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Inappropriate Asks in Physics Research

Writer's picture: Mishkat BhattacharyaMishkat Bhattacharya

This post is about some questions posed to me, that I have collected over time, which relate to the way physics research functions - or perhaps the way it does not function. I hope you will find some of them useful.


(Students mostly call me Prof. B to get around my polysyllabic last name, so I have used it everywhere below. Microsoft and Apple play a perhaps unexpected but useful role in this conversation):


  1. Prof. B, I contacted an author of a paper I read as part of our research. Hope that was ok?


This happens when I forget to inform a starting undergraduate or graduate student that my permission is required for contacting any one outside our group regarding research. The student's ask is not appropriate because research is a competitive endeavor.


I would not like it to be known outside the group that we are working on any subject because that may give away a competitive edge, rob us of the element of surprise, and by broadcasting our aims, alert other people that the topic may be of interest. Likewise, few researchers when contacted by other people in the field will give away their hard-won expertise and knowledge for free.


It's a little bit like working at Apple and sending an email to Microsoft asking a question about how a Graphical User Interface works or can be developed. They are not likely to answer, and will likely sue for copyright infringement. Such lawsuits are unusual in physics research, but the idea is the same.


2. Prof. B, I am an undergraduate student from India. I would like to co-op over the summer with your group, but even if you cannot offer me a position, can you pay my airfare to the US?


If this request does not sound strange to you, the battle may have already been lost. Quite apart from the facts that I do not accept international co-ops in my group and that there is no mechanism for funding such travel at my university even for other international hires I make, the ask is inappropriate because there is no reason I should financially support a person who is not going to work for me.


To continue using the example cited above it's like asking someone at Microsoft to pay for the plane ticket even though the applicant is not going to intern with them.


3. Prof. B, I am a graduate student finishing my PhD. Can I do a postdoc with you so I can be closer to my collaborators who are in the city next to yours?


Again, why would I support you with pay and time if you are going to use those resources to render services to other parties? That's like asking Microsoft to pay your salary while you work with Apple.


4. Prof. B., I am a student at another university who has been reading up on some of your recent research. Are you currently planning projects in a similar direction? If you were to take on any student, what are some possible projects you would assign them? I am asking because, before starting any actual PhD position I am considering starting a research project. Please answer at your suitable time. Have a nice day and a nice weekend ahead.


This ask is inappropriate because the student is not part of my research group. Because research is competitive and the student is not my collaborator, I would definitely refuse to reveal which projects I am planning.


But the inappropriateness of the ask goes beyond that. I am actually paid to execute, and am already completely swamped by, the tasks that this student is asking me to perform. If I share an idea about a project I would assign to a student, that idea becomes useless for my own students, as this correspondent will be working on it.


Collaboration between this student and my own is not a realistic idea, as there is no accountability on the part of the external student - as long as they are not attached to a member of the faculty at their institution vis-à-vis this project. For example, there is no guarantee that the external student will not discuss - or collaborate further - with other people on my idea.


As I mentioned above, I do not have the time to guide the outside student should they have questions about the project proposed, especially as they develop the idea, concretize the model, start calculating the observables, etc.


Even more importantly, I do not have the formal authority to execute these tasks. At the beginning of every academic year, I agree upon a Plan of Work with my department head, and the work performed is confirmed at the end of the year through the Annual Appraisal. Since the university hires and pays me to instruct and supervise the research of its own students, it would be considered a conflict of interest if I were to supervise the research of students of another university: why would Microsoft pay me to train employees at Apple?


5. Prof B., Thanks for taking me on for a summer project. I would like to make some extra money over what you are paying me for the summer, and so I have written to the department head if he could assist in this matter. Hope this was ok?


The ask is inappropriate for several reasons. In the first place, the student agreed to the salary I proposed before he signed on, and did not give me any indication that it was not acceptable. Second, he should have discussed with me before approaching the department head, if at all (in army language this was a violation of the chain of command). Third, the department has no obligation to help him; in fact the first thing the head is going to do is call me and ask if the salary needs to be raised; and if so, to provide the needed amount from my funds.


I get a lot of these questions, actually, so someday I may post a follow up.






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