How to start a research group – part I: Grant selection and the application process

In this blog article, I will attempt to describe my journey to become a leader of a functioning research group, while providing some useful information that could help others to achieve this goal too. While such a journey is largely individual and will always depend on many specific, often personal aspects, there are many lessons learnt that can be universally transposed to others. As a disclaimer, I should say that I never intended to become a PI (principal investigator), professor or a group leader. I always loved science and wanted to be a scientist, but I never wanted to deal with the stress I perceived from the constant grant applications and management (and possibly bureaucratic) duties associated with such positions. I always liked teaching, which is a part of a classical academic career, but I always felt I could do that separately without having to be a professor and I found several good options to do so. My personal goal was to become a facility scientist, that is someone who looks after technical aspects of scientific experiments at user facilities such as lasers or accelerators. Such a position often comes with less management, no need for grant applications or teaching. One can do their own research supported by the institution, but with some limited scope and the payoff is support work for scientific users of the facility that come to carry out short term experiments there. I felt that this kind of work would be the right thing for me, plenty of interesting technical challenges, possibility to do original research, certain financial situation, long-term prospects and cooperation with plenty of interesting scientific teams. As a bonus, one also becomes co-author of the publications coming from these experiments. Alternatively, position as a staff scientist in national labs seemed like a good option.

Kateřina Falk: Není příjemné být neustále za exota

„Neměla jsem možnosti realizace ani ocenění,“ říká Kateřina Falk, světově uznávaná fyzička a popularizátorka vědy, která letos na jaře odešla z laserového centra ELI Beamlines v Dolních Břežanech do Helmholtzova centra v Drážďanech. Více v rozhovoru o tom, jak lze dělat vědu „punkově“.

Rozhovor s Naďou Strakovou pro Věda a výzkum, 15.11.2018

How to survive a PhD: time management skills and self-motivation

I have recently started accumulating quite a lot of experience mentoring students with career aspirations in STEM subjects, in particular in academic research. Such a career path is indeed very challenging and requires a huge amount of hard work, mental and physical resilience, dedication and a little drop of masochism to pull through the long and frustrating studies leading up to the dreamy end of a successful science career. There are many obstacles and points where everybody feels like giving up, especially women find many of the additional complications and frustrations very hard to deal with. Staying motivated is the greatest challenge during the early stages of such careers. I always like to say that obtaining a PhD is a real test for endurance and dedication and has rather little to do with one's intelligence or talent. Particularly, when it comes to PhD students, two most crucial questions always seem to arise during my mentoring experience:

• What did your typical day as a PhD student look like? How did you manage your time?

• How did you stay motivated?

I will attempt to answer these important questions in this article.

Oxford Matriculation: and the fun begins :D

Yellowstone and Grand Teton

While living in New Mexico, we set ourselves to visit as much of the USA as we possibly could. Being nature lovers, we focused mostly on the numerous national parks and monuments. In the West, this is indeed a challenging task. But, we were on a schedule, so we set off to yet another epic road trip. This time we decided to explore the very famous Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. We drove from Santa Fe along the eastern side of the Rockies. We made a brief stop in Estes Park, CO to see the Rocky Mountain National Park, described in another article about Colorado. On the way back, we drove on the western side through Utah, stopping by and visiting our friends in Salt Lake City in Utah. We also stayed around Moab and visited some nice spots there. My impressions from that part of the trip are written up in an article about Utah. Hidden in the remote wilderness of the deserted state of Wyoming, this natural gem is indeed a must see spot. Unfortunately, many many tourists think so too. As we discovered, it is possible to beat the crowds and enjoy these wonderful places in a deep connection alone with the nature. Sometimes getting up early is the key, often finding the less well known spots or strenuous hikes gets you there. This article is a brief description of this trip we took from the deep south to Wyoming to greet the bisons and geysers.

Yellowstone NP

(Very) Sunny Arizona

Our adventures of the US Southwest were completed by exploring Arizona. We did so on several different trips from New Mexico, when we lived in Santa Fe. We also have some great friends in Flagstaff and Phoenix, so we used the opportunity to properly explore this state. I was originally going to give this article the following subtitle: "50 shades of red", but that would be somewhat unfair, regardless of the fact that this indeed would be a very terrible pun. Indeed, Arizona is a typical example of the Southwest, it is so colorful and varied that it is almost impossible to truly describe all its faces.

Grand Canyon NP from the top of Bright Angel trail.

Oprava nepřesností z článku v magazínu HN ego! 2.9.2016

Dne 2.9.2016 vyšel v magazínu Ego!, což je páteční příloha Hospodářských Novin, rozhovor se mnou. Článek se z většinové části povedl a je navíc doplněn moc pěknými fotografiemi Libora Fojtíka, který zachytil atmosféru laboratoře opravdu dobře. Bohužel byly vytištěny dvě nepřesné či chybné informace, které bych touto formou ráda opravila:

1) V hlavičce článku se píše, že bych "ve fyzice chtěla mít ´aspoň´ polovinu žen". To není mé přesné vyjádření. Nadpoloviční zastoupení žen v oboru neočekávám, ani nevyhledávám. Veřím, že by tam ta polovina být může a že určitě jich bude víc než současná situace (tak 10%), pokud se nám podaří potlačit všemožné stereotypy a biasy. Tato část textu mi nebyla předána na kontrolu.

2) Při otázce na téma jaderné fůze, byla má komplikovanější odpověď špatně opsána a vyzněla, že se "elektrony a protony odpuzují", to samozřejmě není pravda, tyto částice se přitahují. Mluvila jsem o odpuzování jader atomů, které se skládají z protonů, které orbitují elektrony. Právě překonání tohoto potenciálu je jeden problém jaderné fůze. Tato malá chybka očividně unikla při kontrole textu.

Otevřený dopis - odpověd´ na článek: "Dělat kariéru, nebo vychovávat děti?"

Původní článek v magazínu Práva Styl pro ženy, 2.8. 2016:

Dobrý den,

Jmenuji se Kateřina Falk, jsem matka a již mnoho let se věnuji vědě v oboru fyziky plazmatu a laserů jako své primární profesi. Posílám odpověď na článek vytištěný v magazínu Práva Styl pro ženy, 2.8. 2016. V článku se obrátila zřejmě mladá vědkyne a matka na odbornou pomoc psycholožky PhDr.  Alice Vondrové ohledně její těžké situace v manželství, která začala velmi negativně ovlivňovat její osobní život, psychickou rovnováhu, profesní situaci a odbornou činnost ve vědě. Tato situace je poměrně častá pro mnoho žen s náročnou prací, ne pouze pro vědkyně, které žijí v tradičně založeném prostředí, kde na ženu padají veškeré zodpovědnosti ohledně domácnosti a dětí. Velmi často se mluví o situaci, kdy žena je nucena dělat "dvě směny" a muž jen jednu, protože se společnost ještě nedokázala posunout do 21. století, kde se činností dělí rovnoměrně mezi partnery. Tak pak vznikají těžké situace pro ženy, ktere jsou nuceny volit mezi kariérou a rodinou, protože dvojité směny nejdou psychicky ani fyzicky dlouhodobě udržet, přičemž muže takové dilema v životě nepotkává. To samozřejmě dává velkou psychickou zátěž na tyto ženy a mnohé pak potřebují profesionální pomoc psychologa, aby mohly takovou těžkou situaci řešit. To, co ovšem Dr. Vondrová předvedla, nebyla práce psychologa, ale spíš to připomíná kázání kněze nebo pavlačové baby z 19. století. Opravdu jsem ve chvíli přečtení tohoto článku mela pocit, že jsem se přesunula strojem času do dob před TGM, kdy ženy nebyly víc než domácí služky. Ale znovu jsem zkontrolovala datum a opravdu, toto bylo napsáno v srpnu 2016.

California dreamin'

It is true when they say that California has it all, it does! Mountains, great glacier lakes, deserts, beaches, famous cities, sea cliffs, deep forests, giant trees, wildlife, science, culture, art, famous tech industry, Hollywood, Hippies, even some very interesting history. Most tourists visit the big cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, the beaches and perhaps one or two of the famous parks like Yosemite or Death Valley, but there is so much to this place, that is is nearly impossible to describe California in a simple article. Yet, I will try to convey some of my impressions of the many trips I made to this pretty state.

Beautiful Colorado

When entering the great state of Colorado, one passes the sign saying "Colorful Colorado", which is once again pretty accurate description of this place. Colorado is world famous for its skiing, high Rocky Mountains, and perfect snow conditions. Indeed this is all true, I have never seen better powder snow than here. But there is much more to this state. Interesting culture, history, nature, great beer, famous NHL hockey team and liberal society also are attributes of Colorado. One thing will always be safe to say about our northern neighbour: Colorado is simply beautiful!

Estes Park, CO.

Utah rocks (!)

Utah is widely known for its natural beauty and is thus a very popular destination for many tourists seeking the thrill and uniqueness of the countless national parks of the US west. We have also answered the calling of this stunning and unforgiving nature and made (will still make) many trips to this state. Most people will know or have even visited some of the most visited parks in the US including Arches, Zion or Bryce Canyon National Parks. Some might have traveled here in the winter to try out what is often advertised as "the best snow in the world" on the many ski slopes near Salt Lake City, which was home of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. But, there is so much more in Utah than most of us will realize at first. I will attempt to describe this wondrous place in the following article.

Sunrise over Monument Valley, UT.

Praktické informace o práci a vízech v USA (Czech)

Práce a život v zahraničí je pro kohokoliv velkým přínosem, v dnesní době mohou Ceši volně pracovat v mnoha zemích světa, USA ovšem stále zůstává jednou ze složitejších možností. Kdokoliv, kdo nemá v USA Green Card (GC) nebo závislé vízum, na které je možné pracovat, např.: J-2, si v USA musí vyřídit vlastní pracovní vízum. Existuje velké množství pracovních víz a jejich nároky se silně liší podle jednotlivých případů, úrovně vzdělání, praxe, oborů, atd. USA dává pracovní víza především vzdělaným inženýrům, úspěšným vědcům, sportovcům, umělcům/hercům/hudebníkům, modelkám, investorům, bankéřům/ekonomům atd. Existují ale i jiné možnosti. V tomto článku popisuji co nejširší záběr mozností práce v USA.

Enchanted in New Mexico

"The Land of Enchantment" vs. "The Land of Entrapment"

After twelve months of living in this this bizarre, wonderful and completely unique world I have decided to share my impressions. One of the shuttle drivers taking people from Santa Fe to the Albuquerque Airport once stated that New Mexico is not really the USA. In fact, it is not Mexico either. This is a very special land with totally different culture, nature and it is a home to everything unexpected. Before I first visited, I was convinced that there was just a desert, few canyons, mad scientists and some strange meth addicts (i.e. the Breaking Bad TV series). Well, I stand corrected. This article is a summary of my impressions of New Mexico from the past year, talking about the place we moved to and completely fell in love with. In this text I will also address many of the misconceptions people have about this "empty flat desert".

Typical New Mexico adobe building style.

Research internships for students

In the old days, students took unqualified jobs to make some extra money in the summers during their studies. Some would see these as an excuse to travel, work behind a bar on a beach in Spain or be a summer camp counselor in one of the national parks in the USA. More recently, special internships targeted at mostly university students wishing to gain some field-specific experience became very popular. Most common fields for such work have been banking, management consultancy, bussiness, law or IT. These programmes usually organized by private companies then serve not only to give extra work experience for students before they even receive their degrees, but also provide a recruiting pool for the competetive positions in the most prestigious corporations. Not all students however realize that such experience and recruiting can be equally, if not more, important in science and engineering research and develpment. Even fewer students realize that such jobs can even take them on adventure journeys anywhere on the planet! Here is some info about scientific, IT and engineering research internships around the world.

Interview with Prof. Jocelyn Bell Burnell

Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, DBE, FRS, FRAS is a British astrophysicist. As a postgraduate student in radio astronomy in 1967, she discovered the first radio pulsars with her thesis supervisor Antony Hewish, for which Hewish shared the Nobel Prize in Physics. She has been a major inspiration for me becoming a physicist and I was fortunate enough to meet this wonderful lady and ask her a few questions.

Interview with Prof. Justin Wark, University of Oxford

I had the delightful opportunity to conduct my doctoral research work under some of the most distinguished scientists in the work while at Oxford. My suprvisors were Dr. Gianluca Gregori, Prof. Andrew Jephocoat and Prof. Justin Wark. Justin has had long-lasting relations with Czech science and has covered a very wide range of research and I am happy to intorduce an interview with him in my next blog.

Oxfordský časoprostor - život a výzkum na Oxfordské Univerzitě očima doktoranda (czech)

Mnozí studenti nazývají Oxford a jeho historickou univerzitu “bublinou”, kde se mění vnímání času i prostoru. Někdy mi připadalo, že zde mění zákony fyziky i tok času. Mezi místními studenty i výzkumníky platí heslo "work hard, play hard”, podle něhož po těžké práci přijde tvrdá zábava, což se jen těžko dá skloubit do tradičního 24 hodinového dne. 

Univerzitní knihovna Radcliffe Camera, Oxford.

Typy na psaní CV/resume v britském/americkém stylu (czech)

Již několik českých/slovenských kamarádů a příbuzných mi posílalo svůj strukturovaný životopis neboli CV (Curriculum Vitae) na kontrolu a přepsaní do angličtiny (britský styl). V tomto článku bych tedy ráda shrnula své zkušenosti s britskou strukturou CV a popsala par tipů, jak napsat to pravé CV. V Británii žiji od 16-ti let a první CV mně pomáhali dát dohromady careers centre v britské škole, po 10-ti letech kariéry v UK jsem potom nasbírala poměrně slušné množství typů a poznatků, které bych prostřednictvím tohoto článku ráda sdílela.

Studium na univerzitách ve Velké Británii (czech)

Po dlouholetých studiích v zahraničí jsem se rozhodla sdílet své poznatky a zkušenosti.  V tomto článku popisuji přijímací proces, financování a jiné praktické rady ohledně bakalářského neboli undergraduate (UG), magisterského a doktorského studia, tzv. “graduate” a “postgraduate” (PG) studia. Sama jsem ve Velké Británii dokončila celé maturitní, undergraduate studium až po Mastra (magister) a doktorát (Dphil Oxon), takže vše co v tomto článku píši jsou osobní zkušenosti posbírané za posledních deset let. Poprvé jsem přijela do Británie ve svých šestnácti letech, kdy jsem získala roční stipendium na soukromé internátní škole v St. Andrews, Skotsko. Toto se brzo prodloužilo na dva roky a ve Skotsku jsem i odmaturovala  nakonec jsem na tomto zeleném ostrově zůstala deset let. Nikdy jsem toho rozhodnutí nelitovala.



My DPhil research project (Oxford)

Coming to the end of my DPhil (PhD) people often ask me what it is actually that I do. I believe that all Physics can be explained in the simplest terms and since this particular one actually has some exciting applications (at least I think so) in many fields including Astrophysics and thermonuclear fusion, I feel like this could be of an interest to the wider general public. So here it is ...

Inferring The Equation of State of Shocked Liquid Deuterium Under Conditions Relevant to the Interiors of Giant Planets and Inertial Confinement Fusion

OCSS Launch Party review, May 2011

Launch Party: An Enjoyable Day For All

The first official event of the newly founded Oxford Czech and Slovak Society was a major success. Over 50 attendees showed up throughout the afternoon and evening dedicated to the OCSS Launch Party on Friday 13th 2011 held at St John’s College in Oxford. We registered 39 members on that day and expect the numbers to continue rising throughout this year. We had people from all spheres of Oxford life including students and staff of the University of Oxford as well as visitors and residents of the city. Apart from Czechs and Slovaks we even attracted a few other nationalities including English, Swedish and even Japanese.