A Season of Rest

Welcome to this beautiful fall season that leads into the year-end and holidays. It seems like every year just gets busier. I’ve been thinking a lot about how to keep myself, my family, and my work team,
healthy and happy so that we can fully enjoy time with loved ones while also getting everything done that we hope to accomplish. The surprising key to being successfully and sustainably busy is REST!

I’ve developed a four-piece REST approach after years of running myself into the ground and ending up sick in December. The four pieces are daily rest, monthly rest, yearly vacation, and support!

The smallest but most important piece of rest is daily rest. I set up multiple daily breaks throughout the day and put them on my calendar because, if they’re not scheduled, they won’t happen. These five- to fifteen-minute breaks can look different each day. Sometimes I take a walk outside and put my feet on the earth, text a friend, or play with my cat—something that allows me to mentally reset. I also schedule my lunch break to ensure I have that time for myself.

The second piece of rest is figuring out how to give myself a three- or four-day weekend every month. Some months are easier if there’s already a holiday, but if not, I make sure to take off a Friday or Monday to get that extra time. I use it to relax or to get errands done so that my Saturday and Sunday are completely free.

The third piece of rest is at least a weeklong vacation. Dreaming of and anticipating a lovely vacation is part of the fun! I’m a beach person—mountains are beautiful, but they don’t recharge me. I need to lie on the sand and stare at the water. I’m planning a trip for next year, making sure to put it on the calendar and clear time for a true break—no emails or stress, just warm breezes and blue water.

The fourth piece of rest is finding support. Sometimes rest comes in the form of asking for help with preparing meals or creating a more equitable schedule for sharing chores. I also think about who I can turn to for words of encouragement when I need them. Support can also look like deleting things from your calendar that don’t make sense. This year, I may skip taking on three new projects right before the holidays or baking six batches of cookies. Knowing I have that choice feels like a relief.

In summary, the four pieces of rest are daily, monthly, yearly, and support. Each one plays a role in keeping me mentally fit and ready to enjoy everything the season offers.

Do you have rest on your calendar? Would you be willing to schedule time for yourself to

be a better version of yourself during this busy season? I’d love to hear any ideas you have about rest!

Creating expectations for new hires can improve working relationships

Starting a new job can be excitingn for both the employee and the employer! Whenever I have a new postdoc or graduate students or even a new employee, within the first few days of arrival, I like to make sure that expectations are set very clearly to enable everyone's success. 

The role of the advisor in the academic or research setting is to create a structure in which the graduate student or postdoc can succeed. This is similar to those roles of supervisors for new employees. For the sake of brevity, I will refer to students, post-docs, and employees as new hires.   In order to create this structure, we need to figure out a way to work together and a system that will work for both of us.  I have developed a list of expectations to share with a new hire as soon as they start. This sets the tone for what is necessary for both parties to gain positive growth from this new experience.  The expecations that I have found useful are the following

• meeting times
• length of employment
• work hours
• communication preferences
• innovation and generation of ideas
• personal life/vacation
• additional resources

Meeting Times

One of the first expectations that I disucss, is that the new hire will reach out to contact me regularly and when they require a meeting. A regular schedule of meetings allows for measuring of progress and ensuring the new hire is on the right track and if they are not that they don't spend much time going down that path.  The meeting cadence that I prefer is not longer than one week time for graduate students and two week time for a postdoc. A postdoc should be able to work slightly more independently than a graduate student.  Especially in the beginning of a graduate program, although some independant research is great, seemingly unending frustration is not.  It could be possible that a research technique or resource that is known to most just isn't known to the graduate student yet so working for more than a week doesn't necessarily lead to fruitful work and there's probably someone who has worked on something similar problem or technique that as an advisor you can point the student towards.  For new employees, depending on their position, similar timescales are appropriate.

Length of Employment

The next expectation is the length of time that the new hire will be employed for. A contract can vary from two years or a one year with a review with the possibility of a second year for a postdoc. It is important to make sure that that is laid out in the beginning of the time working together in order to enable the new hire to plan their time accordingly. 

Work Hours

Since March of 2020, we have mainly been working from home.  Even before this, exact hours were not my measure of success.  It is how much creative, innovative work you can get done in a week, month, or year.  Is there progress?  Of course, there are meetings that need to be attended but as much flexibility as I can give to allow for the creative process of science to take place I am all for it.  By setting work goals (topic of another blog post), we are able to track success and set the bar for amount of work to be done during a given period of time.  I do need to know the new hire's approximate work schedule and that is written down during this discussion.

Communication Preferences

Another discussion I have is about communication styles.  I know that I communicate best in a mixture of emails and verbal (phone or in person) converstations.  What does the new hire prefer? A quick text to check in or face to face meetings work best.  A good mixture of communication styles will probably benfit both parties, and will be needed to switch up, based on things such as the depth or breadth of the question. 

Innovation and Generation of Ideas

Working in a field where your ideas are part of your contribution, I expect them to come to me with innovative new ideas and participate with the team to generate new ideas.  This can be a great general training for how to frame research projects and identify what are the relevant questions in your field.  This also allows you to see where the new hire might need more guidance. The ideas might have "been done before" and the new hire needs to read a review article or the idea is creative and innovative but might need help with an implementation strategy. 

After ideas are articulated, as the supervisor it is my job to enable the innovation whether that be through the regular meetings checking in for the need for additional information or providing introductions to other colleagues that might be helpful or helping the new hire secure resources to bring about their idea.  This could take the form of writing proposals for a grant or seeking seed funding internally or from investors. This also takes the form of recognizing those new hires as the ones who oringiated the ideas and helping championing that idea with colleagues and the community.  In this initial discussion, the expectation is set to participate in this type of planning not necesssarily to go through the entire process.  

Personal Life/Vacation

I belive in a holisitic approach to work and that it is a part of the whole life of a person. So another one of my expectations is that they have a personal life. No this doesn't mean I want to know which dating apps they are on or what medicine they need to take!  There are strong boundaries that need to be created and I want to hold the boundary in two ways.  First, I want to make sure the job brings them joy and satisfaction. I also want to hold that work boundary (stress-wise and time-wise) so it doesn't precule finding joy outside of work whether that's exercising regularly, starting and raising a family, taking care of parents, or spending time with their friends.

I also expect new-hires to take vacations. I know they just started and it is setting the tone for a way of working.  The creativity and agile mind is what is needed to come up with the best technical and scientific results so resting the mind is a necessity.  The expectation to take at least a few weeks of vacation a year.  A longer stints of a week or more, as well as a few days off here and there. To use that time to be disconnected from daily work and to get the rest and recharge that is needed.  During that time, that looks like not expecting the new hire to jump on a call or to respond to any email. At that time, the new hires should do something they find recharging, whether it be hiking or sleeping or traveling or watching movies at home.

Additional Resources

Since I have a holostic approach, I like to set the expectations around what additional resources can be offered and what other systems are in place for them.  For instance, I am not a counselor so if there is counseling services that they need I can direct them to employee assistances. I also try to enlist another mentor or person in the group that this person can reach out to if they need other technical support or if they feel uncomfortable talking to me about the resource request. I normally like to pull in one or two of my colleagues as a backup mentor in order to ensure that the person has coverage when, say, I'm taking my vacations or if I don't have the right expertise. 

To wrap up, setting clear expectations helps both the advisor and the new hire.  To solidify this I like having a physical paper with the above catagories as discussed that you both sign giving a weight to the expecations. This also gives you both a reference document.  If there is a formalized review system, this document should complement and not contradict those things that the employee will be reviewed against. 

Once you lay out these expectations it is good to review them from time to time.  In coordination with a goal planning document, reviewed at a six month and a one year time frame can help reach your and the new hire's goals.

Women in Science: Practical Advice to Thrive in Science

As part of my challenge to myself this year to write more, I wanted to start a blog and to answer questions I am typically asked.  The lack of travel and the staying put this pandemic has offered seems like a perfect time to dust off my writing skills and get to work!  It has taken me 4  (ahem) 8 months to dust this back off and finish it but no time like the present! 

 

One question I am commonly asked is a variation on "What is your experience as a woman in science? "  and one in particular is "How do you survive being in a male dominated field?".  This variation of the question has particularly struck me.  I decided long ago as a stubborn optimistic bright-eyed enthusiastic college student writing my life mission statement that I won't settle for just surviving.  Complacency and settling turns my stomach.  I wanted to thrive in whatever I choose to do in life.  I don't want to downplay surviving. Of course we all have to survive inside the world we live in, and there are days where as much as my 18 year old self is upset I just need to survive.  I try to remember that it is my privilege that allows me to strive for more.  So I try to use that privilege in service to the greater good.  

 

So for the sake of this post, let's ask "How can you thrive in the sciences?"

The practical tips fall into a few categories

 

creating and maintaining a strong and varied support network

practice mental and physical self care

know your why and let it guide you.

 

Each of these skills will help you deal with the ups and down that come into every scientist's life at some point and build a fulfilling career.

Creating and maintaining a strong and varied support network

We have all heard the old adage that "It isn't what you know but who you know." That is very true in the world. It sounds like a bad thing based on nepotism or favoritism of some kind but it is still true. Knowing a wide variety of people, communicating and working with those people are very important. It is how you learn, how you find new collaborators or hear of new positions or upcoming events. Those people are also people who can be there for you when you need things from recommendation letters to help understanding a difficult concept or finding your next dance class. The support network of folks can be at various stages in their career, location/institution, topic, and formality. Although there are a few formal mentor programs, most of these network interactions are somewhat informal. Keeping up with phone calls or emails once a quarter helps maintain the relationship. When contacting folks be conscious of their time. They want to help but as you go up the ladder, the number of people requesting someone's time is greater. So be effective and efficient with requests for time or meetings. Have relevant questions prepared before you ask for their time.

Don't just think about those directly related to your technical field but also life mentors! Is there a great yoga teacher who can help you in your practice. Is there a spiritual leader who you could spend some time with exploring spirituality? What about following a great cook on social media to help with new yummy nutritious dishes? A mix of people who care about you as a person, inside and outside of your role in science, can keep you supported in all aspects of your life!

Another key to my success was having a text buddy. This text buddy is someone you can text when you’re feeling that you need to talk about your career or just the day-to-day things that happen. I have a few and it is great to be able to blow off steam or celebrate wins in the moment. This is also a great way to keep in touch across long distances.

Identify allies in men and women in your workplace. The system and cultural norms are the problem. All of us working together can change the system. If there are other women in your workplace, amplify each other’s voices in meetings. Call attention to your female colleagues contribution if overlooked. Ask male allies to help out with things as simple as making sure the women in the room get a chance to contribute to the conversation and checking in with the men who might also be being left out of the conversation.

Physical and Mental Self Care

Self care is not selfish. It is important to take care of yourself outside of a career. Your physical and mental health are important to thriving in your work. Think of it as taking care of a car. If you don’t put gas in it it won’t run. If you neglect things like oil changes or cleaning it out you eventually will have major issues. So find what works for you. Although I am a girly girl who could spend hours a day in a spa being pampered (well pre-Covid), that is not the only way to self care. Exercise, eating a healthy meal, making time to laugh at a video, playing with kiddos, puppies, kitties, or Netflix, getting a hug from a friend, sitting quietly in a space with a cup of hot tea or coffee are all great self care techniques.

Mental health is important. If you have signs of depression or burnout, contact a professional who can help you work through these things. I have gone to therapy at various times during my career and it has always helped me to talk through what I was experiencing and how to move forward. In general, know you are not alone in how you are feeling- reach out to professionals for help. Coaching is another way to have professional support. I have recently relied on coaching for a more directed goal oriented approach to my career.

Impostor syndrome is a real thing. The feeling that some how they let you in to a club you aren't qualified for and that someone might "find you out", we have all had it. Men feel impostor syndrome too. Impostor syndrome is real. Learn to recognize it then  acknowledge it but don’t let it drive your career. From "Confidence Code" by Kay and Shipman, women only apply when they have 100% of qualifications for a job, men will apply with 60% or less qualifications. This is part of impostor syndrome so apply apply apply!

Rage rain aka crying in the office. I think in 20+ years in an office I have only cried once because I was sad  and my feelings were hurt, the rest is what I call rage rain- I am so angry and frustrated that I cry. I have learned to moderate some of this (focusing on and counting my breaths, having sips of water, expressing my dissent earlier, etc) as someone once gave me the advice that when you cry it then becomes about the crying and not about the issue. Which is great but there are times I am still just that frustrated. I let it out and get on with what I need to do.

Physical health is important too. Running, yoga, dance and kayaking keep me busy and allow me to check out of work for a while and stay active. I feel my best when I can work out multiple times a week and be ready to work then when the time comes. Even a simple walk during lunch time helps burn off stress and re-center my mind. Of course, check with your doctor before starting an exercise program. 

Know your why and let it guide you

Knowing why you are doing something keeps you going even when you are having the inevitable hard day at the office.  This reason is larger than yourself and your work.  For me my best work comes when it is aligned with my passion for my technical work AND helps others in the community become the best version of themselves.  Self reflection to explore your "why" can be exhilarating and affirming or scary. Sometimes you might find what you are doing isn't in line with what you really are passionate about.  Minor tweaks can sometimes really help here. For example, when choosing between committees or projects, choose the one that  would better align with your why will help you feel more connected to your work.  This self reflection also helps when it is time for a new position.   You will never be 100 % ready for a change do it anyways. Make sure that the work will either fulfill your "why" or teach you something that will further your "why" overall.  

After doing some self-reflection whether journaling or creating a visual representation of your thoughts, you can set goals to go towards your why.  Short term (weeks to months) and long term goals (months to years)  can help you organize what you need to learn as well as give you a way to know what to focus your energy on. The only person you can control is yourself. Use that vast power wisely.

Summary

A strong sense of why you are doing your work, coupled with a strong network and caring for your physical and mental health will help you thrive in the sciences.  I hope these tips can help create the career that inspires you and helps serve a world in need of the science you do!

What are some other techniques used to succeed? Feel free to leave them in the comments. 

Stranger things: Three weird things the sun does

Parker Solar Probe's Mission to Solve Stranger Things

Posted on Wed, June 20, 2018

• by: Kelly Korreck, Solar Physicist, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Shauna Edson, Education and Public Engagement

Artist’s concept of the Parker Solar Probe spacecraft approaching the Sun. Credit: NASA

The original blog post can be found here.

What's next for the Sun after the solar eclipse?

If you were lucky like me and got to see the corona for the first time with your own eyes on August 21, I think it is safe to say you are hooked on all things solar!  It was my first eclipse and I can still feel the excitement when describing the corona that I saw.  I saw red filaments and a wispy pointy streamer.  It was one of the most beautiful things I have seen! And the event around it was also amazing!  I saw my colleagues travel to all sorts of places from Oregon to South Carolina to Nebraska and Wyoming meeting new people and enjoying all that America has to offer.  It warms my Midwestern heart to see so many people enjoying it!  And the genuine interest and curiosity about the Sun and the great young people I met at the educational events were my favorite parts!

It was a great event but what is next for our Sun? What does one do between eclipses?  The Sun will be expecting a visitor from Earth- NASA's Parker Solar Probe (PSP) #ParkerSolarProbe!

Photo Credit: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

PSP will launch July 31, 2018 and will speed towards its rendezvous with Venus before it has its first encounter with the sun.  Over the missions seven year lifespan, there will be 24 encounters with the sun and 6 more (for 7 total) Venus gravity assists.   There will be 4 scientific instrument suites, FIELDS, ISOIS, SWEAP and WISPR, that will sample the Sun in various ways to understand 3 of its unsolved mysteries.  An instrument named WISPR will take pictures of all the gas and material leaving the sun. FIELDS will sample the electric and magnetic fields.  ISOIS will look in many directions to find the energertic particles that are a major player in space weather. SWEAP will sample all the hot gas (plasma) that makes up most of the Sun's wind. 

As for the mysteries, we have some big ones!  I will cover each of those in the next few weeks blogs! The first is why when you walk away from a heat source you get hotter!  Imaging leaving a fireplace and getting warmer?!??! 

You have less than a year till the next great solar event!  Follow Paker Solar Probe on the journey to the Sun!

 

What should be the relationship between business and higher education?

Higher education is a passion of mine.  I recently read the article from The New Yorker  - "Do Business People Make Good University Presidents?"  This article discusses the appointment of a businessperson as President of the University of Iowa and the reaction of the faculty of the university.  This bringing in of an "outsider" to academia brings up interesting questions like what is the purpose of a University.  A key point is that a University's purpose is not to maximize profits but to maximize student's education. This might be a foreign concept to a for-profit world.  Perhaps it could be likened to a business model that included having higher quality standards or keeping a brand "image" up or maybe a luxury market where name is key but in general a university does not follow a typical business model. However, academia could use some help in streamlining things like student services and infrastructure maintenance and expansion to maximize them for the dollars available-not eliminate them!

For profit businesses and the public in general should realize that the value of higher education goes well beyond that student themselves. Without universities, businesses don't have an educated innovative workforce. They also don't have consumers. Business and academia should have a symbiotic relationship that can take the best of both an academic world and a business world and combine them to benefit society. That is after all what government is for- for doing things to benefit the entire population that no one other single entity could do for the greater good and for the long term even if it doesn't necessarily make business sense- things like infrastructure, education and the arts. But in an era of ever shrinking government funding, how does higher ed evolve to survive?

What can we do to encourage the conversation between business, higher ed, and government to keep an innovative education system moving forward? Are there things that alumni can do to help? Are there models for success that should be followed? What can the future be for higher ed? Creating the right balance will be key to keeping universities relevant and thriving.

Original post from Linked In.

Why Astronomers should participate in AAS Congressional Visit Day and Advocacy for Astronomy!

Last March I had the honor to participate in our democracy and attend the AAS Congressional Visit Day.   The visit was such a positive experience; I want to strongly encourage you to consider becoming involved in advocacy for Astronomy as well.  

You have never visited Congress?  No worries! The visit to the Congressional offices is actually a culmination of a few weeks of preparation.  Once you are informed by the AAS that you were selected to attend, you get to work contacting your Congressperson to set up a meeting.  There is a directory online to find out this information based on your home address (http://aas.org/resources/contacting-congress).  Remember you are the congressperson’s constituent and they are interested in hearing from you! In the AAS visit, you will also be visiting in small groups (2-3 people) so you also don't have to worry about doing this alone.

Over the next few weeks, Joel and Josh take you through background information on the various agencies and the federal budget, and congressional structure to make sure you understand the Congressional landscape. This information is given through a few short telecons and a briefing the day before your Hill visit.

My biggest concern before I went was: What would I say to a Congressperson about Astronomy that would be impactful?  First, the AAS briefing stressed, do no harm.  We are all astronomers and we are advocating for astronomy overall.  It isn't fund one project over another.  The visit is about being a source of information and anecdotes about how astronomy fits into local politics - all politics is local after all.  You will spend some time within your small group figuring out what are the main points you want to cover in the meetings.  Focusing on why your research is important to society.  My group focused on the jobs creation and the scientific pipeline created by the NSF REU program and advocated for a strong NSF budget.  All three of us in the group had been part of the REU program in some way and our enthusiasm for it showed.  The NSF REU program is a compelling element of astronomy that touches on job creation, training the next generation and creating a culture of innovation and inspiration.  All things that are relatable in DC.  But there are many ways an astronomer can be relatable to Congress from participating in major missions to educating the next generation at a university to just being the inspiration to think about the big questions in life like “Are there other habitable planets?”

Why should you take 2-3 days out of your busy schedule to do this?
Since most of our funding in astronomy is tied to the US federal government in one way or another, this experience was a great way to learn how the money is allocated to the various agencies that support our research.  We all have to advocate for what we care about and knowing how to do that most effectively is important.  And you get to connect with new colleagues and spend a few days in DC visiting the Hill.

The website with the sign up for the AAS Congressional Visit Day can be found:
http://aas.org/content/congressional-visits-day-2015-sign-form

Even if you cannot attend this event, check out the AAS Policy page (http://aas.org/policy) to see how you can participate and advocate for astronomy!