Questions tagged [lab-management]
Questions related to the management and organization of academic laboratories.
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How do I support my advisor on his most busy weeks?
I'm a postdoc at a US university and I have a truly wonderful research advisor. Sometimes, during our regular meetings, I find out that things are particularly tough for my advisor this week. The ...
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Statistics on the number of PhD/postdoc by Professor across fields/universities/countries?
I am wondering whether there are some available sources for statistics on the average number of PhD students and postdocs by Professor/supervisor across different fields, universities or countries?
I ...
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Etiquette concerning Lab Findings / Results
I'm an undergraduate and was fortunate to be selected for a 12 week summer placement in a professors lab at my university.
I worked way over and above the funded hours and made some very interesting ...
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I am a PhD researcher , I have access to equipment in my lab, can I use the facilities to test my own samples that are not part of my project
I am working at some lab in xyz, I have been granted access to solid state NMR,SEM,TEM. I have recently collaborated with researchers who don't have these facilities. They want me to collaborate by ...
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Coworker hiding and stealing lab material
We found out that a graduate student coworker was hiding materials and even throwing them away when they realised they might get caught.
With this they were not only stealing but also actively ...
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Postdoc experience sharing platform
I was wondering if there is a website or forum where postdocs can post their experiences and honest opinions of their research labs...anonymously. I have a feeling that many postdocs go to a lab only ...
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Should i leave the lab i am in even though i like the science but my pi disrespect me?
I am a freshman. I have been in a lab but I felt that I am not interested in science, so left it. in my spring semester, I joined another lab, and I was pretty interested in the science I am working ...
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IT person never reply to my emails
I am a PhD student in a lab in a well known university. I am not sure if I should just ignore this although it has been bothering me for a really long time. My project relies on help from the IT ...
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Responsibility to report Health and Safety concerns
I'm a Ph.D. student who has recently become aware of several health and safety hazards in my lab, which I have been unable to address with my supervisor/other lab members. These hazards include ...
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What tasks can undergraduates research assistants do effectively in the social sciences?
I'm a new faculty member and I have a number of undergraduate research assistants. I'm having trouble using up all the hours that they are assigned to work with me. Most weeks I run out of tasks to ...
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how to deal with difficult students who do not reply to teacher's email?
I hope all is well,
I find myself in a situation where one student keeps a grim face when I teach. It seems he is not happy with the way I deliver the material. This makes me feel uncomfortable and it ...
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How to ensure the research continuity when dealing with uncooperative administration?
Let us assume you have secured a hefty funding to do some exciting research. The problem is, the funding is about to end, you have done that hard part already and are interested in a follow-up, but it ...
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When is it appropriate to publish independently without an advisor? [duplicate]
With pre-preprint servers readily accessible, I'm wondering if it is possible for graduate students to directly publish their work without their advisor. Is this taboo?
If a student conducts ...
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Working at two labs vs having two advisors in grad school? [closed]
There are two labs that I really want to work as a masters student research assistant but I know that grad school isn't like undergrad and working for two will probably drive me crazy. One is in the ...
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Is there a particular structure that a research lab should have?
I want to know if a research lab at a university should normally include specific roles in order to be considered a lab ?
I explain, for a newly joining Ph.D. student, i expect the lab to include a ...
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Transforming Development and Management Practices
Disclaimer, I already posted this on StackOverflow and got advised to post it on "The Workplace" where I got advised to post it on "Academia". Please don't send me back to ...
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What is a good rule of thumb for the cost of a Postdoc, in the US at an R1 university [closed]
Suppose I want to pay a postdoc $65K for salary. How much research fund do I need to have to support this postdoc (on average, of course, not exactly)?
Is it only the 65K or are there many other ...
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Should the supervisor work in the laboratory with the student during M.Sc.?
I was just employed in the foreign university as assistant professor. I am going to have one M.Sc. student soon but I am not sure how much independence should he get. At my previous university we ...
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Software tools for orgainising education lab appointments
Due to the Coronavirus situation it is required to adapt teaching activities to reduce risk of infection. Several courses have laboratory assignments that require physical presence. It is therefore ...
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Can I join two different research labs as a Ph.D. student?
I'm a PhD student and there are two labs that work in very similar fields, but different departments. Both look great, but I'm not sure which will benefit my research more (resources, collaboration, ...
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Should I be honest with postdoc candidate about awful lab working environment?
I work as a postdoc in a lab that is extremely mismanaged. The head of the lab micromanages all the staff, often claims successful work as his own, and rejects new ideas that are not from him. All ...
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Is the adoption of IS0 9000 principles, or even actual ISO certification very common in universities?
I'm not sure if this is on-topic but nothing seemed conclusive that it wasn't in the help center, so let's see what happens.
The ISO 9000 family of standards has been adopted by well over a million ...
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When do STEM academics learn how to manage funding?
I'm from the humanities, where research grants etc. are scarce. Also, training to deal with research grants and external funding is nearly non-existent in my field.
I'm curious as to how graduate ...
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Should I make my research students' pay contingent on completion of tasks (such as reading/summarizing papers)?
I received a fund that I can use explicitly for paying graduate (master's and doctoral) students for research. These students already receive a stipend from the university, but most advisors who can ...
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What do I do about my lab head misattributing my grant proposal?
The head of my lab and I wrote a grant proposal together. Last year we submitted it with me and them as chief investigators. This year I wasn't allowed to submit grants per the rules of my government ...
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Tools for creating and managing a Data Dictionary [closed]
I'm looking for tools to create a data dictionary for my project's data. We have a large database of many variables, and I would like to create a data dictionary that describes what each variable ...
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How is the energy bill split in academic departments?
Consider a physics department for example. Does each lab get metered and pay its own bill in the United States, or does the department itself cover overhead? Do energy leaks get noticed and managed? ...
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What's the best way of starting a private lab wiki site? [closed]
My labmates and I were thinking of creating a wiki site for sharing protocols, links to github repos, some metadata and other useful lab related material. Contentwise mostly text, maybe some images, ...
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Lab vs personal brand
I’m moving to a new university and setting up a lab. Unlike some US universities, the consensus is not to use your surname as the name of the lab but have a descriptive name (e.g., “this area” Lab). ...
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Postdoc-led Lab Mutiny: Is this normal? What to do? [closed]
A new postdoc has written an email on behalf of all grad students (CCing us) accusing our professor of being irresponsible, saying we would all stop our experiments.
The postdoc has been helping PhD ...
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Collaborative software recommendation for a 4 year research project with several partners and < 10 researchers [closed]
I will be a project manager of research project with 3 university partners, 3 Postdocs and 5 PhD students for 4 years.
Currently we use software tools for single researchers in my group like mendeley,...
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Co-supervisor comes to the office to help her students, which distracts me
My co-supervisor (2nd supervisor) comes to the office where I work to help her (main) Ph.D. students. The noise distracts my work. I find it unprecedented. Why not help her students in her own private ...
user61104
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Managing lab funds
I am very fortunate to have several sources of research fundings to run my lab. Like many other skills needed for running a lab, I have no background in accounting (?). Different funds come through ...
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Optimal configuration of a research group [closed]
In most of the European Universities I know, research groups are created from the equivalent of Assistant Professors and the Principal Investigator is voted in some sort of election, where there are ...
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Is it normal that my adviser remove my information, pictures, everything from the lab homepage after I suspend my school?
First of all, I studied in Japan. After I complete all graduate courses. There will be 3 years to submit my thesis. During this time, I drop school and work in a company. So my professor removed all ...
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Buy a server or cloud computing for a new lab? [closed]
We are starting a new computer lab and expect to have data that is 50-100 TB of text, images, and maybe videos to process. We will need to run tasks occasionally (10-30% utilization per month), so ...
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Is it rude to ask a professor you do not know and in a different department to borrow equipment?
I am a grad student in new lab and my PI like to pinch pennies a bit. I want to purchase an accessory for use with an already purchased piece of equipment. I have emailed a few vendors about getting ...
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What to do when being responsible for data protection in your lab, yet advice is ignored?
I work in a lab where we conduct research on data acquire from human subjects. As we investigate the effects of different diseases and the related treatments, the data is highly sensitive in regards ...
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Strange Sign on Lab Door
I saw a strange sign on a door to a geophysics lab in a museum in Switzerland. I was really curious about what it means and wanted to know if anyone is familiar with this sign.
Here's the full image ...
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Theorists facing tenure track faculty interviews
The faculty interview is based on the context of a department stressing on industry interaction. When asked about how to buy lab equipments and find funding, may a theorist answer the search committee ...
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Is it ethical to put a surveillance camera inside a lab
The Lab leader is putting a surveillance camera inside the lab to protect some precious devices bought recently. The viewpoint of the camera covers most of the lab and shows clearly the lab members ...
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How can I develop leadership skills in graduate school?
I am currently in my second year of a PhD program. I have not yet decided on academia, industry, or entrepreneurship for a career, but in all these cases my success will be strongly influenced by my ...
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Starting a lab wiki
I've recently joined a new lab; an experimental physics group of ~30 people, consisting of postdocs and PhDs and a few PI's. All of these people are using/sharing/rotating between a number of setups, ...
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Should grad students also serve as lab managers?
I'm a 3rd year PhD student in a robotics lab. My advisor recently moved universities, so our new lab space doesn't have a large stockpile of supplies and equipment. As the person who does the most ...
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ask PI for more acknowledgement of good work / affirmation
Setting: PhD student (5th year) at a US research university. Non-native English speaker.
We have a great boss, however sometimes it seems that good things are not being highlighted enough. For ...
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What should I do about a professor who got in my face and yelled at me?
I'm a lab assistant at my university and one day some of my coworkers who are underclassmen asked me about my experience with a professor I had taken a couple classes with. I told them that every ...
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As a part time volunteer, how can I ask my advisor to let me work independently, so that I can have a chance at first authorship?
TL;DR As a part time volunteer, what is the best way of communicating to my professor that I would like to be able to work independently on a project of my own to work towards a first authorship paper,...
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Is it acceptable to use a microscope in the office and not in the laboratory? [closed]
I often see microscopes inside the office rooms of professors as well as other teaching members. They may not use them on daily basis but once in a while, or sometimes heavily used by a few of them. ...
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An organizational chart to ensure central management of laboratories in a college
I was asked the other day to suggest how different labs in our college should be centrally managed, or what organizational chart would be suitable, to make all these labs abide by input from the ...
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What is the UK equivalent of a PC 2 laboratory?
In New Zealand and Australia we use the term 'physical containment' (PC) to describe structures and procedures designed to prevent the release of viable organisms into the environment. As far as I am ...
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