- Why Your Favorite Journals Need to Put a Dog in the Ethics Fight*
There is nothing an journal editor loves more than seeing a late night email from my best friend, Paul Brookes, in their mailbox. Paul is a genius. Well, technically he's a super genius, mitochondrial physiology dood. In his non-existent spare time, he bravely faces down really h...
- Unmanaged Time
Ever feel like most time management advice is, well, crap? So do Maggie Berg and Barbara K. Seeber, authors of a recent article in the Chronicle with the provocative title "Take Your Time: The corporate university steals it--let's grab it back."
Aghast at books that recommend...
- End of Summer Academic Sanity Saver: Post Undergrad Lab Jobs Now!
There is no commodity as important as time to academics. With the last few days of July slipping away, now is the perfect time to get a jump on other labs and get ready to scoop up all the awesome eager undergrads when they hit campus.
Many colleagues under utilize undergrads ...
- Lessons in Leadership: Why You Should Read Colin Powell’s It Worked For Me
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell offers leadership advice through storytelling in this collection of anecdotes and true tales. Each short chapter derives a lesson from an incident encountered in his military and political service, and occasionally from private life. Often...
- Take a Quick Peek at Your University’s Financial Outlook Here
Contrary to popular opinion, universities are not run by Chancellor's sitting on a giant stack of gold coins Scrooge McDuck style. Your university takes out loans to build infrastructure, fund programs and pay salaries. And just like you and me, their ability to secure credit is ...
- Where Good Ideas Come From
Which do you think would help the germ of a thought grow into a brilliant idea: Talking about it with others, who have their own sparkling thoughts and brilliant ideas, and recombining the best parts of each to make them as strong as possible; or locking it away without sunlight ...
- Doing Better in Academics in Your 40’s: You’ll Need an Eye Exam for That
Not long ago, the Fighty Squirrel noticed that as her days wound down, she was struggling to read. Over the course of thirty minutes at the very end of the day, I'd go from not being able to read a computer screen, to not being able to read a book to having a massive headache. I'...
- Titles as a Sign You’re Doing It Wrong? A(nother) Weird Conversation via Fighty Squirrel
This Fighty Squirrel recently had occasion to talk to a small group of spunky professionals who knew nothing of science and academics. These folks had the task of stepping into a pile of data, getting up to speed, making a quick and informed recommendation then moving on in the w...
- Six Sacrifices You Shouldn’t Make for Work
If you routinely check your work email the moment you wake up and right before you go to bed at night, then you might have a problem.
If you call in sick but are still are available on email, then you might have a problem.
If you have ever responded to work emai...
- Safer Labs for Thea and Sheri: You Need a Lab Safety Reality Check
Eakins-Coward (left) and Sangji (right)
A recent explosion at the University of Hawaii science lab resulted in a 29-year-old visiting postdoctoral fellow losing her arm. Thea Eakins-Coward was working with gas cylinders in a biosafety level 2 laboratory in the Hawaii Natur...
