• Ten rules for healthier research labs
• Developing shared expectations

• Take (plenty of) notes.
• Organize data. Cleanup your data on a regular basis, roughly once a week.
• Read (at least) a paper per week. Much more at the beginning of a project.
• Solicit feedback (often and early).
• When asking for help, provide a list of at least a couple of things you’ve already tried doing to identify or overcome the issue.
• Plan and manage your work and time consciously (to get better at planning and to work more efficiently).
• Work during regular-ish hours. Presence in the office at core hours enables you to interact with colleagues, receive help and provide support in turn.
• Take breaks. Take days off. Ideally on weekends, but also otherwise, especially after particularly stressful times.
• Remember that your graduate studies are a serious full-time job and requires appropriate commitment of time and effort.
• Attend seminars and colloquia. Be present in talks, take notes, think of questions to ask (and ask them).
• Compose (at least) yearly progress reports and hold career planning meetings.
• Update your CV regularly. Create and maintain a LinkedIn profile and a Google Scholar page.

• Make a (rough) agenda.
• Update on current status and recent progress. Discuss data and progress. Plan next steps. Strategize.
• Take notes together in a shared Google Drive document.
• Find a weekly time slot for these meetings that accommodates classes & other obligations (each term).

• Weekly group meetings: weekly progress updates, technical questions, logistics.
• Weekly joint group meetings with the Sing & Jackson groups: research update or literature review presented by one or two group members.

• For scientific paper writing see here, and for posters here.
• Write in LaTeX (overleaf). (If a text is shorter than a page, e.g., abstracts, use Google Drive or Word.)
• Track versions within (private!) GitHub repositories (only source files) or overleaf. Use line breaks between sentences to simplify editing.

• Comment your code while you write it. Extensively.
• Make regular backups (at least weekly).
• Use your computer with respect
• Keep your files organized and delete superfluous files. Always keep simulation scripts, log files, and meta data.
• Do not install any pirated software or download anything illegal.

• Apply for fellowships / awards whenever you can.
• Familiarize yourself with eligibility requirements, necessary documents, and deadlines immediately.
• Ask for letters of recommendation early, provide your information (fellowship / award / job, CV, statement drafts, main points for letter, contact person, etc.), and deadlines. Ask current and former advisors, friendly committee members and teachers, and job or internship supervisors.
• Find successful example applications (via university resources, peers, PI) and use them for inspiration. (Do not copy-&-paste from these resources. Do not share others' applications with a third party unless explicitly permitted to do so by the author(s).)
• Have friends, colleagues, mentors read and edit your statement early.
• Submit your application early (i.e., not minutes before the deadline).

• On conference contributions and papers from your main project(s), you will be first author and Antonia will be last (and corresponding) author.
• Any co-authorships should be discussed with Antonia first. Make sure to explain any help you received on your project, and we will make authorship decisions together. Protect your own contributions and those of others. Science is a collaborative venture. Look at “authorship contribution statements” of publications to get an idea what a significant contribution looks like.

• Attend relevant workshops as soon as your research topic is somewhat defined.
• Attend conferences as soon as you have publishable results. Conferences within and outside of your academic discipline both have their merits. Small specialized and large academic society conferences both have their merits. Choose conferences according to a relevant scientifc community, invited speakers, organizing committees and advisory boards, topics, and contributed topics and speakers at previous meetings of the same conference series.
• Write abstracts early & iterate and edit them with co-authors.
• Apply for travel fellowships whenever possible.
• Register for conferences upon abstract acceptance, definitely before the early-bird registration deadline.
• Plan conference travel early and choose the cheapest travel option, unless approved otherwise.
• Share rooms when possible. It is nice to not be alone/lost and to have a conference buddy and it saves costs. Ask for advice on how to search for travel options and how to book trips.
• Plan in advance for how to stay connected with people that you will meet. Make a LinkedIn profile early on and tailor your overall online presence (on the group website or your own, a Google Scholar profile, etc.).
• Study conference program before traveling and plan, which sessions to attend. For big conferences this is absolutely necessary.
• In conference talks as well as departmental seminars, etc. really listen, take notes, ask questions.
• For any poster or talk presentations: prepare early, give a practice talk in group meeting.
• When packing for your trip, pay attention to the weather, as well as whether air-conditioning is to be expected inside conference premises. Dress so that you are comfortable (i.e., nothing that you have never worn before, and be especially careful with shoes, because you will be walking a lot). Engineering conferences are usually more formal than physics ones. Small conferences are often more casual than big ones.
• Remember that you are not only representing yourself but your group and your research, so present yourself in a professional manner.

In preparation:

• Know the duration of your presentation slot (with and without questions).
• Know the aspect ratio of the projection equipment.
• Use the Grainger Engineering template and funding logos, and display a link to the group website.
• Craft a story.
• Practice your talk several times, and solicit and respond to feedback.
• Bring all adapters (HDMI, VGA, and USB for remotes or thumb drives if necessary).
• Zoom: be mindful of your background (audio and visual), if needed raise your laptop with a couple of books.

When presenting:

• Be there early and test all technology (display of presentation incl. videos, remote control to switch slides, laser pointer, microphone, etc.).
• Make sure your name-tag doesn't interfere with the microphone.
• Mute your phone and mute notifications (and speakers) on your laptop.
• Empty your pockets of large or jingly items.
• Breathe. Power-pose. Crush it.
• Zoom: test the slide view, slide advancing, and your mouse laser pointer beforehand

• Serving as a teaching assistant (TA) for at least one semester is an integral part of completing a PhD degree. It is an expected component of several programs (e.g., Physics, CBE), while others don't require it (MatSE). Regardless of if it is required or not, it is a valuable experience every graduate student should have.
• When planning to serve as a TA, make sure to communicate and coordinate with Antonia before committing to a particular TA-ship.

• Don't worry, if there is anything that you feel you should know but don't, or if something takes longer than you thought it should. You are learning.
• “My expectations for myself have grown with my skill level, which means it doesn't necessarily get easier, or it doesn't necessarily feel like it gets easier but the product gets better for less work.” Joshua Schimel
• Find the best time management strategies which work for you

• Learn about implicit biases
• Please be mindful of your colleagues in the lab (noise level, cleanliness,…)

• Statement on Ethics (APS) (draft)
• Anti-harassment policy (NCAFM 2018 conference)
• Grainger engineering student policies
• the official lab language is English, so all written and in-person communications should be in English

• be late
• come to work if you are seriously ill
• be unprepared for a group or individual meeting
• skip individual or group meetings
• engage in illegal activities (e.g., downloading illegal software or violating user policies)
• endanger fellow lab members with your behavior (e.g., coming in sick)
• be stuck on one issue for more than couple of days without asking for help
• write code without documentation, testing or version control

• Ramsey's guide for research students
• heilshorn group policies
• Mims lab
• Developing shared expectations
• Ten rules for developing expectations