it a good idea to use Interfolio service for tenure track applications?

Speaking as someone running a faculty search committee, I doubt we'd even notice, as long as your application materials and recommendation letters are properly entered into our own application system.

On the other hand, many faculty recruiting processes (including mine) only request recommendation letters after applications have passed the first round of reviewing.  In that case, I would be a little suspicious of an application that suggested using fdje28dn@interfolio.com instead of name@mit.edu to request a letter from a well-known professor at MIT.


Computer Science vs Computer Graphics Masters

I'd look at this a little like a wager on where you want to go in the future.

If you'd like to do a PhD in the future, then focus on the fundamentals will pay off. I can't think of a single PhD that wouldn't benefit from stronger research and math skills. Especially if you want to go on to a PhD, ensure that you're getting the background in research --- typically this will mean a focus on thesis based programs.

If you're unsure of where you want to go afterwards, be aware, that a good master's program in Computer Science, is unlikely to close any doors for you, whereas a focus on Computer Graphics may mean that it's more difficult to make the transition into a different field later should you decide it's not for you.


Consequences of applying to both research and staff positions at the same school simultaneously

At the same school, it would depend on how closely related those two positions are and how likely the same person is to see the same positions.

Let's say you are a biomedical scientist. Let's say that Professor Smith is hiring a postdoctoral researcher in your field, but the Center for Awesome Research that he works in is also hiring an administrative research role (let's say a grants coordinator) that you're interested in. The chances that Professor Smith sees both of those applications is significant, although how high it is depends on how involved in the administration of the Center he is. This could be bad. Professor Smith might think that you aren't really serious about research if you are applying for administrative roles. Likewise, the person hiring for that admin role might think you're only applying as a backup and that you really want to be a scientist. Net result is that you get neither interview.

(Now, of course, that might not happen; Professor Smith might not really care because you are excellent or reason that you are simply trying to keep options open; the admin position hiring manager may decide that this job is your true passion. Or neither may see the other's application. But it's a risk.)

Now, let's say that you apply for a biomedical research scientist position at the medical school but you also apply for a position in institutional research at the main campus. The chances that the hiring managers for those two positions will find out that you applied for the other one is probably really close to zero. So that would probably be ok.

In general, you should probably try to apply to those admin/staff positions at different institutions from where you apply for the scientist roles, but applying to admin/staff positions that are pretty separate from the science roles in terms of administrative structure would probably be fine.


Giving a Professor a Gift After They Inadvertently Suggested I Do So

You are probably overthinking it. I guess the intent of the professor's comment was really, "It isn't necessary, but at the outer limits, something of inconsequential monetary value".

Would you consider giving a gift to the professor in other circumstances, not related to academia? If not, then it isn't needed here. Express thanks in an email or with a greeting card (again, the outside limits).

There is one sort of gift, however, that is appreciated in some circumstances. If the student comes from a different country, especially one with a different culture, then a small token from that place might be treasured. Something that might be picked up at a tourist kiosk, say. I've accepted and retained a few of these. They have almost no monetary value, but represent a connection that the student values. I can see one of them, now, from where I sit.

I once went out for lunch with a bunch of students from a foreign land. They wanted to buy my lunch. I thought it more appropriate that I pay for their lunch. But sometimes you have to accept something because the gift is heartfelt and it would be insulting to refuse it. That isn't the case as you describe it.


how to include editorial work in list of publications

Contributions such as editorial work must go under "Scientific and Academic Activities" in a CV and not under "Publications", because for it to be posted under "Publications" one must be an author on that publication (which editors are not).


Is there a recommended font and size for a job application?

It really doesn't matter what font you choose, as long as it's not unprofessional.  You can safely choose any font you might use for a research paper, 10 to 12 points in size (preferably 11 or 12, for the benefit of those with poor eyesight, but 10 is OK).  It's not worth worrying about this too much.  You can't help your chances through elegant typography, and the only way you can hurt them is if you do something ridiculous.  Any effects on readability are probably small, and I don't think most hiring committee members have strong opinions on the matter (while the ones who do don't always agree).


Is it okay to get a Reference Letter from a PhD holder with years of experience in a related field that is not a Professor?

Letters of recommendation are not restricted to professors (unless directions specifically require that).

Someone who has a PhD who acted as your research supervisor should be qualified to make a judgment about your potential as a researcher, which is usually what admissions committees are interested in when they review applications.


Journal unsatisfied with revisions after acceptance, author proofs and copyright

Unfortunately, these things do happen sometimes, and there's not much you can do about it.  If the journal does not want to publish your paper yet, there's not much you can do to get it to publish your paper without carrying out the revisions that they request.  At least they caught their mistake before it was actually published, unlike in this case at PLOS ONE, so you don't have a retraction on your record.

I would suggest you treat this just as any other request for revision: improve the paper and hope that the next revision is sufficient for publication.


How to highlight language abilities in cover letter for a scientific research position?

To address your specific question, I would propose the following sentence for your letter (or something similar to your liking) to highlight your language skills. I would position it toward the bottom, in the concluding paragraph:

  I also believe that my fluency in Welsh will contribute to my ability
  to effectively support the university's bilingual nature.

(alternative wording):

  ...the university's mission of bilingual service.

I would not worry about providing any additional evidence of Welsh proficiency (as a letter written in the language) as you only want to submit the exact documents required in the application, nothing more. If there will be any need to ascertain your language ability, it can be easily done in a quick chat as part of your interview process or by phone.

Good luck!


Tips for being the first graduate student of a PI?

Speaking from the US perspective, there are a couple of pros and cons I can make:

CONS:

You will be the one who sets up a research environment (especially if you are only grad student of your PI, and no postdoc involves). Setting up the lab, the equipment, learning softwares, training newcomers will fall on you. And you will be expected to keep up with classes at the same time.
If your PI hasn't written a grant proposal before or doesn't have the grant to cover most expenses, you will feel the pressure getting useful data to support the proposal. This pressure will be more than what your peers feel. If their grant is not enough to fund you until the end of your MS/Ph.D., you will most likely end up in a stressful situation financially.
Even though you did your rotation with them, you probably do not have a clear idea about your PI's personality and won't have any students of them to ask.
Since your PI will not be tenured yet; if they cannot get tenure on time or their position is ended earlier than expected by the university, you might have to find another PI and even change your project completely.
The entire grad school experience might be lonely and isolating for you.

PROS:

You will have a lot of room to grow, and you will have more freedom about what you are doing compared to other graduate students.
You will learn the skills that other PhDs will probably learn in their postdoc years or later.
You will be involved and exposed to all aspects of research. This would be very valuable in both academia and industry.
New PIs are most likely to collaborate with other PIs, so there is a chance your name will end up in more publications compared to other graduate students.
Your PI will also grow with you, and there will be a learning curve for them too. It can be an excellent chance to establish a great friendship and support each other.

Overall, it is essential to establish a good working relationship and learn to say no when necessary. Do not be afraid to say when it is overwhelming or if you cannot handle it. In the end, you are the student, and they are the PI. They are there to support and advise you. I hope you have a great graduate school experience. :)


Publishing dissertation chapters instead of a monograph

Would you publish the dissertation as articles and then think of a new project for a future book publication?

Yes, I would. Your mentor is right.


Translating French Academic Titles to English

I would just use it as is.

In the US, if I search for the formal title I get sent to the French Wikipedia site. Even with my limited French (long ago and far away) I can understand the meaning. In particular, that it is a "superior" title, implying the doctorate or equivalent has been earned.

Some people and in some places there is sensitivity about titles. In general, I'd suggest being, yourself, sensitive to that.

My conclusion from a perusal of the Wikipedia is that it is similar to what we would here call a "professor", but maybe not a "Professor". The former is a job description, the latter is a title and the title may mean different things in different places. But the job description is likely enough.

And, of course, it isn't primarily a language question at all. There are different academic traditions in different countries and words (simple phrases) aren't always subtle enough for the differences.

And, of course, in some parts of Canada, French is the preferred language.

A funny story just appeared in the news. A woman from France was denied something like "permanent residence" in Quebec because her French wasn't deemed "good enough."


Can a paper proposing an algorithm use pseudocode only (and not a high-level mathematical description)?

I would say that it strongly depends on the target conference/journal that you will be submitting to. For instance, if you plan to submit to e.g., Algorithmica I wouldn't say that this would be suggested. But if for instance, you plan to submit on a conference that is not algo-oriented, then a high-level mathematical representation might be replaced with a detailed pseudocode along with the appropriate explanation.
But, even if this is the case, there is still the matter of

Completeness
Converging

I do believe, that you would need at least some mathematical representations in order to convince the reviewers about those two points. And in many cases, those are not THAT hard to prove, but once again, this also depends on your algorithm and your application.
So to answer your question, it is possible that you will be asked during the peer-review at least for the completeness of your approach. So I would put a bit of effort in order to justify this point.


How does having baby affect tenure track offer or tenure track success?

(Just to put my experience first: I'm a man, and had my first child about 7 months ago, around the same time I went up for tenure.)

This is one of those "your mileage may vary pretty massively" questions.  My general recommendation is that it's better to have to the baby once you're more established in your job, but there are so many moving parts, no single recommendation can work.

Some people have a less productive year the first year they are on the tenure-track (I don't think I did), but in many disciplines, that's because they are assembling a lab, which I'm not sure you want to be doing with a new baby either.  In my opinion, the minuses you list are pretty big.

If I were going on the job market as a pregnant woman, I would be very worried about unconscious discrimination.  I don't think you would have problems with this most places, but it often just takes a couple of people in a department to sink your candidacy, and they could be influenced by the pregnancy without knowing it.

I think also you're neglecting the fact that if you have your baby after starting your new job, you will probably be eligible for maternity leave.  Most places I of in practice give a semester of maternity or paternity leave, though with some caveats (at my current institution, it's usually possible to get a semester off teaching, but with other service duties still required after the first few weeks).  I've known people who had babies late in postdocs who really lamented missing out on this.

The matter of your reputation with colleagues is pretty hard to game out.  I'm sure there do exist departments where showing up either with a new baby or immediately becoming pregnant might make a bad impression.  This would mean your colleagues are jerks, but unfortunately, it's hard to guarantee your colleagues won't be jerks. I feel like it's likely to be a wash though, since colleagues can just as easily be weird about the fact that you have a baby, as that you are pregnant.


Download automatically all articles from references in a pdf file or on a journal website

As far as I know, there is no automated service to do this. One of the reasons is that mass download of research papers is frowned upon by the publishers (look up the sad story of Aaron Swartz, for instance).

If you want to build an automated (or semi-automated) solution yourself, one of the trickiest steps is identifying correctly the cited papers from the citation strings. For this you can use a research paper database, such as Scopus, Web of Science, or Pubmed. For instance, Scopus displays the references of a given paper in its page, and for each paper you get a "view at publisher" link that redirects you to the article page on the publisher website. This web page usually has a "download pdf" link inside it (usually paywalled, too), and since most papers come from the same major publishers it is should be possible to scrape this link automatically at least for these publishers.

Unfortunately the paper that you link to does not seem to be indexed neither in Scopus nor in Web of Science --- maybe because Hindawi is not one of these most "mainstream" publishers. It is in Pubmed, though. I am less familiar with it, but if you click on the references you also get a page with a "full text" link in it.

Note that Google Scholar does not display "forward" citation information, instead; only the reverse (papers citing a certain paper).

As mentioned in the other answers, you may be violating some terms of service if you do so. Terms of service are not the law, though, and I think you can only get into a very limited amount of trouble for that.

A Google search returns a few tools to do similar things:

https://github.com/ppwwyyxx/SoPaper
https://github.com/zaytoun/scihub.py
https://github.com/olivettigroup/article-downloader
https://pypi.python.org/pypi/metapub

I do not have experience with any of them, though, and I don't know if they are mature/stable enough for casual use.


Should I post publications in preparation (or just submitted) on my CV?

Don't put anything in your CV you cannot justify if asked. A CV is not just a list of your accomplishments, it's a list of material you can provide to a recruiting committee in order to help them make a decision.

In a same way that if you claim to have a given degree, you should be ready to provide the corresponding credentials, if you claim to you have a paper under review, you should be ready to provide the submission.

In other words, you can list in your CV your submitted work, but not the pieces of work that are "almost submitted", unless you're ready to provide the draft if asked (the question is: if the draft is not submitted, that probably means it's not ready, therefore can you provide it?). If it's possible with the journal/conference policy, you can even put your submitted version on a pre-print site, such as arXiv.

On going work can go into the "research statement" part of your CV, where you can explain the different ideas you're working on, and even give the key concepts.


Can an Iranian journal accept submissions from Israeli researchers?

As it is mentioned by others, it does not hurt if you contact the editor and simply ask. However, as an Iranian, I am nearly sure that you are not allowed to do so. It does not work to think logically about the question. Iran and Israel relation is in such a bad state that it effects all aspects of the society. I think that it creates a lot of unwanted problems for the editors that committed to it if they accept to review or publish your paper.
If you are curious about publishing in that journal, you may need to use other affiliations of yourself (e.g. IEEE member) and a non country-specific email domain, as in this case they probably do not notice to your nationality.


How should I write an appropiate email for a PhD position?

Welcome to Academia.SE; I personally think that many parts of this question are clearly addressed in answers to some other questions on this site; and I think that this may be closed. Just read the existing questions which answer many of your questions about writing emails, questions on requirements, language tests, etc.
As a general hint to form your emails, you should be specific in your emails about what mutual research interests are with the potential advisor you are contacting and how your academic background may help the research team with their current and on-going projects. This may be shown by mentioning your related projects you have been involved in, parts of programming and codes you have developed which can be found over an online repository or publications, papers and reports you have had out of your research projects and masters thesis.
Moreover you may attach a complete resume and possibly a portfolio which shows your academic activities to the potential advisor and make sure you narrate your resume and edit it to contain publications and activities which are specifically related to the topics of interest of the research group you are eager to join.
Official required documents like degree reports, language tests and recommendations are sometimes required to be pressented to the admissions committee of the university you want to join. Some of these (like funding letters and language reports) are required for students visa applications which may be less of attention to the advisor and more of importance to official procedures.
Good luck with your search and hope you find a good desired PhD position.


Are there actually students who learn by watching?

I am not an expert in cognitive science or psychology but I have a few years of teaching assistant experience behind me so I will have a go at this one and I suspect that a few others might even agree with me.

My general roles are in leading discussion sections and in lab sessions (information science: so combination of coding and data analysis in context with social science literature)

Now learning by watching aka observational learning is not a new concept. Scientists have been studying this for a long, long time. However, note the example literature cited in the previous links. There is a marked difference in learning how to strike a Bobo doll and acquiring a complex skill such as deriving Newton Law's of Motion

Having laid all of this expository work, I would like to argue that personally, I believe that observational learning exists and happens in the natural world around us. I just don't believe that one can acquire complex mathematical notions and concepts just by observing (unless this girl is some sort of a savant).

I think that this student was just trying to make you do her homework problems for her.


Acknowledgement section is actually a place where a researcher specifies the contributions of other people/organizations or even the TV show like in your case, to the research. However, it mostly transformed into one/two page to thank first your advisor/coadvisor than colleagues than your friends than family and if there is, your significant other.

I really don't understand why it evolved to that but still, you can really write whatever you want there.

"I want to acknowledge "" TV show as their performance greatly helped me to write and tidy up my thesis". I would write like this.


In general, TA salaries are not negotiable, but are instead set by a department or school for all students. There may be some "wiggle room" in special cases: for example, if you have already served as a TA and have experience, there may be a higher level of pay available under such circumstances.

In the event that your school allows for negotiations, I would say in any case that you would have to provide a solid argument for why you deserve more than the standard salary. Do you already have teaching experience? How much? Where?


This is a good question, but there is no consensus as to a good answer.  Some people think mathematics is obviously a science, some people think it obviously isn't, and some just aren't sure.

It's common to include mathematics as a special case of science in general discussions.  For example, universities usually classify mathematics under the sciences, and "scientific publishing" would generally be understood to include mathematics.  However, there are exceptions, and abstract discussions of science often don't apply very well to mathematics.

If this distinction matters in a given case, then you'll have to discuss it explicitly, since you can never assume everyone will agree by default.

  If Math is part of science, what kind of science is it?

The most compelling answer I've heard is that it is a formal science.  However, this terminology is somewhat obscure, and it is certainly not a consensus answer to your question.

  When people say STEM, do they mean Math is separate from Science?

I don't think the intention is to assert that they are definitely separate, but rather just to have an inclusive acronym we can all agree on.


Why shouldn't an unsolicited email asking for opinion include the links to the articles?

I don't think the issue is specifically the links, but that you seem to be asking a lot of the recipient in the initial mail, with, perhaps, too much information. The professor isn't likely to want to follow up on that before contacting you.

On the other hand, not making the information available at all would be an opposite mistake, requiring an additional email just to get access.

The first part of your mail is fine (taking students? interested in xyzzy). But then you could just put nearly all of the rest of it on the web site and provide a single link:

"My current interests are explained at ... Sincerely..."

So, more than nothing, but less than what you have would be, IMO, a better balance.


How to write tedious algebraic manipulations

For this sort of thing, I always fall back on the advice of one of my professors from my PhD coursework.  He said you first write out all the algebra in the paper, then you move it to the appendix because it's too long, then you delete it from the appendix because that's too long, and stick it on your website.  Finally, you delete it from the website because no one looks at it.

Of course this depends entirely on how crucial the computation is to your paper, and it might be good to look at what's done in other papers in your specific field.  But generally speaking, I think you can frequently trust your reader's ability to do tedious algebra if they so desire.

One bit of middle ground that I see a lot is to describe what you do without showing it.  For example, if you present three equations and two of them are to be substituted into the first at some point, you can write something like "We first solve equation 1 for lambda, then substitute in equations 2 and 3 for alpha and beta.  This gives us equation 4..." That way in one simple sentence you've told the reader exactly how to get to the end result without showing anything more messy than your starting equations and ending equation.

May be unrelated to your field, but in economics I was always fond of Alfred Marshall's advice from 1906:

  (1) Use mathematics as a shorthand language, rather than an engine of inquiry. (2) Keep to them till you have done. (3) Translate into English. (4) Then illustrate by examples that are important in real life. (5) Burn the mathematics. (6) If you can't succeed in (4), burn (3). This last I did often.

Not really indicative of modern economics, but I like the principle regardless.


What is the meaning of 'six-week course'?

It is not uncommon for visiting scholars/professors to give a short high-intensity course during their period of visit. These have little relation to the usual/normal university semester/summer schedule since they are (1) tied to the limited visit of somebody, and (2) aimed at people not burdened by classes on the normal schedule (not undergraduates or early grad students in the US).
I have seen these as a full day once a week, half days several times a week - whatever can fit into the schedules of the visitor and the pool of people who want to take the course.


What is considered appropriate women's attire for a PhD interview in Germany?

I think this is highly field dependent, but in general overdressed is better than underdressed. In fields close to mine (math, computer science) things are quite relaxed, so no one would expect a (skirt) suit (although this would be ok) and nice trousers (usually including jeans) and shirt are most probably ok. Ragged jeans and t-shirt may not always work, though. Avoid wearing something revealing.


What prevents someone from turning the same idea into multiple papers?

Submitting (almost) the same paper, the same content, to two different journals at the same time is bad. Once it comes out, the author will be in a lot of trouble, e.g. reputation, both papers withdrawn, etc.

Reusing old results for a new paper is plagiarism if there are not enough new results. Even if the author of the new paper also wrote the old one, it is still bad. There are cases where different papers by the same author look really similar, for example if the author presents in paper (1) a new technique and then publishes paper (2) on nice results obtained with said technique, he might copy some of the explanations on how the technique works. If this is good or bad seems to be opinion based, all I can say is that it happens.

Regarding your question about what prevents people from doing such things:

Yes, a bad reputation might be one possible reason.
Actually, there are people doing this, e.g. trying to submit their paper to different journals at the same time, hoping that at least one of them will accept it. There was a question here a few weeks back from one who got busted doing it and asked for what to do now to save the sinking ship that was his academic career. The reason why it seems that this is not done might be thanks to journals taking measures against it, e.g. not publishing such papers or withdrawing them later on.
One last point to mention here might be colleagues or advisors. If you feel like it might be a good idea to just spam your results to get them accepted or to get a high paper count, you might get the advice that this is not a good idea in the long run from one of the above - if you are lucky you get it before you do something irreversible.


How much right does the PhD student have to choose his own advisor?

I wouldn't necessarily say that the funding is what gives your department the right to assign you a supervisor, but more so the rules within the department. In my department, we don't follow a strict mentorship philosophy. This means that graduate students often have more than one mentor that they work with throughout the course of their graduate career. There are times when a student loses their advisor (for various reasons) and they are assigned one, and there isn't much a student can do to prevent losing their advisor. However, the norms of our department is that the student may attempt to change their advisor. In other words, students in my department also have little wiggle-room to prevent getting assigned an advisor, but may attempt to change their advisor because that's the rules of the department. From what you explained, it seems like your ex-department gives little right to the student. This is, in my opinion, probably more reflective of the rules and culture of that specific department than the university providing you funding.

The extent to which the situation will negatively affect your future chances of getting into another program will probably depend on how you frame the situation. Obviously, you have taken courses and have transcripts from your previous university that you will have to submit to any new program that you are applying to, and shouldn't try to hide the fact that you ever attended the university. You can probably frame the situation in a way to not place so much attention on the interpersonal clashes between you and the advisor. For instance, you mentioned that you were away from your wife and child for 2 years, seeing them only once per year. This is obviously tough for anyone, and you can discuss how you wanted to spend more time with your family and that also played a large role in your decision as well. You might still want to talk about the department issues you had, but frame the situation to your advantage by not outright focusing on demonizing the former advisor, department head, or department rules. Make that portion a byproduct of personal issues or discuss how it was the one piece that fell down that started the domino effect of other issues you already had, depending on which is true for your case (i.e., also don't make stuff up! Key is to be truthful but focus on matters that won't make you look like a bad investment in the eyes of admission reviewers).


If googling "acceptance rate " does not yield a response, it's a good bet that the data is not online. If you are desperate about this information, you can still try to reach out to previously accepted authors, as sometimes the acceptance rate is communicated as part of the acceptance / rejection letter.

That being said, I really wonder why this info would be so essential to you that you go through great lengths to unearth it.


Citing multiple authors that do not have all statements in their publication

Assuming these papers actually provide convincing evidence for the claims and aren't just "stating" things (i.e. they're good sources for the claims), I would prefer a third option:

"A substantial shift to cycling can reduce health risks (Author A, Author B, Author C), noise and air pollution and space and energy consumption (Author A, Author B)."

That way the citations are as specific and as close to the claims as possible. As for your two options, they have some implications for readers. Keep in mind that the "Golden Rule" of technical writing is to always consider the audience.

  "A substantial shift to cycling can reduce health risks, noise and air pollution and space and energy consumption (Author A, Author B, Author C)."

This option has less specific citations, and is thus somewhat less helpful to your readers. For example, if a reader wants to find out more about the noise claim, which paper do they pick first? Maybe it is the one by Author C because it happens to be the only one not behind a paywall... That's some time wasted right there. Note that this option also maximizes the distance between the health risk claim and the citation to Author C, which is generally the opposite of what you should strive for.

  "A substantial shift to cycling can reduce health risks (Author C), noise and air pollution and space and energy consumption (Author A, Author B)."

This option only uses Author C to support the health claim, and Authors A,B would likely be understood as providing support only for the following claims. Depending on the works in question, that may or may not be what you want to communicate.


After an unsuccessful application for a permanent academic position in the UK, should I call and ask details about the selection procedure?

You can call and ask, but you are unlikely to get anything useful. You will most likely hear that your CV was very good, but that there were stronger applicants. If the head of the search is really good, they might actually look at your CV again and pick a weaker aspect of it (no matter how strong a applicant is, there is always a weaker aspect of the CV).

If you want to know about your relative qualifications, ask whoever is writing your references. If they do not know about the UK system, find a colleague that does and ask them.


In academic papers, is it always necessary to show the full mathematical description of well-accepted norms?

It depends entirely on the specific journal you publish in, as well as the topic of your paper. The paper is meant to be read by other experts in your field: hence if something is well known, it doesn't need to be defined. For the average reader of your paper, will they already know what z-normalization is? If so, you don't need to define it.


Should I not apply to a PhD program when a Potential Advisor gives me a generic response?

In managing responses, you should keep in mind the policies and procedures of respective departments. For instance, in my field, projects aren't discussed until after a student's been admitted, and the decision regarding advisors isn't made until after students enroll. So there's little productive reason for an advisor to discuss projects with prospective students, given the enormous time between the conversation, and when the student would start working.

In addition, keep in mind that professors are busy professionals, and have lots of demands on their time. For instance, the professor you've written to might be on travel, or have some ongoing commitments that preclude a longer answer.

Now, on the other hand, if you're submitting to an individual PhD position, and the professor will hire you "directly," then a generic response isn't so good, unless there's an indication that the professor would like to discuss things further.

Finally, how generic a person's response will be will also depend on how generic or specific your initial inquiry is. If someone "cold calls" me, and "greets" me with "Dear Sir" or "Hello," and doesn't show any signs of explaining why I should consider hiring that individual, I am unlikely to respond at all, because why should I write a personal response to a form letter?


What figure formatting can, should, or will be done by a publisher?

For many years, the standard on the part of journals is to do absolutely nothing with respect to journal articles. Essentially all of the work in terms of preparation falls on the authors. Previously, figures had to be "camera-ready"; now, they "just" have to be publication quality. The journal production staff will not do anything, except potentially change the size of the graphic to better fit the column space.

You should check with the journal about the regulations on acceptable graphics; they should have them available for your review on their website. If there are questions about the use of graphics outside of those guidelines, send an email to the journal office.


How to refer to a Research Training Scheme Place for PhD study as an achievement

One Sentence Description: Recipient of National Research Training Scheme (RTS) Grant for XX University, a program supported by the Australian Commonwealth, authorized by 'The Higher Education Support Act 2003' designed to improve quality of Ph.D. graduates. Received Award for XX years which allowed completion of XX Degree and Dissertation titled "XX".


Do university rankings matter for research?

I think the importance you have to attach to this criterion (university ranking) when finding a new research job (from your question, it appears to be a PhD) is limited, because:

What counts if our research output: your results, and how you communicate them to your community. You want people in your field to recognize you as someone who can tackle difficult problems and design creative and efficient solutions.
Of course, your research may not be so stellar that everyone has heard of you. So, coming from a well-known group with a proven track record is important. You want your research group to be famous, because it reflect well on you.
But it's not that simple… not all group leaders are superstars! Failing that, it is better to be affiliated with a well-known department (or university). You want to be in a university/department that people think is good.
But not all people know all universities well enough to be able to judge them. Those who don't rely on externally published rankings.

See how rankings are introduced only as item #4 in the above list. Thus, even considering only the career advancement side of your question, university ranking is not a primary concern. Sure, it plays a role, but lots of students overestimate that role compared to, say, the importance of your own work and results.


Are there any fields that merges health and space science?

Neither of these fields is my area, so I'll mention an orthogonal path: you could become an expert in something else (e.g., statistics, game theory, programming -- right now the hot thing is machine learning / deep learning, but who know where we'll be in 10+ years), then you can apply that toolkit to both space programs and biomedical programs (whether through a university or through scientific consulting). Of course, it's an uncertain path, particularly if there is no "something else" that you are also passionate about.


If I publish my PhD thesis chapters, can my thesis be later still published as a monograph

In most places, PhD theses whose chapters are simply reproductions of work published elsewhere is acceptable. At the very least that's the case when you just publish the thesis yourself -- the situation might be different if you publish with a company that will likely insist on transferring your copyright to them.
Regardless of this, as in most of the other questions on this forum, the right answer is almost always "Talk to your adviser".


How to deal with co-PhD student demanding too much time?

You need to enforce your boundaries better. I understand this isn't always easy to do, emotionally. But "no" really can be a complete sentence. Or "not now, I'm busy." This person has no authority over you, so if they don't respect your "don't interrupt me when my door is closed" policy, stop opening the door for them.


How long before PhD graduation should I start applying for post-doc positions?

It depends on the type of funding associated with the postdoc position:

1) If the funding is already there and has a limited duration (for instance a one-year funding within a one-year research project), then indeed, the recruiter might not want to wait 10 months for you, since it would mean that an important part of the funding might be "wasted".

2) If the funding is already there, but can be used later on (for instance a one-year funding within a five-year research project), then it could be possible to start only in 10 months.

3) If there is no funding yet, and you need to get it yourself, then you have to start as early as possible, since it can take a long time for the whole process to finish.

Note that case 3 is usually a process you started with a potential advisor, rather than answer to a particular announcement. In any case, it's always a good thing to informally contact potential advisors directly to see about the specificity of a particular position.