An update from the trenches
I knew that this semester would be particularly busy, seeing what I had on my plate. So far, I am still standing - putting in a bit more hours than I would like to, and sleeping in a bit less…
I knew that this semester would be particularly busy, seeing what I had on my plate. So far, I am still standing - putting in a bit more hours than I would like to, and sleeping in a bit less…
I have been thinking recently a lot on how I can support my students and younger colleagues. I already wrote about how we can support junior faculty, and today I want to focus in general on how to create opportunities…
As I have been mulling over the limitations of citation metrics in relation to being a top 2% scientist, I found myself thinking about what makes research impactful. Here are some ways I value the impact of research: Makes the…
Making it to the top 2% list of Ioannidis again this year has sparked again some ruminating about how important (or not) such metrics are. In my opinion, metrics based on citations are very limited. They are a remote proxy…
A colleague recently remarked that it gets easier to write papers when you can collaborate in a large project, and that discussion had me think about various instances in which I have found that it gets easier to push research…
The August 2024 data-update for "Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators" has just been released. I am glad to see my name (representing Delft University of Technology, this time) in the career-long list for the third year in…
Recently, a reader asked me what are the crucial steps before you start writing a paper. I think there are three main categories here: 1) gather your information, 2) develop an outline, and 3) make a plan. In terms of…
After the combination of baby years, global pandemic, and passport problems, I am traveling more again for conferences. My priorities are still the same: I don't want to be away from my daughter too much, I want to limit myself…
This post is part of the series PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: posts written for the Dutch academic career network AcademicTransfer, your go-to resource for all research positions in the Netherlands. These posts are sponsored by AcademicTransfer, and tailored to those…
Having made it clear in a previous post that hitting difficult times during the PhD is normal, I wanted to address the second part of the question in this post: how to stay motivated when the hard times hit. While…