Last month, March 30, 2011, I became a Doctor. A Ph.D., that is. It was the culmination of nearly five years of classes, teaching, and most importantly, research.
I gave a public presentation on my research in the afternoon to the whole department, and to anyone else who wanted to come.
The presentation was preceded by what has now become a tradition in our lab: an interpretive skit depicting the various elements of my research.
After my research presentation the audience left the room and my committee, comprised of six professors, sat and asked me various questions about my research and future plans. Then they had me go outside the room whilst they conferenced among themselves, invited me back in and congratulated me on becoming a doctor!
Which meant that I could then go and celebrate with family and friends.
The celebration included Dr. Pepper, Oreo Cookie Dessert (made by Rafael) and a cake featuring a worm, GFP and neurons!
As per tradition (at least in all of the sciences that I know of), after the defense we played a game of Ultimate Frisbee…
And then it was off to dinner for one additional celebration. Hooray!
It was very nice to have my family come out to see the defense. And after the defense, they all stayed a while and we had a nice time visiting and such over the next couple of days.
Now, the question which everyone asks is: what next? Well, let me tell you. The idea is to go somewhere new to do postdoctoral research, where I perform research that is much more independent and where I can take that research project with me if and when I choose to start my own research program (e.g., as a professor at a university). The ‘postdoc’ lasts a minimum of two years, and perhaps an average of 3-4 years.
I have submitted numerous postdoctoral applications to numerous labs, mostly in the cities of San Francisco, San Diego and Boston. So far I have three positive responses: one from an institute in the Bay Area (Novato, actually), one from a lab at Harvard, and one from a lab in Cologne (Germany!) The tentative plan is that I will be traveling to Novato and to Cambridge shortly to tour the labs and meet with the people to decide where I am best suited.
What do you think? Not knowing anything about the scientific or professional aspects, where do you think I should go? San Francisco, Boston, or Germany? Or should I give up on this whole science thing and apply for a position as a Boy Scout camp leader?
