Mentoring

My mentoring philosophy is based on three tenets: (1) I enjoy research and teaching, and I value sharing in this joy with my mentees: This is fun! (2) Research is accountable. We do rigorous, reproducible science, and we share our data and results openly. We recognize that it is a privilege to be able to do what we do. (3) Research is an intensive training opportunity. There is nothing else like learning to both define and solve problems at the frontier of our science.

I view the mentor-mentee relationship as a collaboration built on engagement and trust. I respect the diverse backgrounds and goals of my mentees, and I strive to tailor my mentoring style to the individual. I also respect that goals can change over time, and that is a normal part of the graduate school experience as you are exposed to new opportunities and gain new skills. I strive to support career advancement of my mentees by fostering skills development, building outside collaboration together, and promoting research communication and networking at professional meetings.

I value work-life balance. I do not expect long hours or weekends in the office. I trust that as a mentee, you will advance your research and meet your other deadlines in a timely way, but on your own time. Though I am flexible about student schedules, I also emphasize the importance of in-person time, and not just for the formalities of meetings and seminars. Being present matters, because science is social. Engagement with your peers and mentors adds depth and creativity to your research.

My Mentoring Style

My preferred mode of working with my mentees is to design projects together. I often have project in mind when we start working together, but this is usually just a starting point. The advantage of this mode is that we write proposals together. This is a valuable skill and helps you build the knowledge of how to frame and justify your project, not just the skill of doing the research. The disadvantage of this mode, I freely admit, is that funding is not a guarantee. Proposals may get rejected at first. Ideas may not work out as expected. We may need to pivot to a different project.

I encourage pursuit of side projects, so long as we don’t lose sight of the end-goal of completing a timely thesis. Ph.D. students have more time to explore these options than M.S. students, because of the short timeline for an M.S. degree. There will be opportunities to pursue side projects as a group or those that interest you individually. Past examples pursued by my graduate students include earthquake response-related research, mentoring of undergraduate student research, social-science and equity and inclusion-related education projects, and community outreach.

I value providing opportunities for my mentees to teach as a teaching assistant or temporary instructor. Teaching is an important part of academic training and a transferable communication skill. It is also one of the joys of your time or career in academia.

Funding Priorities

My number one funding priority is that my graduate students have summer support level with their academic year support. This continuity in support helps to ensure financial stability and enable students to make progress on their research during the summer. My number two funding priority is funding for research field and analytical costs. We will pursue small grants from many sources while working towards larger grants. My third funding priority is for student research support during the academic year, prioritizing times of the year when fieldwork may need to be conducted. Potential sources include federal funding agencies and fellowship programs.

Presence

Each member of my research group may have a desk in our group lab space in 2236 EPS. I normally meet at least on hour a week with each mentee. Preferably we meet in person but may meet remotely as needs warrant. This is an important time to discuss research progress, brainstorm ideas, solve problems, work on proposals or papers, and just check in about life as a graduate student. It is helpful to put together an agenda before the meeting so that we can use our time efficiently. Depending on our quarterly schedules, I lead an earthquake geology reading group once per week, where participants take turns leading a discussion of a paper about earthquake science. The only requirement is that the paper involves geologic data, and that it was published this year or last year.

I depend on my mentees as keepers of research group knowledge and equipment. This means keeping up with software updates on the lab computers, and making sure that our field equipment remains organized. It also means helping to mentor the more recent additions to our group about research methods. This sharing of knowledge among our community benefits everyone.

Communication

Slack is the primary mechanism for electronic communication among our research group. E-mail is used less frequently, because such messages are easy to lose among the many other things communicated via email. Maintaining rapid and fluid communication is a priority. Even so, and even though Slack is an instant messaging platform, I do not expect immediate responses to messages. Everyone keeps their own schedules that meet their individual needs. There may be other priorities that have to take precedence. For urgent needs it is always OK to call or text me.

Deadlines

I will review drafts of manuscripts and proposals in as timely a manner as possible. Usually with a turnaround time of a day to a week. I am willing to review incomplete drafts and outlines if it helps move things forward. I don’t want to waste your time sitting on drafts, so please remind me if for some reason I haven’t gotten you feedback within a week! I expect students to keep up with deadlines for student progress (e.g. developing you prospectus, scheduling committee meetings) and abstract deadlines for professional meetings and small student-led grant proposals. If I sense that research progress is stalling, I will work with you to define more concrete and granular goals designed to help you with overcoming barriers and improving time management.

Authorship

We strive to publish all our research in as timely a way as possible. This is essential for communicating our research and for securing future funding support. Ideally, a Ph.D. student will have submitted at least two of their chapters for publication before they defend their thesis. But this is not universal. Sometimes thesis chapters are so intertwined that publication must wait until all the pieces come together. You are the first author of the papers / chapters that comprise your thesis. I will normally be the second author, and our collaborators, if any, follow. If, after three years post-graduation, there has been no progress submitting your research for publication, I may exercise my discretion to publish the research.