[NSF GRFP 2014-2015]

I don't usually use it as a title, but have very occasionally. On business cards? Yes, I'd think it's obnoxious, and won't lead to people taking you more seriously.

 

Noted. I felt this way as well but felt the need for someone to validate that opinion just in case. Thank you.

[NSF GRFP 2014-2015]

To other fellows:

 

Do you think it would be obnoxious to include "NSF Graduate Fellow" on business cards? I like having business cards to easily share contact info with people I meet, and thought that it might help with getting people to take me more seriously. I notice that many professors with special positions include the accompanying title in their e-mail salutations and think this might be a similar situation.

 

Have any of you done this or explicitly not done this?

 

Thanks!

[Boston & Cambridge, MA]

I don't - if I need scratch paper I get it from Amazon. However, if you check out Bob Slate's in Harvard Square, you will at least find items with a quality that matches the price.

 

Thanks, I'll keep this in mind in case I feel the need to get fancy. I'll go with Amazon then. I did stop in at University Stationary by MIT and heard that the best time to stock up on this stuff is around September/August when drug stores like CVS slash their prices to try to get people in the door.

[Working On a One-off Side Project With Another Adviser?]

Yes, I'm doing this right now. I'm actually working on two side projects, one within my department and one outside of my department. However, both side projects and my main project have a common theme and I plan to put all papers resulting from all projects into my thesis. So, they are side projects in the sense that they are not what I'm being paid to do, and not directly related to my work with my supervisor. But they are not side projects if you define side projects as strictly things outside of my thesis work. It is important to note that my program is a multidisciplinary one though, and our dissertations tend to be very broad rather than narrow and focussed (i.e. in other programs, my side projects might not be allowed to count towards my thesis).

 

 

It makes sense to talk to your advisor about it first. If they're OK then that's great. 

 

I'd try to make sure that there is something tangible in the side project for you. Will your advisor let you put it in your thesis? Are you going to get publications out of it? 

 

It's a method I'm working on implementing that I believe could be used towards topics that are being studied in the lab, so I'm hoping there is some potential for results. I believe you are right in that I should speak with my adviser about this.

[Boston & Cambridge, MA]

For boats in the water, you can also check out Charles River Canoe & Kayak, they rent kayaks out at a number of points along the river, and have fairly reaosnable rates - they will do charges in 1/10 of an hour increments, so if you bring it back 5 minutes after 2 hours, you don't have to pay for an extra hour..  If you were going to be doing it all the time it could, as with Brooklyn Boulders get a bit pricey, but for a jaunt on the Charles from time to time it is nice.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. This sounds great for an every-once-in-a-while thing.

 

 

Does anyone know a cheap place to get composition and spiral bound notebooks in the Boston area? Like around Boston, Cambridge, Allston, or Sommerville? The prices I've seen at most places are pretty ludicrous so far (~$5 for a composition notebook!)

[Working On a One-off Side Project With Another Adviser?]

Oh great! Happy to hear that.

[Working On a One-off Side Project With Another Adviser?]

Hi all,

 

There is a side project I've been thinking about that's only very slightly outside of my field that I've done some proof of concept for for already. This is not in the field I plan to pursue for my career per-se, but is closely related and is rclosely elated to something I'd been working on in undergrad.

 

Have any of you in the sciences ever worked on a one-off side project with a professor outside of your department? If so, how did it go? I'd really only be looking for advising in my methodology, reviewing drafts, and publishing with someone who is in the field.

[Boston & Cambridge, MA]

There's a Brooklyn Boulders in Somerville, if you have extra coin.

 

Holy lord that place looks amazing! "Extra coin" indeed. I'll give it a look at the very least.

[Boston & Cambridge, MA]

Hi all,

 

I will be in to Cambridge around Central Square next week. I'll be attending BU.

 

During my time in Boston I'd like do some recreational sports in the area, particularly rock climbing and stuff on the water (sailing, kayaking, etc.) I know BU had some facilities for these activities, but the rock wall is listed as having poor hours, 4 hours a day at most. I've heard that they have sailing and rowing there, but I'm not sure how open these are to students who aren't athletes.

 

To the locals: Do any of you have any experience with these activities? Other suggestions?

 

Thank you!

[NSF GRFP 2014-2015]

No, you should not feel bad at all. I was the first person to win a fellowship from my definitely not top-tier R1, and it's been a great experience. 

 

It definitely smooths along interactions with researchers outside of my institution- having the NSF is a nice feather in your cap (and on your CV) that will certainly help you along. 

 

People worry too much about prestige, in my opinion. It matters, to some degree, if you want to land a job at an R1 as a researcher- but what matters more is showing that you're a good researcher. In my small sub-field, some of the highly respected folks are at smaller schools, some didn't go to top-5 schools. They've made a name for themselves since. 

 

I would also ask yourself if the types of people who's opinions you care about care more about where you went to school or what kind of researcher you are- likelihood is, the people that matter won't care. 

 

Going along with what this says.

Generally, going to a top tier school is supposed to a) connect you with more people who work in your discipline (more interesting problems and conversations that can lead to more productive work), a more competitive academic environment where you try to publish to keep up with the prestige of your school and the work ethic of your peers. Beyond this, the meaning isn't that much. Of course, if you do not plan on doing research/academia after graduation then the school name matters slightly more (not sure what you would be doing though, especially since Chemistry !). But really, its your own independent work ethic.

Hiring committees at universities tend to pick candidates from better schools because the combination of a) and have led to more productive researchers that have better looking CVs. But you can still do it at a lower school, its just up to you. You need to:

1. Work very hard and consider everyone outside and inside your school as a rival, because that is the case even in year 1 of graduate school. You must shine!

2. Network aggressively at conferences and promote your work online as much as possible.

3. Publish as much as possible, and push your adviser to work in the same direction.

4. Plan for the future; what are the necessary goalposts to hit to move to a successful postdoc then maybe a high tier school? (Note: the answer is always the same ... publish or perish).

 

Thank you both for your responses! I do feel strongly that I've made the best choice for my graduate research. I suppose that the networking is something that I should put extra effort into because of the institution I've chosen.

[NSF GRFP 2014-2015]

Over the past couple days I've found that I'm the first student in my department at my school to win the GRFP as an undergrad. Additionally, it seems that I'm the first incoming student in the department I've chosen to attend for graduate studies who is coming in with a graduate fellowship.

 

This is kind of a silly question, and terribly selfish to ask given there are so many who did not recieve the award, but to others: Should I feel bad about wasting my "golden ticket" on a school that isn't top-tier? Will people still see that I've been able to get my own support and give me respect of the same degree as students at top tier schools? I hate the thought that my personal choices for research and adviser-fit could significantly hamper my potential even though I do think that, outside of prestiege, I am making the best choice.

 

Could any previous winners tell me a bit about how the award has shaped the way they interact with researchers outside of their home institution? Or if it has at all?

[NSF GRFP 2014-2015]

Did this first thing; reviewer who gave me G/G said I need to explain how I'm integrating my research and proposal through STEM outreach in my middle school. He must have known he was making a ridiculous ask, what am I supposed to say beyond this? Give lesson plans? LMAO. Glad your reviewers had sense about this! Good work.

 

I made sure the woman who directs the group I work with write one of my letters. I suppose that was the proof.

[NSF GRFP 2014-2015]

Congrats! Would you mind elaborating on that last bit?

 

The most notable of these: I've been volunteering with an afterschool group as a middle school science instructor for minority students in Philadelphia middle schools. I supplied a very small anecdote about this and a sentence or two detailing my work.

 

Additionally, I mentioned that I am a member of a minority group, and worked my motivation for broader impacts about my personal struggles.

[NSF GRFP 2014-2015]

E/E E/E E/VG

 

I GOT IT OH MY GOD AAAAAAHHHH!

 

I applied 100% in Chemistry - Chemical Theory, Models and Computational Methods

 

 

Aside from spending a huge amount of time working on making a very coherent and structurally appealing application through readings sent to 10+ people I know, I belive the tipping point was my broader impacts.

[Program specific thread - Computational and theoretical chemistry.]

Hi mterabithia,

 

First question: Are your interests more in QM or Molecular Dynamics?

 

Coming from my familiarity with schools that feature strong research using Molecular Dynamics, particularly for investigating topics in Biochemistry, here are just a few off the top of my head:

University of California San Francisco

Stanford University

University of Chicago

Stony Brook University

University of Pittsburgh

Temple University

Boston University

University of California San Diego