tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post3875236353174755365..comments2024-03-28T04:15:44.459-05:00Comments on nanoscale views: A primer on faculty searches, part IIIDouglas Natelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13340091255404229559noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-44436911915767855522007-04-10T00:12:00.000-05:002007-04-10T00:12:00.000-05:00Doug, thanks for the pointer. :-)Anonymous #59Doug, thanks for the pointer. :-)<BR/><BR/>Anonymous #59Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-69374974533685478622007-04-09T15:56:00.000-05:002007-04-09T15:56:00.000-05:00Anonymous w/ comment 58: It is true that where yo...Anonymous w/ comment 58: It is true that where you are does affect what you can do. As far as student quality, the issue usually isn't with the top of the distribution - for all kinds of reasons, the best students at even second-rank institutions can be extremely good. The real question is, how broad is the tail of the distribution. At Rice, I've seen some students that are as good as the best students at Stanford, but I think the tail is larger here. As far as funding goes, the more direct impact of your institution is the resources that you have available to do good work. Rice has pretty much all the high-tech infrastructure I need to do my research. That would not be true at many places. Your institution can also strongly determine the size of your startup. A good undergrad-focused place like Amherst College simply can't afford startup packages that can approach $1M at top research places.<BR/><BR/>Anonymous w/ comment 59: The "start date" is almost always set by the school's fiscal year. Rice's fiscal year, used for budgeting purposes, runs from July 1 through June 30. So, what that date means is that that's when the funds become allocated to start paying a salary line. That is definitely a late application deadline, but that may not mean anything more than they were late getting approval for the position. Super-narrow wording of the ad would be more of a tip-off.Douglas Natelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340091255404229559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-79111958032428861742007-04-09T02:40:00.000-05:002007-04-09T02:40:00.000-05:00I have got a question for a specific hiring case. ...I have got a question for a specific hiring case. When a school posted an ad with the application deadline being Feb 28, and wanted the hired person to start on July 1, does this mean the school already have someone in mind, and every other people are just wasting their time to even think about apply to?<BR/><BR/>That school is UCLA ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-82295906422287612672007-04-08T17:56:00.000-05:002007-04-08T17:56:00.000-05:00It's interesting seeing the strong feelings that t...It's interesting seeing the strong feelings that this subject brings out. A question I have for Doug and other faculty - how much does the place you are working at affect the quality of your research output? Clearly, for faculty working in experiment, I can see two possible advantages to being at a more prestigious institution:<BR/>(1) The quality of graduate students on average is better.<BR/>(2) The chance that you will get your grant is higher.<BR/>Are either of these really true? It would be nice to hear your opinions on this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-22368158588511253252007-04-06T19:51:00.000-05:002007-04-06T19:51:00.000-05:00Perhaps we could talk about the institution that m...Perhaps we could talk about the institution that made the "controversial hire" instead? Then we won't have to mention any person's names, right? heh!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-35310615643783266142007-04-06T17:23:00.000-05:002007-04-06T17:23:00.000-05:00DTIP, Weinberg - I cut out the comments that menti...DTIP, Weinberg - I cut out the comments that mentioned the initials of the controversial hire. If my name is on this, it's going to reflect my professional opinion about appropriate conduct. Feel free to leave and start your own blog if you don't like my groundrules.Douglas Natelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340091255404229559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-51492078435410462892007-04-06T17:04:00.000-05:002007-04-06T17:04:00.000-05:00I agree with deepthroatinphysics, this is ridiculu...I agree with deepthroatinphysics, this is ridiculuous... My entry is erased because I said Lisa Randall is single. I guess it requires security clearance Q to know that. Big deal? What are we gonna talk about? I think this entry is gonna be erased too so I should not bother with writing more. I am done with this blogAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-8326067106706815282007-04-06T16:12:00.000-05:002007-04-06T16:12:00.000-05:00What's the sense of bloging? Should we limit us ju...What's the sense of bloging? Should we limit us just talking about "how is the weather in Houston?" (sorry, this is violation of the privacy policy because 'Houston' -- a real name, is used.)deepthroatinphysicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01728543279189620565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-2068536994660547002007-04-06T16:10:00.000-05:002007-04-06T16:10:00.000-05:00Sigh, why good people often get beaten by bad guys...Sigh, why good people often get beaten by bad guys. If even free initials without any affilation information are still considered as attack? Too sensitive.deepthroatinphysicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01728543279189620565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-27102399788592765242007-04-06T15:54:00.000-05:002007-04-06T15:54:00.000-05:00Fortunately I saved the discussions every time I v...Fortunately I saved the discussions every time I visited here. I will publish somewhere else.deepthroatinphysicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01728543279189620565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-68794422599415535342007-04-06T14:56:00.000-05:002007-04-06T14:56:00.000-05:00Upon further reflection, I've deleted more comment...Upon further reflection, I've deleted more comments from this thread, scrubbing out potential identifiers. <BR/><BR/>I haven't been 'intimidated'. If anything, I realize now that I may need to start moderating comments. Publicly criticizing the work of others from behind a veil of perceived anonymity is not something I want to encourage here.Douglas Natelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340091255404229559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-56798821570895854672007-04-06T13:54:00.000-05:002007-04-06T13:54:00.000-05:00All right - this thread is closed. Let's talk abou...All right - this thread is closed. Let's talk about something else.Douglas Natelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340091255404229559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-48434638894626631682007-04-06T13:53:00.000-05:002007-04-06T13:53:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-56882711915538865622007-04-06T13:42:00.000-05:002007-04-06T13:42:00.000-05:00random user,I think you're trying to intimidate Do...random user,<BR/>I think you're trying to intimidate Doug. And I don't think you have the moral virtues to judge what is inappropriate and what is beyond pale on someone else's blog. <BR/><BR/>Your words make me suspect that you enjoy black-box games where someone can get unfair benefits. And you want everyone to shut up. Don't you know one function of the Internet is to deminish the black-box games?deepthroatinphysicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01728543279189620565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-9956239048914485512007-04-06T12:33:00.000-05:002007-04-06T12:33:00.000-05:00OK, the parts of the thread where Doug adds to wha...OK, the parts of the thread where Doug adds to what he posted about were fine. It's useful and interesting and I'm glad he does it, although I'd be interested to know how his fellow search committee members would react upon reading the thread. <BR/><BR/>The discussion of the 'weird' hire (with clearly identifying details for anyone in the business) was totally inappropriate, and the discussion of a specific member in his department was beyond the pale.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-64400331752770193512007-04-06T12:15:00.000-05:002007-04-06T12:15:00.000-05:00To random user,Isn't a very nice thing to have som...To random user,<BR/>Isn't a very nice thing to have some senior person discuss on some never-clarified but very important factors in life-critical events? As long as no personal attacks and enough privacy kept, I think it a good idea to discuss some cases (otherwise everything is possible.)deepthroatinphysicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01728543279189620565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-59614612200471022022007-04-06T12:03:00.000-05:002007-04-06T12:03:00.000-05:00Must you feed the trolls, Doug? This whole threa...Must you feed the trolls, Doug? This whole thread was totally inappropriate.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-54945237346623304742007-04-06T11:29:00.000-05:002007-04-06T11:29:00.000-05:00It took me about 5 seconds to find out who was beh...It took me about 5 seconds to find out who was behind the initials of the Rice professor (I'm from another place). <BR/><BR/>My guess is that many people at Doug's institution read his blog, so keeping things anonymous has much less to do with hypocrisy than with congeniality...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-58653403973269631792007-04-06T11:06:00.000-05:002007-04-06T11:06:00.000-05:00You didn't give a name, but you gave initials and ...You didn't give a name, but you gave initials <I>and</I> a department. The other discussion is also marginal, but doesn't reveal the department in question.Douglas Natelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340091255404229559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-20015805156235766152007-04-06T10:50:00.000-05:002007-04-06T10:50:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-21907802322359895702007-04-06T09:33:00.000-05:002007-04-06T09:33:00.000-05:00Doug, I think references to your colleague should ...Doug, I think references to your colleague should be removed from this blog, or his/her initials blanked out. <BR/><BR/>Ironically, one of the reasons why I read your blog is precisely to find gossip like this!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-75575759071338607982007-04-05T23:00:00.000-05:002007-04-05T23:00:00.000-05:00I don't know about the facts of the case. I'm bet...I don't know about the facts of the case. I'm betting there's good reason for the hire, because I'm not jaded. <BR/><BR/>Regardless, you sure sound like you have an axe to grind, DTIP. It's distasteful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-16129112415794124152007-04-05T21:58:00.000-05:002007-04-05T21:58:00.000-05:00DTIP - All I can tell you is what we do. Each pla...DTIP - All I can tell you is what we do. Each place has its own decision-making process. I think ours is the norm, and works pretty well.Douglas Natelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340091255404229559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-52210427986581242882007-04-05T21:43:00.000-05:002007-04-05T21:43:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.deepthroatinphysicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01728543279189620565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-23308864220456473212007-04-05T21:22:00.000-05:002007-04-05T21:22:00.000-05:00DTIP - Well, here, folders are initially ranked in...DTIP - Well, here, folders are initially ranked in an A/B/C sense by the committee. Seeing who gets the best aggregate rankings + discussion, the short list is chosen for interviews. <BR/><BR/>After the interviews, we don't re-do numerical scoring. As I've learned from serving on many NSF panels, "rigorous" scoring isn't really practical because different people grade on a different scale. That is, there are harsh graders on certain areas (e.g. clarity of talk) but not others. What we do is reconvene the committee, and go around the room asking for people's rankings of the interviewees, with some verbal justification of the ranking. Often one rises to the top. Sometimes two rise to the top, which means figuring out priorities. <BR/><BR/>As you've no doubt inferred from the rumor mill, it is possible for the number 1 person to get an offer with a short timeframe. If that person turns the place down, the number 2 person can get the offer.<BR/><BR/>In an ideal world, people would learn where they stand as quickly as possible, and we try to enable that. Sometimes it is very tough to do this, though. What if there are three people that you'd be willing to offer the job, and the first one strings you along about their status because they want to do a few more interviews? The differing schedules of various schools exacerbate the problem. My last interview (after my Rice one) was at Cal Tech at the end of March, 2000. Turns out I was the <I>first</I> candidate that they'd brought in, and they weren't going to be ready to make decisions until almost May! All of the hiring decisions are strongly entangled. To use another example from my cohort, two of my contemporaries racked up something like 10 offers each. They were the stars that year. Once they picked where they were going, everyone else fell into place. Unfortunately that's just the nature of the process.Douglas Natelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340091255404229559noreply@blogger.com