You should feel free (and are, in fact, actively encouraged) to contact me with any questions you may have throughout your academic journey. It is my job to help you!
I am generally easy to reach and often respond relatively quickly. Here are my general modes of communication and my preferences for each:
My office: If my door is open, feel free to stop by! If it's an inconvenient time, I'll let you know and we can reschedule or chat in an asynchronous format.
E-mail: This is a safe bet, and you can always contact me via e-mail. When scheduling a meeting, please send a calendar invite via email with a brief description of the meeting context. If there's not a calendar invite, I promise that I will forget.
Slack: I strive to be active on Slack a few times a day, and you can message me there as needed, particularly for simple questions. If it's more substantial or your question remains unanswered, let's chat in person.
Office phone: 609-258-6154. It forwards to my cell phone after hours if you ever need me for an urgent reason.
Never hesitate to reach out to me with any questions, comments, or concerns! I am very much invested in your success and personal fulfillment.
Working Hours and Work-Life Balance
There are a few informal guidelines that group members should strive to follow:
Science is a team sport, so it is expected that group members will generally be present in lab during core working hours (~10am-3pm), with the idea that group members who wake up early may come in earlier and group members who tend to sleep in may stay later. Your presence in lab will, of course, vary day by day and may strongly depend on your own personal life circumstances. I have no interest in policing your work schedule.
You are not expected to work on weekends or holidays.
You are strongly encouraged to take your allotted amount of vacation days (in addition to standard holidays). You should coordinate with me about the specific days of vacation if it's for an extended period. This is mainly so I can reassign any time-sensitive tasks while you're gone and so that I'm not bothering you while you travel. Note that sick days are entirely separate from vacation days!
Emails and even chat messages should be thought of as asynchronous forms of communication.
Unless otherwise preferred by all parties involved, meetings should be scheduled between 9 AM and 5 PM whenever possible.
Group members may send messages at odd hours, but don't let that dictate when you reply.
If you're feeling overwhelmed by how much you are working (whether due to self-imposed stress or actual obligations), I encourage you talk to me about it so we can see how to address it. Nobody needs to feel as if they are struggling to keep up.
Health and Safety
The health and safety of the team is of utmost importance. As such:
While we are a computational lab, should there be any safety issues, they should be reported immediately to me or another faculty member no matter how minor.
If you are feeling sick, do not come into the lab (even if you feel like you can get work done and even if you are negative for COVID-19). Simply stay at home and email me about any necessary scheduling changes, if applicable. If you start feeling sick during the workday, head home.
If you test positive for COVID-19, do not return to lab until you are confident that you are no longer testing positive. Do not meet with me until you test negative, as COVID-19 severely impacts my ability to breathe for several weeks.
If you prefer to wear a mask while working in the group office, I can provide funds to purchase them as a shared group resource. If you prefer that I wear a mask in 1:1 meetings with you, please let me know and I will happily do so. No explanation needed.
Treat your mental health with the same degree of importance as your physical health. Take mental health days if/when you need to recover.
When leaving the office, if there is nobody left in the lab, lock the door.
Throw out any trash and try to keep the office relatively clean.
Your wellbeing is more important than your research output. Prioritize the former should the two ever be at significant odds.
For emergencies, refer to the following resources:
Scientific research is often unpredictable. Some projects may take only a few months to complete, whereas others might take multiple years. This is acknowledged and accepted. For this reason, there are no formal rules for how many papers you must publish while in the group. That said, a reasonable expectation for PhD students in the group is that they should probably have at least two publishable entities written up by the time of their defense for which they are the primary lead. Expectations for postdocs in the group will vary depending on long-term career interests, funding source, and prior expertise.
Feedback
Throughout your time in the group, you will receive ample feedback from me. This is a natural part of the process and should be expected. Do not fret when you get a manuscript or other material back with many comments! While I often provide a lot of feedback, I strive to always do so with empathy in mind. You do not have to worry about me judging you so long as you are incorporating the feedback you receive. Again, we are on the same team!
I am always open to brainstorming with you, providing suggestions on your materials, and answering any questions you may have for anything related to your academic or career pursuits.
Integrity
Let me be direct here: if you falsify data or results, you will be immediately kicked out of the group, and an academic misconduct case will be opened. Don't do it. We pride ourselves on open data sharing. Integrity is of utmost importance. No exceptions.
Honest mistakes will inevitably happen. Never fear about sharing such instances with me. I will always support you for being truthful.