|
Fall 2004 Unique No. 47940
| Weds. 2 - 3 PM | RLM 15.216A
(Edmonds Lounge)
INSTRUCTOR
Harriet Dinerstein, Professor
Office: RLM 16.324
Phone: 471-3449
Email: harriet@astro.as.utexas.edu
Course Website
Philosophy of this course
AST 185C is a professional development seminar tailored for incoming
graduate students in the UT Astronomy Ph.D. program. It is intended
to complement offerings related to professional skills and career development by UT's
Graduate School, providing a field-specific introduction to the culture, norms, and practices of
astronomers.
Topics
We will survey the research
activities at UT Austin in the areas of solar system, interstellar,
extragalactic, stellar, and theoretical astronomy, to orient
you to our department and help you choose an initial research
advisor and project. In addition we will discuss broader issues
such as: What does it really take to succeed in graduate
school and beyond? What are the prospects of finding a job, what
kind of jobs are available, and how does one prepare for various
career paths? My goal is to introduce you to folks at different
stages of their careers, who have had a variety of experiences
and provide a broad range of opinions and perspectives. Several
class sessions will require some advance preparation (one round
of short oral presentations and an occasional short survey or
a little reading), but most of the time you'll come just to listen
and ask questions.
What is expected
of you in this class?
To attend regularly (except in case
of illness or, for example, an observing run), and participate
in class discussions and activities.
Books, Resources
A couple of relevant (but not very recent) books
are:
1. "A
Ph.D. is Not Enough! A Guide to Survival in Science,"
Peter J. Feibelman (1993), Addison-Wesley paperback.
2. "To Boldly Go: A Practical Career Guide for Scientists,"
Peter S. Fiske (1996), American Geophysical Union.
These used to live on a shelf labelled "Careers,"
Peridier library, but recently the library has been undergoing drastic reorganization, so these materials may have
migrated elsewhere. I also kept a looseleaf notebook for Ast 185C there, and notebooks on resources for teaching and writing
proposals. These days, there is a lot of material available on such topics on the Web. The AAS (American Astronomical
Society) "Career Services"
web pages are a good starting point, see http://www.aas.org/career/index.htm.
Topics for discussion
in Ast 185C
1. Introduction to research at Texas:
- overview of the research facilities of McDonald Observatory
- overview of research activities at Texas, summarized by areas
2. Survival and success in the UT Astronomy
program:
- the official program: A to Z, reviewed
by the graduate advisor & graduate cooordinator
- perspectives from several graduate students in their third year and beyond
3. Survival and success in an astronomy
career:
- statistics on the current job market in
astronomy & how UT grads have fared (see
https://www.as.utexas.edu/astronomy/people/dinerstein/talk.html
for a not-quite-up-to-date summary)
- how to get yourself and your work known,
job hunting strategies; advice from our post docs
- grantsmanship, professional norms, &
ethical issues
- non-academic careers, primarily "industry," contrctors, soft-money, and observatory support
4. Professional and communication skills:
- we will practice giving short oral presentations on research papers, before you are likely to have to do
this in a regular graduate seminar or formal class
- discuss what goes on during the peer review process
for journal articles & grant proposals
|
