A few years ago, when I was still in academia, we had a meeting of scholars who were part of the university’s Water Institute. We were each given five minutes and two Powerpoint slides in which to introduce ourselves, our research group, and give a rundown of what we were working on, with the idea…
In early November I had an email from Kelly, an environmental science student finishing her MSc. She’s at a crossroads, with loads of questions about career trajectories. Should she do a PhD? Can she be a writer AND a professor? Would she enjoy being a professor as much as she’d enjoy writing? What are the…
Well it’s May 1 so the A to Z Challenge is over, but I still have Z to cover! Trust an academic to be tardy… I had a hard time coming up with this post. Partially because the breakneck pace of a blog post a day has tired me out a bit. Also because it’s…
Are you excited by science? Your own – or someone else’s? Does it drive you out of bed in the morning, with only a cup of coffee between you and that exciting new data analysis or scintillating article in Geophysical Research Letters? Or are you lollygagging around, waiting for traffic to die down so you…
As scientists we’re constantly subject to external assessment and validation – which maybe also serves to reassure us. That our hypotheses are correct, our experiments properly designed and working, and our papers making contributions to the research field. That we’re good enough to be awarded certain grants, and have fulfilled the requirements to be granted tenure. That…
Watershed Moments: Thoughts from the Hydrosphere 