Irene Pepperberg and Steven Pinker Updates!
Today has been an exciting day for me! First of all, although Steven Pinker had to decline my invitation to speak at UM (during the Neuroscience Spring Symposium), he did agree to do an interview here...
View ArticleAn In-Depth Look At MIT’s TonegawaGate Emails
By now, much of academia has heard about the goings-on at MIT. Susumu Tonegawa, head of the prestigious Picowar Institute at MIT and Nobel Laureate, is stepping down from his position following a...
View ArticleStudents: How Much Debt Are You In?
This generation of students will graduate with more student loans and debt than any previous to it (adjusted for inflation, of course). Rising school costs, living costs in college towns, and credit...
View ArticleFool ‘Nature’ Twice, Shame on Who?
Scientists love good gossip as much as any ‘Us’-magazine reader, and we take the same car-wreck interest in seeing our lofty demagogues topple in disgrace. The ‘Huang stem cell scandal’s’ shame...
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The Teacher Firing Flow Chart
Everybody’s talking about the firing of incompentent teachers today, and how difficult it can be due to union rigamarole. Take this flow chart for example, which outlines the steps that must be taken...
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Dinner With Irene Pepperberg, and Prof. Steve Steve Kidnapped!
So, as I mentioned before, Dr. Irene Pepperberg is in Ann Arbor to deliver a lecture at the annual Neuroscience Spring Symposia today. Also giving talks is Dr. Steven Finkbeiner from UCSF (on...
View ArticleIf You Could See Any Scientist Speak, Who Would It Be?
This year I am in charge of the UM Neuroscience program’s Spring Symposia, which is where students nominate and invite interesting scientists to come give a talk on their work. The students also get to...
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Saudi King Hiring Scientists for Desert Ivory Tower
To the West, the idea of a modern, gender-equal, progressive sort of academic environment seems incongruous with Saudi Arabia’s religious establishment. However, the current ruler, King Abdullah, is...
View ArticleNew Blog About Academic Interviews
The University of Michigan just started a new blog on the topic of how to handle the academic interview. What kinds of questions do you fear, and how should they be handled? How do you prepare for the...
View ArticleBe an Optimist, Do Some Science
Every now and then I do a Google News Search for topics I’m interested in to get good blog fodder (‘neuroscience’ and ‘parrots’ are of course perennial favorites). This time one of those searches...
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