Notes for Graduate Students
(Revised by September 12,
2002)
Performance
l Progress
l Efficiency
l Quality
l Quantity
l Originality and novelty
l Independence
Communication
l Coordinate with colleagues for the usage of equipments,
space and reagents, etc.
l Active interactions with advisor and colleagues
l Presentation in lab meetings: treat your every
presentation as a publication
l Be in lab meetings on time and active involvement in
the discussion
l Response to advice appropriately
l No one is a monster in this lab.
Working as a
professional scientist
l Do you have your working model?
l Include appropriate controls in EVERY experiment
l Independently think and design of experiments
l Knowledge on your field
l Read at least two original research papers per week
l If you disagree with your advisor, speak out!
There is absolutely NO experiment that does not have a
conclusion
There is absolutely NO project that does not have a
conclusion
A tough project does not mean a gradually disappearing
or forgettable project
l Take care about your plants; take actions before they
die or flower in tissue culture media
l Use equipments and reagents in a professional way
Notes
l Record everything you have done, including negative
results; photography is essential
l Data analysis and conclusions
l Discussion, comments and plans for future experiments
l Record your data, even if you do not like them
l Notes of seminars and paper readings
Working as a dedicated
scientist
l As a scientist, you must dedicate everything to this
business
l Working time: 8-hour is unpractical. There is NO way
for a scientist or a Ph.D student to work only 8 hours a day!
l Go to your mother’s house for afternoon naps and never
come back!
l Vacation: 5 weeks per year (Chinese New Year, the May
Day and the National Day breaks are included)
l Start your morning work not later than 8:30 am and
afternoon work no later than 1 pm
l Surf over the Internet for non-scientific purposes
should be less than 30 min a day
l Reading newspapers should be limited less than 30 min
a day
l Novels or other non-scientific journals/magazines are
not permitted in the lab and office
l If you are absent from the lab more than one hour, get
permission first.
l Everyone has personal business, but the lab business
always has priority unless in emergency
l In this business, an “average” student who works seven
days a week is definitely more productive than a “genius” who works five days a
week
l If you are able to make any major progresses by
working 8 hours a day and 5 days a week, every fortunate in this world must be
on your side!
Your Efforts
l What is your career plan?
l How much efforts you have made?
l It is the shared responsibilities of your advisor and yourself
to move a project forward
l You should have great concentrations on your project
l There is no easy way to get your Ph.D. degree unless
hard working
l You should know how to use major database (e.g., NCBI
and TARI) but rather than an expert on SINA, SOHU or any other non-scientific
websites
l If you cannot pass the English Test, you are partially
disqualified as a Ph.D. candidate in this lab.
l The US definition for graduate students: those who can
survive and colonize on the minimal medium with vender machines as the sole
carbon source in the absence of dental insurance!
l You are working neither for your parents, your parents’
neighbors, nor your friends to solely earn a “glorious” name (Ph.D. degree) per
se. You are working for your own career!
l Working-hard before 30-year-old is the best way to
prevent suffers after turning 30
l We are NOT writers or any other non-research
professionals
l A real scientist needs a logic rather than romantic
way to think!
Use your brains: think and work smartly
l A good graduate student is not a robot
l A good graduate student always knows what he/she is
doing and what he/she has done
l A good graduate student always scientifically goes
beyond what he/she has been “advised”
l A good graduate student must independently think about
the project and read the data as well as catch hints derived from the data
l You should learn and eventually know how to interpret your
data
l You should learn and eventually know how to write a
paper or a progress report in a professional and logic way
l You should be capable of tackling technical troubles
by smartly using references and by discussing with coworkers
l If you use your brain, you should be able to avoid unnecessary,
stupid mistakes or to avoid making the same mistakes more than once. Many of
such mistakes cannot be rescued by money (e.g., the loss of mutant seeds)
l Mistakes resulted from brain- or thinking-less actions
are not tolerated
l Making mistakes with similar natures more than once is
not tolerated
Your qualifications for a
Ph.D. degree will be judged based on these criteria, which are the keys to
differentiate you from a technician.
[FYI: The lab's link]
[FYI: The lab's link]
