Blog birthday!
Yesterday was PhD talk's first birthday. One year since my first blog post, and I must say it has been a great experience.I started off this blog to keep track of how I am doing with my resolutions (stay focused…
Halfway my PhD
Today, I'm exactly halfway the time it is supposed to take me to finish my PhD. Looking back at the past two years, and thinking of what still needs to be done, I find it hard to tell if I…
A PhD defense at Georgia Tech
I've recently attended two PhD thesis defenses at Georgia Tech, which were quite different from a PhD thesis defense at TU Delft.One of the first differences, is that the thesis itself is not fully completed and printed yet at Georgia…
How to write an abstract in 30 minutes
Have you ever been in the following situation?You have selected a conference you would like to attend, and you have all the information you need for writing the abstract (the conference topic which suits your work, the maximum amount of…
Book review: Starting research: An introduction to academic research and dissertation writing – Roy Preece
This book is written for any student undertaking research for the first time. Although the book seems to be written from the perspective of social sciences, there is good information for science and engineering students in it as well.The first…
Who am I to speak up?
I have to admit something: I continuously question myself, asking "Who am I to speak up?".- Who am I to write a blog and give advice on the process of doing a PhD? I'm just a second year PhD student…
How to get a PhD by Phillips and Pugh
This book review is based on the third edition of "How to get a PhD""How to get a PhD" covers a wide range of aspects and is stuffed with helpful advice for starting doctoral researchers. All chapters contain an action…
Preparing a presentation without slides – the aftermath
Today I presented my research in the lab to the parents of the first year students. Talking for 15 minutes straight without slides and to a non-technical audience appeared to me a rather difficult task, but it turned out to…
Preparing a presentation without slides
On Tuesday I am giving a presentation. That is not breaking news at all, except for the fact that I just have to go and talk for 15 minutes without slides to a non-technical audience. Here's how I prepared for…
The Unwritten Rules of PhD Research – Gordon Rugg and Marian Petre
I just finished reading yet another book about PhD research, and I really enjoyed reading this book. After reading around the internet tons of valuable information contained in blogs and reading a few books about doctoral education, I have the…