Our Lab’s mission is to benefit humanity by tackling pressing environmental problems. We aim to do so by being bold and thinking about creative ways of doing science. We encourage diversity of background, approach and thought. Above all else, do good science and just be kind.

Julian’s thoughts on lab expectations

Be part of the team. I value teamwork and collaboration and I expect my students and post-docs to be engaged, enthusiastic and active members of the lab. This does not simply involve just taking part in lab meetings, but includes helping other lab members with analysis or field work, participating in lab extracurricular activities, assisting me with project management and logistics, valuing and respecting the time and skills of other lab members, and generally working to be an integral and important member of the lab.

Be productive. Graduate school is a full-time job, so I expect everyone in my lab to strive towards working at their best and being their most productive. Being productive does not require working unreasonable hours; being productive is about working well. It’s about quality, not always quantity. I place a high value on life outside of work and school, and I do not expect my students to be in the office all the time.  However, if productively is not at a level expected of graduate school, then we will have a discussion and develop a plan for improving productivity that might involve more physical time in the office or lab.

Meet objectives on time. I will be clear about my expectations and the objectives that each person in my lab must meet. Those objectives might relate to research progress, teaching, publishing, data collection, and more. I expect that lab members will meet these objectives in the agreed upon time frame. If there is some reason that objectives will not be met, I expect to know about this early in order to revise my expectations. Waiting until a deadline arrives to tell me that the deadline will not be met is the worst thing you can do. I expect students to respect my time, just as I respect their time.

Respond to emails/calls/requests in a timely manner. The definition of “timely” will vary depending on the nature of the request. I will try to include a specific timeline for response when the request requires a significant time investment. Generally, I expect some kind of response to simple requests within 48 hours (excluding weekends). Note that I will sometimes send emails at odd hours, this does NOT mean that I expect an immediate response. It just means that is the time that works for me to send emails that day, so please do not panic if you get a bunch of correspondence from me outside of work hours. 

Communicate. I expect my students and post-docs to communicate with me (both face-to-face and email) on a regular basis. This is super important to me. Communication includes (most importantly) keeping me in the loop on project development, but also involving any concerns regarding your work and schedules (e.g., if you will be away for extended periods of time). I need to know when things are going well and not so well, otherwise things can go off the rails rather quickly. Being proactive on communications is essential.

Develop a research project. A core part of graduate school and post-doctoral positions is developing research questions. I expect my students to do this, with input and guidance from me. The project will likely be a mix of my ideas and their ideas. 

Be organized. I expect students and post-docs to be organized. At any one time, I’m heavily involved with over two dozen other projects, so I can’t keep my finger squarely on the pulse of everything. Together, we will develop objectives and timelines for their project, and I expect them to do the work of planning how they will achieve these objectives in the agreed upon time frame (or communicate with me early about roadblocks that might prevent them from doing so, see above!). I expect them to come to meetings with the appropriate documents (prepared ahead of time) and with questions prepared. Being organized is a key step towards effective time management and that is essential for success in graduate school (and beyond!).

Interact with people outside of academia. Research in my lab has real world applications. In order to have any chance of making a difference in the world, our research needs to be conducted in collaboration with those who might use the results. This means more than just giving a presentation to stakeholders at the completion of a project. This means respecting the knowledge and expertise of managers, stakeholders, and citizens and incorporating this knowledge in the early stages of a project. It also means receiving and responding to feedback from these groups on research approaches, results, and applications.

Science communication. Our lab prioritizes sharing knowledge with diverse audiences to inspire admiration for nature and improve public knowledge regarding how scientists tackle environmental problems and I expect my students to take part in some of our science outreach events. 

Be a good SAFS citizen. I expect my lab to be full participants of the SAFS community. This involves attending events like department seminars or being involved in applicable committees (e.g., hiring committees, seminar organizing committees).

Apply for funding when appropriate. I will do my best to find funding for research, but at the same time, I expect my students to be on the lookout for any funding opportunities relevant to their program, whether it’s applying to a fellowship to get them through their final year, or applying for funds to offset costs for attending conferences.

Be responsible for the program. I am aware of many deadlines and overall program requirements, but it’s also the responsibility of students to know what courses they need to take, and when to take them. Being aware of deadlines is essential for supervisors and students.

Finish on time. I expect MS students to finish in around 2-2.5 years, and PhD students finish in 4-5 years. There may be exceptions to this, but these should be rare, and should be discussed well in advance. My role as academic guide is to help students through the program and help design projects that are feasible within the time limits mentioned; the students are also responsible for trying to reach these deadlines and communicating when they cannot. I am a very strong believer in avoiding ‘extended’ MSc or PhD programs: it is seldom a good idea.

Publish. I expect my post-docs to submit manuscripts within their first year. I expect my students to publish their main thesis chapters in peer-reviewed journals. Ideally, some of these publications should be submitted before the student graduates. Trust me, students don’t want this looming burden after moving on to the next thing. Publishing your science is part of our social contract. I expect all chapters to the published. I also expect to be a co-author on papers that originate from a student’s thesis work, provided that I have earned that authorship.

Be responsible for data. I expect my students and post-docs to have good data management procedures and to generate reproducible results. I expect data-back up to be happening on a regular basis. I also expect all data files and associated code will be well organized and shared with me prior to a student or post-doc leaving the lab. I expect that data and code associated with publications will be archived on a suitable data repository. 

Collaborate and mentor. I model a collaborative research approach and expect my lab members to share what they are doing with each other, and work collaboratively whenever possible. I expect my more senior members to mentor more junior members of the lab.

Read. Reading narrowly and broadly will help students become better scientists. I expect my graduate students to be aware of broader happenings in science, as well as the specifics related to their projects. We will read papers together as a lab to increase the breadth of everyone’s knowledge.

Communicate your science. Communicating science is a central skill for scientists. I will give students opportunities to go to conferences and I expect my students to present their work at these conferences, and to spend time and energy on developing effective science communication skills for citizens and policy makers. 

Be independent. I expect my graduate students and post-docs to be independent. Mentoring is one of my top priorities, but I have a number of job duties that need my attention. I will set up regular meetings with each of my lab members, but I will not micro-manage. My preference is to be hands off, provided that the work is progressing well, although I will ALWAYS be available and accessible as needed. Part of this independence will mean that I expect students and post-docs to identify when they need additional help from me, and to communicate their needs clearly and directly.

Be creative, take risks, have fun. Graduate school and post-doctoral positions are both wonderful times in a career. I will do my best to create an interesting, inclusive, supportive, and fun work environment. I hope this is an environment that will allow for students to feel comfortable being creative and taking risks in order to develop more fully as scientists and people. I also hope that we can enjoy spending some non-work time together!

Thanks to these two great examples for inspiration: here and here.