I am very fortunate to work at an institution that provides "pre-tenure leave" for one semester in our 4th year on the faculty. The expectation is that we will make significant research progress during it, with no commitment on campus (teaching or otherwise). One year ago, I was beginning to plan for it, not entirely looking forward to spending a semester by myself in my lab on campus. I wasn't sure how much progress I would make.
I had a particularly brave moment and sent an e-mail to a researcher in my field; I respected the work he and his group have published, but had never met him. Suddenly I had an exciting plan: spend 3 months in Milan, working on a new research collaboration. Since then there have been a number of ups and downs: a grant proposal I was proud of, but that was not funded; feeling uncertain of my abilities, and then proving myself knowledgable about Geant4 (my primary research tool). Somehow nothing has fallen apart, though I try to keep in mind it still could.
I depart January 15th. The flights and AirBnb have been booked for months; my Italian skills have been inching along since last spring. I now have 2.5 weeks to pull together the final details...
Teaching: While I do not have any teaching obligations this spring, I have a terrifying amount of things on my to-do list regarding teaching (past and future). I never finished the assessment/notes from last spring's courses or from this summer. There are notes to write up from this fall's courses. A small pile of recommendation letters have impending deadlines... On top of that, there is some planning for this coming summer and fall that cannot entirely wait for my return in April.
Technology: After many years of service, my little netbook had a scary moment of "cannot find a hard drive" on the way to India this month. I already knew my (new-ish) large laptop would be going to Italy with me, but it isn't particularly portable. I finally bought a table - after 24 hours of ownership, I'm fairly happy with it. It isn't going to run Geant4 simulations or build LaTeX documents, but it seems to have its uses. I'm even experimenting with eBooks now (don't tell my books!).
Travel: While my priority for the next 3 months is research, I want to take this opportunity to travel. I'm half-way through the first guidebook of three (Northern Italy, Croatia, Eastern Europe) that I will rely on for this trip, and I already know that I won't have enough time to go everywhere that I would like to. I have many planes and trains in my future...
Research: This is my first time doing a "visiting collaborator" stint, so I really have no idea how to approach it. What fraction of my collaborator's time will be spent on our project, versus his typical duties and other projects? Will I have a desk and computer? I'm asking some of these questions, but I'm also trying to relax and "go with the flow." Luckily, I can distract myself with a different, ongoing project that I need to wrap up ASAP. Before I leave, I do need to try to organize my research resources. Do I take the relevant papers (in printed form), or just organize my digital research library? I need to get my research computer (in my lab) set up for remote operation and update the version of Geant4 on it. I may not need it for running simulations, but it is likely that the extra computing power will be helpful.
I intend to maintain this blog over the next few months, documenting my travel and research adventures. My tablet is never going to have Facebook on it, but there is probably a way to blog from it...
I had a particularly brave moment and sent an e-mail to a researcher in my field; I respected the work he and his group have published, but had never met him. Suddenly I had an exciting plan: spend 3 months in Milan, working on a new research collaboration. Since then there have been a number of ups and downs: a grant proposal I was proud of, but that was not funded; feeling uncertain of my abilities, and then proving myself knowledgable about Geant4 (my primary research tool). Somehow nothing has fallen apart, though I try to keep in mind it still could.
I depart January 15th. The flights and AirBnb have been booked for months; my Italian skills have been inching along since last spring. I now have 2.5 weeks to pull together the final details...
Teaching: While I do not have any teaching obligations this spring, I have a terrifying amount of things on my to-do list regarding teaching (past and future). I never finished the assessment/notes from last spring's courses or from this summer. There are notes to write up from this fall's courses. A small pile of recommendation letters have impending deadlines... On top of that, there is some planning for this coming summer and fall that cannot entirely wait for my return in April.
Technology: After many years of service, my little netbook had a scary moment of "cannot find a hard drive" on the way to India this month. I already knew my (new-ish) large laptop would be going to Italy with me, but it isn't particularly portable. I finally bought a table - after 24 hours of ownership, I'm fairly happy with it. It isn't going to run Geant4 simulations or build LaTeX documents, but it seems to have its uses. I'm even experimenting with eBooks now (don't tell my books!).
Travel: While my priority for the next 3 months is research, I want to take this opportunity to travel. I'm half-way through the first guidebook of three (Northern Italy, Croatia, Eastern Europe) that I will rely on for this trip, and I already know that I won't have enough time to go everywhere that I would like to. I have many planes and trains in my future...
Research: This is my first time doing a "visiting collaborator" stint, so I really have no idea how to approach it. What fraction of my collaborator's time will be spent on our project, versus his typical duties and other projects? Will I have a desk and computer? I'm asking some of these questions, but I'm also trying to relax and "go with the flow." Luckily, I can distract myself with a different, ongoing project that I need to wrap up ASAP. Before I leave, I do need to try to organize my research resources. Do I take the relevant papers (in printed form), or just organize my digital research library? I need to get my research computer (in my lab) set up for remote operation and update the version of Geant4 on it. I may not need it for running simulations, but it is likely that the extra computing power will be helpful.
I intend to maintain this blog over the next few months, documenting my travel and research adventures. My tablet is never going to have Facebook on it, but there is probably a way to blog from it...
