Group Values and Expectations

Preamble

The following document is meant to be a concise summary of the shared values and expectations for members of the Johnston-Halperin  research group, including students, postdocs and the PI. It is not meant to be comprehensive. Some resources will be linked with further details, and if you have any questions from reading this document, you should contact other members of the group, including the PI, to learn more. 

Values 

The core goals of our research group are to contribute to the scientific community and to train scientists with the skills needed to succeed in STEM. We measure success in these goals by comparison to the very best research and researchers in the world; science is an international community and we evaluate our performance with no excuses or qualifications. These two goals are synergistic, and we expect all members of our group to achieve excellence along both axes. Finally, we commit to a continuing evaluation of our own standards of excellence, and to look for opportunities to improve that standard even as we strive to reach it.

Expectations

For students and postdocs

• Respect your colleagues at all times

  • Read and understand the “Values and Expectations” document for the Department of Physics.

  • Respect the shared workspace: 

    • Avoid negative impacts on other researchers and projects.

  • Strive for clear and respectful communication about joint scheduling, individual responsibilities, etc.

  • Participate in the maintenance and upkeep required to keep our labs functioning.

  • Protect and enhance your professional reputation as a scientist, as well as the reputation of the group, when dealing with colleagues, collaborators, user facilities, etc.

    • This is especially important in using shared equipment in NSL and other shared user facilities.

  • Maintain respect in off site activities such as group events, conferences, and visits to collaborators.

• Personal commitment to the success of your project

  • Take personal and absolute responsibility for anything related to your project

  • Hold yourself, your data, and your collaborations to the highest standards of scientific excellence

    • Keep a detailed lab notebook and follow best practices for “data hygiene”

  • Attend group meetings/activities and commit to active participation in scientific discussions

  • Come to work focused, rested, fed, and healthy such that you are able to pursue the best quality of science. 

  • Proactively pursue progress in your projects by  looking for ways to make progress in experimental downtime.

    • As experimentalists, we often are at the whim of equipment scheduling and other external considerations so effective time management is essential.

  • Hours will fluctuate based on experimental demands and may include time spent considering your project away from the lab and/or your computer. I don’t count, but as a heads up you should anticipate 60-80 hours a week for full-time GRAs.Time off should be discussed proactively with the PI. Approximately 2 weeks per year is standard.

• Mentorship 

  • New group members are assigned a mentor within the lab, who will be the new mentee’s first contact for questions as they get up to speed.

    • Mentees should initially commit to working hours that significantly overlap with the mentor’s working hours.

    • Mentees should trust but verify mentor guidance around scientific endeavors. Any variation from SOPs should be discussed before enacted. 

  • Group members should expect to be assigned various mentees throughout their PhD including junior grad students, undergrad students, and REU students.

    • Senior students should recognize mentoring as an essential part of their role and important professional development, however, they must also  protect their time such that mentoring does not significantly impede project progress. 

  • Mentor/mentee relationships will vary along throughout your PhD, including your relationship with the PI

    • Onboarding mentor: A senior student who is assigned to any new group member

    • Technical mentor: A senior student who has some expertise in a specific experimental process or scientific idea.

    • Pair on project mentor: When a senior student is first author from our group on a project a more junior student may be paired with them as second author on the project. The mentee is generally self-sufficient in this role. 

    • Beyond official mentor mentee relationships, as a group we strive to be supportive of each other at all times.

  • Mentee/mentor conflict should be promptly addressed, and brought to the PIs attention if needed. This should not be viewed as an “escalation” but recognized as appropriate professional behavior when two scientists have legitimate differences of opinion. New mentors may be assigned or discussions with the PI  may help to resolve the issue.

• Lab safety and cleanliness standards. 

  • Think about safety proactively, not reactively.

  • Recognize that the Venn diagram of “safe science”, “precise science”, and “successful science” is a circle.

  • Complete all relevant lab trainings and keep them up to date. 

    • Talk to the lab safety officer to be assigned online and in person trainings.

  • Read and understand all lab safety readings (safety data sheets, standard operating procedures, etc.) that apply to your work.

  • Inform lab safety officer and PI of any safety concerns found in the lab.

  • Keep the lab environment clean and neat, a dirty lab environment is a dangerous lab environment.

• PhD Graduation requirements

  • Pass your candidacy exam 

    • Students are responsible for assembling an appropriate candidacy committee and scheduling the exam with their committee.

    • You can expect high level edits on your outline and oral presentation from the PI, but he cannot provide detailed edits due to department guidelines. 

    • Additional references for candidacy can be found here. 

  • Publish papers 

    • 2-4 papers, at least one as first author 

      • These numbers will fluctuate based on the individual projects and should be discussed with the PI regularly. 

    • These papers should be of a scientific caliber consistent with leading peer-reviewed journals.

  • Make a significant contribution to the scientific capabilities of the research group.

    • new tools, new techniques, mentoring younger scientists, etc.

For the PI

• The group and the PI will behave in a respectful and professional manner towards you at all times, including off site activities such as group events, conferences, and visits to collaborators

• The PI will provide strategic planning for each project individually and the research portfolio of the group as a whole, including identifying and securing funding and ensuring that research directions are relevant to the scientific community

• Expect to have access to the full spectrum of professional development, for example:

  • Attend conferences

  • Receive training/mentoring in relevant techniques and science from both the group and the PI

  • Interact with collaborators and visiting speakers in person, via video conference, email, etc.

• Expect the PI to provide letters of recommendation in a timely manner, and which accurately reflect relevant accomplishments.

• The PI will calibrate expectations of professional performance based on responsibilities outside the group (classes, TA duties) and personal obligations (family, physical and mental health, vacation time).

• The PI will provide clear and consistent feedback on professional development and progress towards PhD

  • Group finances and how they impact your research

  • Scientific and professional development

  • Edits to papers, talks, posters, etc.