Research proposal
A thousand words on method
How many will stand?

I am sitting and cleaning up my interview transcripts (by listening to the original audio file). Such tedious work! #PhDLife

LeidenForce has masto-donned its way into the Fediverse!
We are a European MSCA-DN research project, funded by #horizonEurope & dedicated to studying the #LeidenfrostEffect
Here, we’ll share our discoveries, research topics, and glimpses of #PhDlife — hoping to spark your curiosity.
https://www.leidenforce.eu

Just returned from the Oxford-Berkeley Summer Doctoral Programme at UC Berkeley — two intellectually intense and energising weeks with PhD researchers and leading scholars from around the world.
Thanks to @oiioxford & @ucberkeley for creating such a generous environment. It’s rare to leave an academic setting feeling both exhausted and recharged.

I don't study fashion amongst graduate students, but I'm low-key thinking of pivoting my research topic just to have an opportunity to title a paper:

"From drab to drag: the grad garb grab-bag"

Come possiamo andare sereni in ferie mentre la stragrande maggioranza delle posizioni post-doc in Italia è finanziata con risorse effimere?

Nel grafico, il blu scuro indica le posizioni pagate con risorse strutturali e stabili - una minoranza davvero ristretta - secondo la XII Indagine Nazionale dell'ADI.

Link al report completo
https://dottorato.it/content/xii-indagine-adi-su-postdoc-il-precariato-come-condizione-strutturale-del-sistema-della?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwL8gXBjbGNrAvyBbGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAAEePC6XSqCSpkEI0rzGpesHXcfxCYmJ5YyXViaT77YA1RhY1jUftZT-rktU8iw_aem_XwINX1zfPWf9dHRFKavKhg

I feel seen/called out

Weekly Lab Report (and health update) :

I worked from home this week as "soldiering on" with a cold is not helpful for myself or my colleagues.

Testing was done on the lab's power distribution system. Maybe(?) it will open soon.

I made further changes, as suggested by my supervisor, to the theory paper. There are significant changes needed with some of the figures, and work in the actual discussion part, which requires deeper research and thought on my part. This was originally written by my co-author who is now extremely busy as he works for a semiconductor business. It is a good opportunity to analyse the results myself.

Producing some of the figures has given me an opportunity to do some more coding with Julia. I decided to use it as an opportunity to use the Pluto notebook while I am at it. As with most projects, this one is taking way longer than expected.

It has been a week for addressing mental health issues. My EEG was good, with nothing abnormal. The neurologist did prescribe a benzodiazapam to attenuate the spasms associated with high stress/relaxation response that I have had for most of this year. Given the risks of this class of drug, it will be taken sporadically as required. The neurologist is awaiting one more pathology result, with all but one looking good. The one abnormality was not specific at this stage.

My GP prescribed a course of Vitamin D to address a mild deficiency. That can also be a factor with depression/anxiety. Next cab off the rank is an SNRI prescription, to be commenced at the end of next week. The SSRI I tried earlier in the year had some great improvements in behaviour, but the episodes of confusion were a bit much to take. 5 minutes standing in the lab, thinking hard about how to move 10 metres to the other side of the laser. Weird.

Got comments back from co-author. A few changes. But looks like I will submit the paper tomorrow #PhDLife

Weekly Lab Report:

Ongoing progress with configuring the spectrometry equipment.
No discernible progress with the lab electrical remediation.
I received excellent feedback from my supervisor on the theory paper. The week was dominated by working through the comments and corrections. The corrections are promarily addressed. It is the ones that require further reading and clarification that will take up the time.
Safety training and Training around Confirmation of Candidature requirements is ongoing.

The undergrad student from Frankfurt who worked in our lab last year, has been accepted as a Masters Student at the Max Planck Institute, supervised by Ferenc Kraus!. An excellent opportunity for him.

I’m thinking of taking a #DesignThinking course as my elective this Fall. I can’t take comps yet, since I delayed the required course on theoretical and conceptual frameworks this past spring. My cohort is moving on without me. It’s ok though. I’ve made some solid connections and will hopefully make more in a new cohort. #phdLife #LTEC #EdTech

Finished my paper, now for co-author comments and then sending it off. W00T! #PhDLife

Almost finished my paper this weekend, what a relief, it's due on the 1 August. I should knock it over tomorrow. My graphs are so fugly, but at this stage, I can't be too picky. #work #PhDLife

I submitted, so now I sleep.

"Why It Matters": The 2025 PhD Video Challenge is now accepting submissions of two-minute videos discussing the importance of PhD research in the built environment.

Contributions are welcome from fields such as sociology, geography, engineering, architecture, planning, urban studies, environmental design, and more.

https://www.buildingsandcities.org/video-challenge/2025.html

Still need to delete 150 words…
…the right ones…
…or better, the useless ones.

Turns out papers are easier to write if I don't think of them as, say a 3500 word text, but instead as an elaborate, arcane, well researched 3490 words setup to a stupid pun in the last sentence of the conclusion.

Weekly Lab Report:

I am back from two weeks exploring coastal Far North
Queensland with the entire family. Snorkelling on the outer GBR off Port Douglas was a definite highlight.

Last week has seen the lab closed while electrical issues are investigated and remediated. Spectroscopy equipment from Adelaide has been set up on an optical table in a small lab.
My week was dominated by preparation for "Confirmation of Candidature", with planning all the tasks required by UniSQ and initial draft with semi-coherent words of 40% of the target page total.
Presentation slides planned in my mind!

When I read, I either use labels or take notes.

In this book (The Dao of Complexity), I started with labels, switched to notes as they help me learn and remember and reread and ….

Don’t want to sound arrogant, but I think my notes are cool.

By the way, the book is too!!!