4

When there's a weekly seminar in a STEM department that professors and grad students attend, how are these speakers given slots?

Are they invited? By whom?

Can they apply to speak at some weekly seminar, e.g. apply to give a math talk at Harvard?

Do the seminar speakers then get their airfare and hotel paid for by the department's own budget?

Improve this question
7
  • 17
    The process is going to be different for every seminar series.
    – Bryan Krause ♦
    Jun 16, 2020 at 0:57
  • 11
    Joke: The new head of the Science dept insists that each sub-dept makes a presentation each week on their progress. The physics sub-head is not impressed as they want to work and not waste time. Two weeks later it is their turn. So, gets up and spends 2 hours explaining the differential equations they solved last week, 1 hour explaining the ones they are working on this week and half an hour on the ones they are looking forward to working on next week. They were never asked to present again...
    – Solar Mike
    Jun 16, 2020 at 4:38
  • @SolarMike I don't get it.
    – Azor Ahai -him-
    Jun 16, 2020 at 19:26
  • 2
    @AzorAhai then you must love differential equations too much.
    – Solar Mike
    Jun 16, 2020 at 19:32
  • 3
    I have voted to reopen the question. While it's true that every department is different, there are certainly general practices that are widely followed, with variations, and I think this question is answerable on that basis.
    – Nate Eldredge
    Jun 17, 2020 at 17:28

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
23

As has been noted, everywhere will have its own procedures, but I think my department is fairly typical of what I've seen elsewhere:

  • One or two junior faculty are responsible for organising the main seminar series
  • Every few months they solicit suggestions for seminar speakers from the other faculty. Nominations come in different forms, e.g.:
    • "I think Prof. Jones work is cool, we should invite her sometime"
    • "Prof. Jones is going to be visiting me for two weeks in March, perhaps she could give a talk"
    • "Prof. Jones emailed me to say she's going to be in our state for that conference in May, maybe we could get her up here too?".
  • The seminar organisers then try and assemble a programme, balancing many factors (breadth of topics, speaker availability, diversity considerations, political clout of nominator...)
  • The department expects to pay some travel and a night or two's accommodation for anyone scheduled in the main seminar series. Sometimes speakers will decline this (e.g. if they were in town anyway); sometimes individual faculty will supplement it (e.g. to enable someone to stay for a whole week).

In addition to this main seminar series, individual faculty members may arrange 'special seminars'. Typically this occurs when someone happens to be visiting for other reasons, and there isn't a convenient empty slot in the main seminar series. Special seminars may not be as widely-advertised or attended as the main series. Any costs are typically borne by the hosting faculty member (out of their grants/etc), rather than the department (but they are often minimal, as the speaker was invariably in town anyway).

I think it is pretty uncommon to specifically offer to contribute to the department's main seminar series. However, it is very common to contact acquaintances with messages like "Hi Prof Smith, I'm going to be in town next month. If you have time, it would be nice to catch up and I can show you my new proof of the Basketweaver Theorem. Of course, I'd be happy to make it into a talk!". In such circumstances, you should not then expect any reimbursements, though often you will at least get taken out for lunch/dinner.

Improve this answer
7
  • Coming from a national lab (US) perspective, I select possible seminars based on my current work and typical travel destinations, then volunteer to give a talk offering a range of possible dates. Since I'm already traveling for business, I don't accept any reimbursements. Always fun to get out and meet students.
    – Jon Custer
    Jun 16, 2020 at 13:53
  • 1
    Volunteering to give a seminar seems to be more acceptable in some places than others. In my subject (mathematics), in the UK this would be seen rude and presumptuous, but I think it's not so out of the ordinary in the US.
    – David Loeffler
    Jun 16, 2020 at 17:36
  • Can you clarify? Any costs are typically borne by the hosting faculty, rather than the department Do you mean the "hosting faculty member"? Because otherwise I would understand "the hosting faculty" and "the department" to be the same.
    – Azor Ahai -him-
    Jun 16, 2020 at 19:28
  • In some places, lab/group (Ahai Lab) ⊆ department (e.g., stats) ⊆ faculty/school/college (Arts and Sciences) ⊆ university
    – Matt
    Jun 16, 2020 at 22:09
  • I'd also add that for us, the hosting costs are strictly limited - the dept will not ordinarily pay for an speaker from outside the UK, and will not normally expect to pay for overnight accommodation (although will do in some circumstances)
    – Ian Sudbery
    Jun 17, 2020 at 10:13
4

This varies a lot.

Sometimes the department will be interviewing to hire new faculty members. The candidate will be asked to give a seminar as a part of the interview process.

Sometimes a professor from another institution will be in town anyway (e.g. for a conference or some other meeting), and will be asked to give a seminar.

Sometimes a professor will be specifically invited to come to give the seminar. Usually there would be a committee in charge of picking speakers.

Airfare/hotel compensation would be very situation dependent.

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    The second point and the compensation question are also often combined in a reverse way. At least in maths it doesn't seem to be uncommon that the main goal isn't to invite someone for a seminar, but rather to pay for a research visit using the seminar funds, by having the visitor also give a talk.
    – mlk
    Jun 16, 2020 at 10:29