Category Archives: luck

Dodgy Encounters with a Fragile Piece of Equipment

Posted on 31 August 2022 by Athene Donald

Doing a PhD is hard work, stressful and uncertain. Even with the most understanding of supervisors, the clearest goals and routes to get there, there will be hiccoughs and worse en route to getting the letters after your name. And, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in craze, Ed Kramer, electron microscopy, luck, Research, Siemens | Comments Off on Dodgy Encounters with a Fragile Piece of Equipment

Strong Women, Wise Words

Posted on 23 January 2022 by Athene Donald

Today I read two interviews with academic leaders, strong women both working in decidedly male-dominated fields. Their experiences are salutary and their advice worth taking to heart, much of it applying regardless of gender. Firstly, and more famously at least … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in economics, luck, Minouche Shafik, Rama Govindarajan, Science Culture, Women in science | Comments Off on Strong Women, Wise Words

Why Athletics Resembles Academia

Posted on 22 August 2014 by Athene Donald

Today it’s four years exactly since my first blogpost appeared. Four years of having fun writing about different sorts of things: academic life, committee work and membership, the issues facing women and the joys and frustrations of working at disciplinary … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, advice, careers, luck | Comments Off on Why Athletics Resembles Academia

Living on the Edge of Equilibrium

Posted on 26 March 2014 by Athene Donald

Last week my bike got a puncture. So what, you might ask. In itself this is totally trivial, but it also represents the way the trivial gets in the way of everything else. A puncture for me represents potential disaster. … Continue reading →

Posted in accidents, luck, Science Culture, stress, workload | Comments Off on Living on the Edge of Equilibrium

So You Don’t Know What You Want To Do Next?

Posted on 14 December 2012 by Athene Donald

You are not alone! I suspect that most PhD students are uncertain, and if they think they know, it is probably because they assume, without necessarily considering the question at any length, that they will just continue on the academic … Continue reading →

Posted in careers, experience, luck, PhD | Comments Off on So You Don’t Know What You Want To Do Next?

Advice on taking advice

Posted on 20 August 2011 by Steve Caplan

Last week I pontificated wrote about my views on the traits that are necessary for a scientist to survive and indeed thrive in today’s world. And while there seems to be agreement that “luck” “fate” and “opportunity” are certainly useful … Continue reading →

Posted in advice, critiques, education, faculty, fate, journals, learn, luck, mentor, mentors, opportunity, papers, PI, post-doc, post-docs, Research, reviews, science, student, students, success | Comments Off on Advice on taking advice

Resurgence and Resilience

Posted on 15 August 2011 by Steve Caplan

There’s nothing like nature on a fine weekend to revitalize oneself after a rough week in the trenches laboffice. This weekend, we began Friday evening with a trip to the Neale Woods observatory to view the night sky telescopically–in particular … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, education, hiking, Lake Zorinsky, luck, meteor, omaha, perseus, Research, researchers, resilience, science | Comments Off on Resurgence and Resilience