Navigating the Academic Postdoc Job Market
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Thoughts and advice on finding your way through the ever-confusing postdoc job market. Read more
Blog
I enjoy writing longer form self-contained articles more than short and interspersed articles. As a result, I don't end up writing and posting too frequently. You are welcome to follow me on Medium if you'd like to get notified; I post my articles here as well as on Medium.2023
2022
An Informal Guide for Ph.D. Interning During the Semester via the F-1 CPT
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A few months ago, I had faced the task of extending my summer employment at Nokia Bell Labs into the Fall semester. Little did I know that the process of getting work authorization for the semester and ensuring compliance with other rules is a bit of a minefield, especially for an international Ph.D. student in the U.S. like myself. There were many factors to weigh, and I spent a frustrating few weeks with little guidance to ensure that I’m in compliance with rules concerning everything from immigration and full-time student status to health benefits and tuition fee. Part of this difficulty stemmed from certain specific aspects of the situation that I was in, but a bigger part of it was also that there aren’t very many practical guides out there for international Ph.D. students wanting to do internships during the semester (which as I learnt recently, many are interested in). And so I decided to put together this informal and practical guide that might be helpful for students that might be in similar situations. Read more
2021
Emory Global Health Case Competition - A Reflection
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A reflection after taking part in the 2021 Emory Global Health Case Competition. Read more
The Earth-bending Scale of the Great Lakes
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Did you know that you don’t need to be in space to observe the effects of earth’s curvature? Read more
2020
Finding Meaning in Your PhD Struggles
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4 years ago, if I had known all that I’d have to give up to be able to do my PhD, if I had known the impact that it would have on my mental health, and if I had known the struggles that came with it, I probably would’ve hesitated to go to grad school. Today, all of those things have become my lived reality. In this article that I wrote for @thefacultypub on Medium, I draw on lessons from Logotherapy, developed and pioneered by Viktor Frankl, and I share my thoughts on how I was able to find meaning in my struggles and better cope with them. Read more
Curiosity, Ignorance, and How to Spot Pseudoscience
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We live in an age where despite the unprecedented ease of access to information and facts, misinformation and pseudoscience have a tremendous impact on our lives. From anti-vaxxers in the US to miracle cures of the coronavirus in India, pseudoscience is seemingly everywhere. The battle against this trend is not one that can be won by scientists alone. It requires collective action. In this article, I wrote down my thoughts on pseudoscience and listed some popular tips on how one can spot it. Read more
What to Look for in a Potential PhD Advisor
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Grad school (PhD) is hard. A particularly tricky yet important aspect is mentorship and academic supervision. A PhD advisor greatly influences the graduate school experience (and chances of success) of a student. Choosing an advisor can be a confusing process, yet it is one that the student must get right. Now that I have the benefit of hindsight – and while my grad school experiences are still fresh in memory – I have written down some thoughts on this subject. Read more