DNA as Storage

UW team including graduate students James Bornholt and Randoplh Lopez stores digital images in DNA — and then retrieves them! Wut?

Postdocs, You Are Public Thought Leaders!

You have ideas what you are passionate about, and you have spent years cultivating expertise. Now, how do you get your voice heard? How can you work to advance the issues? How can you influence change?

In mid-April, the Office of Postdoc Affairs co-hosted a workshop from the OpEd Project, a national effort to diversify the voices we hear in public conversations. The facilitator Michele Weldon has 3 decades as a public thought leader through her books, articles, and media work. Certain key points stood out from the workshop:

Own your expertise. You are an expert in _____ because ______. What are you a go-to person for? On what basis do you have credibility in this area? Own it, even if it feels there are others around you who are more established, more credentialed, more famous. We need YOUR voice and perspective in the world for real impact to occur.
Personal promotion isn’t self-serving (only), it is working toward public service. That is, you aren’t just “tooting your own horn” when you say your voice matters, you are bringing attention to issues that are critical to you. The bigger your sphere of influence the greater impact for change you can have. Reframe your approach to self-promoting activities like tweeting, blogging, writing pieces for public audiences/radio spots to building your sphere of influence for issues you care about. And, as a result, you distinguish yourself in what may be a crowded field.
“If you say things of consequence, there will be consequences. But the risk and alternative is to be inconsequential.” (OpEd Project saying) Anticipate nay-sayers. As you practice your response to those who will say “who cares” and “why you”, you can be ready to stand your ground with calm, clear and respectful confidence. Sometimes these doubting voices come from within our own heads. Practice saying the same calm, confident response back when that voice of self-doubt or imposter syndrome rises up. #OwnIt
Make a pitch to an editor. Craft a tight 4-5 sentence email that showcases the following: So what? Why you? Why now? What’s the contribution? Why this outlet? And then sign it with your full name and affiliations. Then cut/paste your 600-800 essay right below that (no attachments). Editors are busy and they want to scan what you have, not take an extra step to ask for it. You can use a descriptive email subject line: Timely commentary on ______.

We know that peer reviewed publications are still the coin of the realm as far as your own academic career goes. But how do you get people to read your peer reviewed publications? How can they make the kind of impact you’d like? Amplify your work by pairing peer-reviewed publications with pieces you write for the public conversation or using social media to get your work in front of more people in your professional networks. Many postdocs have created their own professional websites to gather together examples of their research and engagement activities, to reflect more of who they are. Websites, coupled with social media, can expand your reach and help you stand out from others in a job search or otherwise crowded space. See Future of Ice Initiative postdoc Sarah Myhre’s website as a terrific example of this, and check out how she features both peer reviewed research and news media highlights. Have a good example of your own? Send it to us, we want to feature it in an upcoming newsletter!

Write to Change the World.

Additional Resources:

Vitae Blog – Writing for the Public for Academics
Sage Publications – Tips for Scholars Writing an Op-Ed
American Sociology Association – Tips for communicating with policymakers and the media
COMPASS: The COMPASS vision is to see more scientists engage, and engage effectively, in the public discourse about the environment.
Looking for a public forum for your work? Check out: aeon.co
Contexts Magazine – A quarterly magazine that makes cutting-edge social research accessible to general audiences – the public face of sociology.
American Education Research Association – Examples of public scholarship

Originally posted on April 21, 2016.

To Do: Get a New To Do Manager

What’s the best to-do app/manager for grad students? —Lists Aren’t Cutting It

Well, to start, some of the better-known ones are Any.do, Doit.im, Remember the Milk, Todoist, Toodledo and Wunderlist. Keep, Trello and Workflowy are also popular, though they’re not exclusively to-do managers. And some people swear by a text file or just paper. But the best recommendations would probably come from fellow grad students! If you have a suggestion, please leave it in the comments!

Ask the Grad School Guide is an advice column for all y’all graduate and professional students. Real questions from real students, answered by real people. If the guide doesn’t know the answer, the guide will seek out experts all across campus to address the issue. (Please note: The guide is not a medical doctor, therapist, lawyer or academic advisor, and all advice offered here is for informational purposes only.) Submit a question for the column →

Writing Help for ELL Students

Hello, I’m a grad student in school of engineering. I need to improve my writing (second language) for my assignments. I have seen some programs in OWRC, which one would you recommend me? The drop-in or the TLC? Or maybe other program? —Tori

(This week’s answer is courtesy of Peter Freeman, Interim Director of the Odegaard Writing and Research Center.)

I’d say both are definitely worth exploring. If you join TLC, you and your group will get to meet with a tutor facilitator every week for an entire quarter and work through anything you all have questions about. The drop-in sessions are similar, but allow you to meet with a tutor on a one-on-one basis. Of course, you’re certainly welcome to do both. We can definitely help with grammar. In this case, our tutors will ask questions to help identify specific concerns and offer suggestions and strategies to help address those concerns. We also have plenty of resources on our website to help with grammar and other writing conventions.

I hope this helps!

Passive Wifi

Grist.org recognizes that graduate students are “behind almost all scientific and technological advances.” In this case, Vamsi Talla and Bryce Kellogg in particular.

Hours and Hours of Office Hours

I am a TA for a graduate level class this quarter, and my professor is asking me to hold 4 hours of Office Hours. I feel this is too much. I had TA’d the same class last quarter, and I had five hours of Office Hours, way more than any other grad class in my department. It was incredibly stressful, and I grew to hate the work because of the long hours. I was hoping that this quarter I can have office hours similar what others in my department hold. How do I tell my professor? I want a good recommendation letter from him eventually and don’t want to piss him off, but there simply doesn’t seem to be an indirect way to tell him what I want to say. —Anonymous

This is exactly the type of situation to take to the Office of the Ombud. They specialize in handling conflicts with others at UW and will help you approach your professor with your concerns. Additionally, you can consult the Center for Teaching and Learning for tips on how to manage office hours and handle the stress that comes with teaching.

Building and Maintaining Momentum

It’s nearing the end of winter quarter, and we know it can be difficult to keep your spirits and energy up as you work to fulfill on and off campus responsibilities. We are right there with you. Here are five tips to help keep you going:

Set achievable goals. Rather than promising yourself that you’re going to spend 5 full hours in one sitting to work on a paper, approach time management realistically. Try writing in 30 minute chunks. Take a short break and pick it right back up. This approach can be a great stress reliever, because you can make progress one step at a time.

Set boundaries. Set healthy boundaries on campus, at work, and at home–and if you haven’t done so, now is a good time as any to practice. Take stock of what you have to get done in the next two weeks. You can hold off on any tasks and responsibilities that can realistically wait for the next few weeks or month. Boundary setting helps you realize that you do have control over your schedule.

Meet with your support system. Have you checked in with people who’ve got your back? This may include faculty, graduate program advisors, loved ones, student peers, or work colleagues. More than one person in your support system is better. Check in with faculty via e-mail or in person and focus on one or two goals you have for the rest of the quarter. Meet with a peer at the library or a coffee shop to write and go over ideas and drafts. Connecting with loved ones and community is important and can remind you that you are more than just a graduate student. Call, text, skype, share a meal, and/or make plans to spend time together.

Keep yourself nourished. What keeps you going and energized? Do you need a glass of water? How about a snack or meal? A short nap or a good night’s sleep? Is there a song, movie, hobby, or activity that restores your motivation? Is there something you are looking forward to during Spring Break? Post an image or word in your work space or apartment that reminds of you of what you are looking forward to–to keep yourself moving toward that finish line. And it’s always helpful to reflect back on why you’re here in graduate school in the first place (insert personal, intellectual, and professional goals here).

Have faith in yourself. You do have what it takes. Really, you do! You can do your best now and it will be enough.

Warmly,

Jaye Sablan, Kelly Edwards, Ziyan Bai
Core Programs Team

Gratuitous to Grade Grammar?

I’m a TA for a graduate-level course, and many of the students are not native English speakers. I am grading assignments with significant grammatical errors: incorrect tenses, wrong plurals, missing articles, etc. I’m struggling with the tension between not unfairly penalizing students, since English isn’t their first language, but also holding them to a high standard for academic writing, given that they are getting a graduate degree. How have other TAs or instructors handled this? —Grammar Nerd

(This week’s answer is courtesy of Katie Malcolm, Instructional Consultant, Center for Teaching and Learning.)

Thank you for asking—this is a question we hear often in the Center for Teaching and Learning. Although we recommend that TAs check with their supervisors to see if their departments have specific policies about this, the TAs we have worked with over the years and our own teaching experiences have given us some helpful perspectives. When thinking about how to fairly assess my own international and multilingual students’ writing, I ask myself two questions: 1) What are my goals for the assignment? What do I need to prioritize? and 2) How can I communicate these goals to my students in ways that will help them succeed?

1. First, I think about what is important to prioritize for my students in each assignment, given my realistic learning outcomes for a 10-week course. What is the primary goal I want students to achieve through each writing assignment?

In my own assignments, my first priority is for students to develop and sustain a logical argument in conversation with relevant research. If students’ errors leave me unable to understand their argument, I can’t assess it meaningfully, and—whether English is their first, second, or fifth language—I will ask them to edit and revise the assignment in order to receive credit.

Because my primary goal is not for students to write as though English were their first language, if incorrect verb tenses or missing articles do not detract from my ability to understand a student’s point, I tend to overlook or “read through” them, or point out a couple of occurrences in the margins and then make a note of these patterns in my end comments. (Showing students the patterns of their errors helps them learn how to avoid these kinds of errors in the future). Just as students need time and practice to develop fluency in their pronunciation and speaking, they also need time to develop fluency in academic, discipline-specific English writing.

2. Once I have articulated my expectations for students’ writing, I clearly communicate these expectations to students in several ways:

At the same time that I introduce an assignment, I share the assignment grading criteria, usually in the form of a rubric. When writing style is an important aspect of the assignment (as it often is), I make sure that it is part of the grading criteria and weighted appropriately.

I assign multiple drafts so that students know that I do not want them to start a paper the night before it’s due (often a major culprit of unedited papers). I’ll ask students to bring an early draft to class for peer review, or to bring a draft to my office hours, and/or to visit the Odegaard Writing and Resource Center (OWRC) to get feedback on their writing early in the process.
I share writing resources with my students, including information about OWRC, which has drop-in hours for graduate student writers in the Allen Library. There are also a number of great online resources on proofreading that may be helpful to students, such as the Purdue OWL’s “Finding common errors” page and their pages dedicated to multilingual writers. UNC also has some helpful editing resources.

Again, thanks for asking this great question — if you would like to talk more about this or other aspects of your teaching, please don’t hesitate to contact us at thectl@uw.edu.

Negotiating Salary and Your Start-Up Package

In February 2016, the UW Career Center convened a panel of recently hired faculty members to share their perspectives on how to negotiate salary in pursuing an academic career. Here are some highlights from the workshop:

Top Tips:

(Almost) Always negotiate.
Check your attitude (you want to aim for humble-confident).
Think broadly. Beyond just salary, there are moving expenses, set up costs, teaching load, professional development funds, staff support, and etc.
You can’t get it all, but ask yourself: What will help me be a happy, productive faculty member? What are the deal breakers?

Before Asking:

Frame your thinking and communications as a faculty member, not as an aspiring graduate student or postdoc grasping for a position.
Think hard about what you want (what kind of position). Understand fit. What kind of institution are you looking for? What kind of institutional culture? What kind of experience do you want as a professor? What is possible to ask for within the kind of institution in which you are applying?
Do your research. Know what the salary range is for your discipline and type of institution. Know what you can ask for. In order to do this, you can talk with your network, e.g. people who have gotten positions in the last 3-4 years. This helps you know what to expect.

When to Ask?

Never give the first number, even if they ask. Do not talk about salary until you get a job offer.
Do not respond right away after receiving the offer of salary. Let it sit for at least 24 hours.

What to Ask?

Ask for what you need to be successful. Negotiation implies give and take.
Things to ask for: Remember to tie all asks back to your productivity and impact.
- Salary. Consider cost of living in the city, hard money/soft money split – how long before you need to bring in more of your own salary.
- Summer support. Justify it as research/productivity time. It is easier to give since it is a one-time commitment.
- Moving costs. You can get estimates for your move and negotiate for higher amount – usually institutions have set amount whether you move from near or far.
- Tech, grant, and/or teaching support.
- Travel and development. As junior person, you might need to ask for 2 conferences in first 3 years as you build your network and your position.
- Reduced teaching load. How many preps do you want each year (new courses)?
- TA or RA support
Make sure you have what you want at the end of the negotiation.

How to Ask?

Be honest, have integrity. Don’t “BS” – people can see through that.
Be gracious in the way you ask.
Remember humility – you deserve to be treated well (but not better than) all the other faculty.
Tie your requests back to how it will facilitate your contributions and success as a faculty member – you are not asking to be selfish, you are asking because you want to make good on the investment they are making in YOU.

What if…?

You receive multiple offers.
- Be honest. Never misrepresent. Keep in mind these are your colleagues who will be in your national network.
- You can always ask – if you haven’t heard from top choice yet, you can ask where you are in the process because you have another offer.
- Be gracious in asking for more information, and for more time. Search Committees take time, the whole process takes time. E.g. “I have an offer from another institution, but I would be very interested in hearing from you.”
You are moving with your partner who is also pursuing academic career.
- Don’t start asking right away – it can create a barrier.
- You want to be honest. You want to be upfront. But think about when to say it.
- Certain states have “anti-nepotism laws” – strict rules about having relatives be in potential positions of power over each other. Or resource constraints. Research institutional culture/practices – some institutions can be very helpful.
- Sometimes they find “options”, but they are not options that are desirable for your career.
- Sometimes you can ask for career services for your spouse.

Things to Bear in Mind:

When negotiating, you are starting the beginning of a long term relationship. You want to start on the right foot. Be objective, be fair, look for a win-win solution (see Steven Convey). A teaching institution won’t be able to provide a Research I lab space. Know the context in which you are asking.
Don’t take it personally. When they throw a number out, don’t get excited or offended. Look at the range you know they use. It sets your starting point and you move from there. Do not agree on anything right away.
Putting your best self forward in negotiation. Word will get around about the “ridiculous” things you are asking for, or how unreasonable, or difficult you’ve been.
You have to communicate your sense of value. But not your value as “better than everyone else”. Be confident but humble.
If you give up too much, it also creates a lesser If you agree too quickly, you are not perceived as strong. You may end up resenting what others have.

Resources:

Check university websites for benefit packages.
Check with your professional society, or with publicly available databases to find out appropriate salary ranges for your field or the institution. Keep in mind years of experience will count.
Career Center resource on Academic Career: Salary Negotiation
Julia Miller Vick & Jennifer S. Furlong. (2008). Academic Job Search Handbook.
Linda Babcock & Sara Laschever. (2009). Ask for It: How Women Can Use Power of Negotiation to Get What They Really Want.

Acknowledgement to the panelists:
Dr. Thelma Madzima, Faculty in Biology, UW Bothell
Dr. Hala Annabi, Faculty in iSchool, UW Seattle
Catherine Basl, UW Career Center

Originally posted on February 11, 2016.

The Good Kind of Audit

There is no supervision in the practicum setting of the students in the [redacted] program. Every week, the students have to sign a form to turn into the board, although they did not receive the supervision they have signed off for. Questions are not being answered when they voice their concerns about this. Some people feel this program should be audited because the lack of supervision is only one concern of this program. —Anonymous

I’m so sorry to hear you’re having to deal with this in your program. While students cannot directly request an audit, you should know that the Graduate School conducts Academic Program Reviews for all departments on a rotating schedule. Without calling out your specific department, it looks like this is your year! Program reviews provide several opportunities for student feedback, including speaking to the review committee during the site visit and also sending written feedback.