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Is it ethical for PhD supervisor to forbid publication in a given topic
Six months after my PhD graduation, I submitted a paper to an SCI journal as a sole author. Apparently, my PhD supervisor is the technical editor for this journal. He wasn't pleased that I submitted a sole-author paper without informing him.
I formulated the idea and wrote everything from scratch. However, he claimed that's a generalization of what he's currently working on. After I proved to him that they aren't related he went ahead to forbid me from publishing in that area as it's likely to interfere with his. That's after he made me divulge all my on-going investigations. He said it's better we are collaborators than competitors. I didn't set out to compete with anyone. Most ideas I gave him during my PhD were suppressed only to be given to other students two years later. He made me the last author in those anyway.
Question:
1) Does he have the power to do this?
2) Being that he sits on the board of top SCI journals in my field, how do I overcome this?

I'm currently a lecturer in a different university and different country.

SCI stands for Science Citation Indexed.

Among other things, you explicitly request that your submissions to SCI journals are handled by another editor who does not have a conflict of interest.

The answer to the title question is a resounding NO! but that doesn't help much with the questions in the body of the post.  I'm sorry your advisor is such a jerk.

The quid pro quo is typically to include your professor as co-author in anything you are publishing out of your dissertation, on which they (presumably) made significant intellectual contributions.

Your former supervisor's behaviour sounds entirely unethical. I'm sorry to hear that he is unnecessarily causing you distress. So, to answer the title question: No, it is not ethical to forbid anyone from publishing in a given topic.
The justification given -- that it is better to collaborate than compete -- is entirely beside the point. Yes, it is good to collaborate. However, once the work is complete, it should be published and the authors should be those who contributed.
It is understandable that your former supervisor would have liked to be informed. Everyone wants to be kept in the loop. But he has no automatic "right" to be informed of your activities after you graduate. (I'm assuming none of this work happened while you were his student.) Furthermore, there is no justification for blocking publication because it would interfere with his work.
Moving on to your real question: He has a lot of power over you both because he is senior and because he was your supervisor. Thus you should proceed with caution. Perhaps you can reason with him and seek a compromise. If that doesn't work, you can escalate -- appeal to the other editors of the journal, who presumably would not agree with this behaviour.
In the long term, you should consider slowly moving your research away from his to avoid repeating this situation. And you should work with other people. The situation would look a bit different if you had senior coauthors to fight back on your behalf.

"was" OP's supervisor.

@mkennedy fixed

While I don't believe he has the ethical right to do this, he may well have the power to affect your career. It is more of a political problem than a scientific one. You could just ignore him, but he may have the means of retaliation and you might be the one to suffer.
It may well be true that you are better off as his collaborator than his competitor, regardless of the ethics. I'd suggest thinking about it and making a strategic decision, even if it isn't the most satisfying one.
In order to fight him, you would need allies and a position of some power yourself. Your current position isn't that strong.

His demands are obviously silly and his interpersonal skills terrible, but he may have a point under there to some degree (depending on how wide a swath of the field he is claiming). If you are going to continue in the exact same niche as your graduate lab, you should collaborate.
Generally you do not want to stay in the same area and collaborate with your former advisor on everything. As your work will continue to be seen as primarily his. Though if he will make you a co-PI on his grants, of course, (if your system works that way) then go for it. I suspect he wants a one-way street, where you give him more publications, and he gives you squat. But you should ask.
Otherwise it is preferable to move to a new niche (at least to some degree) to make your own, since you would always be second in funding in his niche. (why would a funding agency risk giving money to you, when his much more successful lab is willing to do the research?)
I'd suggest doing both, collaborate with him on manuscripts when the topic is really close to his, and push into a new area.
While your work may seem quite different already, consider that from a larger perspective it may not be so obvious. It is a difference that you need to be an expert in the niche itself to understand?


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Transitioning from experimental to theoretical research after masters
I just graduated last summer and currently have a chance to do a research masters in applied physics in North America. The proposed project is very experimental in nature. My ultimate goal is to earn a PhD (preferably in the US) afterwards and continue in academia (postdoc, etc.).
While I don't mind the experimental aspect, I am not sure however if I would like to stay on the experimental side of things 'forever'. I worry that by joining this project, I will pigeonhole myself as an experimentalist and not be able to find a PhD position on the more theoretical side of things later on. I'm afraid that I won't be able to convince a future professor to take me on as his/her PhD student if I spend 1-2 years doing purely experimental work.
Is this a valid concern? Will an 'experimental' masters project hinder my chances of acceptance in a more theoretical PhD project at a US university?

This depends strongly on the branch of physics. For theoretical PhD work in high energy physics you need a very profound theoretical and mathematical background. A purely experimental master work would make me suspicious if you can catch up the lost time to learn by yourself this necessary background.
In branches like nano and quantum physics due to the size and nature of the investigated objects, a strong collaboration of theorists and experimentalists is very common and practiced and even within a master or PhD work project these systems/objects can be and are often modeled/simulated/calculated additionally to experimental measurements by single students.
Your question is very valid, for PhD positions in top universities and groups the group leader will take an in-depth look on your background. Switching form theoretical nanophysics in the master work to theoretical high-energy physics PhD is much less troublesome than from applied physics, but also not easy. The likelihood for tenure is in the bigger branches like condensed matter physics much higher than in small niche branches. The smaller and more competitive your aimed branch is, the earlier you should work towards it. And in addition to computer science or math, even if you decide to become a pure theoretical physicist, you still have to have a good overview and understanding of experimental methods.
Many physics students know before starting to study that they want to work later in hep or astrophysics or ... and specialize over their studies by attending special lectures and seminars ("Sheldon-Nerd-syndrome"). Promising that you will catch up this content will not help you a lot, as it can take years to understand, apply and further develop some physical theories.
Speak to professors in the field you are interested in or look simply on some faculty homepages, if the field is split up into experimental/theoretical/computational groups. As said, for some fields experimentalists and theorists work within one group, for other both types rather and only interact in big collaborative projects or over publications and the single research groups are purely theory/experiment oriented.

Thanks for your answer. I see, so it is field somewhat field dependent. My field is  semiconductor physics/quantum photonics.
While I understand that it would be very difficult to transition from this to for example theoretical HEP as you mentioned, my aims are more modest. I mean that instead of for example being stuck on the characterization/fabrication side of things, I would be looking to stay in the field I mentioned, but move on to more theoretical work (modeling/simulations).

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Graduate courses or research experience for PhD admissions: Which is more important?
I am currently at a crossroads, deciding between several MS program offers. I have the choice to do a research based masters, where I would take very few graduate courses but focus almost solely on research, and a more course based masters where I would primarily be taking graduate courses with a small thesis component. My goal is to leverage my MS experience to apply to US PhD programs. My field is applied physics.
Given these choices and my end goal, who would be more attractive to US PhD programs? A candidate with a few graduate courses under their belt but with 1-2 years of research experience (with a paper or two) or a candidate with no papers but who aced many graduate level courses?

From my viewpoint, in mathematics in the U.S., this would be a tough call...

From my viewpoint, in experimental physics in the U.S., this would also be a tough call...I suspect the research track may be slightly better -- most students are admitted for research potential, while courses may or may not transfer -- but I am not confident enough to answer, and it probably depends on the details and preferences of the MS and PhD programs in question.

From my viewpoint, in theoretical computer science, the answer is very clear: research, research, research.

... so probably this question is unanswerable... tho' that fact does contain some information... so will get closed... This does remind me that this site might, or not, think about some way to give clear examples of unanswerable questions... so that naive questioners can be helped to realize that their questions, while plausibly reasonable, are, in fact, not answerable in general...

From my viewpoint in biological sciences, the answer is very clear: research. Not just for admissions, but to find out if it's something you actually want to do with your life or at least a big chunk of it.

@paulgarrett which is probaly why the help centre documents about "what & how to ask" and "what not to ask exist".

I also vote research. Classes are a temporary part of your career. Research experience shows the schools you apply to that you have tried this and can excel at it (and indeed you can get a chance to try it for yourself before committing to a doctoral program).

I'd say the 1-2 years of research experience is the better option and here is why:
You are applying for a PhD position. Having research experience shows that you are already familiar with the challenges and you are not fresh. i.e. the department/lab/sponsor/etc. know that the learning curve is less for you. You may even bring or continue a project that you've already started. So, you may not need to start looking for a research subject either.
On the other hand, with all the MOOC, you can more or less learn or at least familiarize yourself with the some of the materials you need (I admit, this is not possible for every field or every course though).

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What license should be chosen on arXiv for a paper to be published in Communications in Algebra at Taylor&Francis?
I have never been submitting the paper to arXiv so I have a question about
what kind of license or declaration I must choose to be able to submit the expanded version of the manuscript, which is soon to be accepted in Communications in Algebra at Taylor&Francis. My worry is about the Copyright agreement I will sign with Taylor&Francis.
The options on the arXiv are as follows:

arXiv.org perpetual, non-exclusive license to distribute this article (Minimal rights required by arXiv.org)
Creative Commons Attribution license (CC BY 4.0)
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike license (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Creative Commons Public Domain Declaration (CC0 1.0)
None of the above licenses apply.

Perhaps take a look at other works that were published in both arXiv and that journal to see what the appropriate license might be?

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Master degree in 2 countries?
I am looking for international master degrees which are offered in 2 different countries. For example first year in Singapore and second year in Brasil. How can I find such universities or programs? Is there a big database for such schools?

One option is to look at the Erasmus Mundus joint masters degrees (current list here). I did one of these a few years ago, spending one year in Sweden and one year in Germany, but I think that some of the programmes include at least one year outside of Europe. They also offer a number of full scholarships for some (all?) programmes. In my case, this was a great experience both academically and culturally.

Thanks I live in Europe and I have been to almost all EU countries and would like to see and study in oversea countries.

You can see if the university has an exchange program with another university. If so, then you could possibly split time between two universities, but it may not be a 50-50 split.

Such programs are rare enough that I don’t know any. I would look into universities that have campuses in multiple countries, and if they allow you to transfer campuses during the program or something along those lines. That would allow you to get the same effect without there being a specific program for it.

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Figure vs. Plate
While most university style guides mention "List of Figures", "List of Plates", "List of Tables", I haven't found a concrete definition of what might be included as a Figure or Plate in a thesis. Majority of theses seem to use Figures to label everything that is not a table but I wanted to know if I can separate image cutouts, code snippets and photographs e.t.c. into Figures or Plates properly. Thing is, I just don't have a clear guideline on where each might fit in these two types of listings.
See: Uni 1, Uni 2, Uni 3, Uni 4, Uni 5

A "list of code snippets" may work...

I've seen both "List of Algorithms" and "List of Jokes".

I would be surprised to see anything called a plate if it wasn’t printed on a different kind of paper from the rest of the text.
More specifically, every “plate” I have encountered has been an image printed on glossy paper to improve its appearance and allow for more color and detail, when the main text has been printed with black ink only on rougher paper.

Mostly in older books.

older books or quality books...

@SolarMike Of course quality books use high-quality paper without ink bleed (though not necessarily high-gloss) throughout. ;-)

My understanding was that figures include maps, graphs, diagrams, and plates are reserved for photos or illustrations.
Though plates are less used these days, instead using figures for everything as you say. Code snippets if short can be included in text, or presented as you would a formula (indented), without a caption.

Code should not appear in either, it should appear in a separate "list of listings." Similarly, you could put photographs in a separate "list of photographs." You can introduce as many categories as you need, but be conservative.
For LaTeX, you can define custom floats (e.g., for photographs) and you can list all such floats. In some cases (e.g., for code), custom environments already exist, use those.

More substantively: is "list of listings" a term of art? I have never heard that expression, though as Solar Mike says, I could imagine having a separate "list of code snippets" or something along those lines.

@cag51 “list of listings” is the default text used by several popular LaTeX packages for type-setting code. The name is unfortunate, and many users change it manually for that reason.


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Phd, funding and application
guys
I am currently in the process of apply for PhD, //Background - I completed my masters from Uo Manchester with a very renowned prof scored a 70 (90 credits) in dissertation sadly i did not do particularly well in exams and absolutely bombed the first term(60 credits) but that was due to health reasonsand getting covid about a week ago from exams.so i ended up with 61%. My bachelors (3 yr) i got a first. I have done an internship in a lab at Manchester( Not MMU) 6 months and have 5 months of industrial experience (ongoing) in a university spinout.
I recently emailed a prof at Oxbridge asking if i could join his lab to which he replied Thank you for your interest.
""I am pleased to say that I would be interested in reviewing your application; but, I do not have any funds for you to study here. However, there are scholarships which you can apply for,"" with a bunch of links to different programmes and scholarships offerd at the university.
Do you guys think based on the info i just gave am i punching above my weightclass ? Will i even get a scholarship because of the mess i created in my masters
// I do have 4 publications (2 reviews and 2 are research articles) have presneted at confrences and have volunteering experience.

Generally a Masters student with any publication is way above everyone else in the list of candidates, most students don't have one. The message you got says nothing about you "punching above your weight", on the contrary, that Prof is actually interested in working with you a priori. Except, they don't have money to pay you (and you should not do a PhD without getting paid), so they are giving you options to get a studentship, so then you can join their group. Getting funding is hard as a Prof, thats all.

@AnderBiguri thank you for your response I'm  much concerned about my low score on my masters degree whilst the cambridge website does say that minimum is 2:1 bachelors and a masters pass i think my application might not be competitive. My CV just says merit sadly should i email him my transcripts as well ?

Albeit I work there, I don't really know well how admissions work in Oxbridge in particular. But in general, for a PhD, the offer is given closer to a job interview than an academic admission, i.e. you get interviewed, they check your CV/grades, and they make a personal decision about it. At PhD admission, grades help, but publications and a good interview help much more. May not be fully true everywhere at Oxbridge, but I genuinely don't know.

The only way to know if you can get funding is to apply for it, not to ask here. Do that.
I'd think you are a good candidate and the professor seems to agree. I even think they went out of their way (a bit) by pointing you to specific funding possibilities.
You seem to have done pretty well during a period of extreme stress. But you have to push forward if you want to advance. Don't give up because things are uncertain.

Thank you for your response Dr buffy, i suppose i am scared of failure in securing funding. I am quite embarrassed by the low 61% and i could have certainly scored better i did well in my dissertation so eats me inside that i could not


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Best Way To Research On An Alien Topic?
One of the key challenges I have faced whilst transitioning to university life and further has been the independence bestowed upon oneself to find out information on their own. What is the best way to research upon a completely alien topic, with which you have little-to-no prior experience? I am trying to go through research papers, but it all seems so distorted for now as I don't feel the research papers really cover the topic I want to look into. What's the best way to go through research papers and best understand them?

My own experience is more focused on medical imaging, where one modality may be completely different than another, but do not requires great prior knowledges such as in Mathematics or Physics where you will need a lot more background before learning about the topic itself

I always try to find summarised information online as some of my first step. It can be a blog from someone doing research, a wikipedia page, a wiki page related to the subject, a medium article. The information may not be of the highest quality, but it is often described in more simpler term
For research paper, finding a recently published literature review related to your subject can be very useful. Those papers often includes detailed introduction, history background, and will list a lot of important paper of the field that you will want to read.
When reading a paper about the subject, don't try to understand everything. You won't be able, especially if the fields is very far from what you understand. Some section, such as the abstract, the results and the conclusion may be easier to understand first. If you can, through them, understand what was done in the paper in a general sense, that's a first step.

Then you may want to read again the paper after some time, and you'll be able to pick on more information.

Papers describing similar experience in the same field tend to have similar introduction (in broader line) but different details. Reading and compiling the information you can find in many of those papers will help you

Understand better the topic (as the introduction usually describes the problem at hand in the paper)
Get a list of previous work done and the issue they tackled, to understand better where the research is standing right now

I think something important, that I will stress one more, is to really not try to understand everything and try to extract some part of the topic you're learning about, focus on them, and get an understanding of what help make it, but not too deep. Otherwise you'll end up in a rabbit hole for each little things and it will be impossible.
You may encounter issues such as paper with too many references to previous work. Other questions on this site will also help you to decide if you should read in depth or breadth and generally how to read papers


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Is there any ethical concern with a husband and wife serving as guest editors for a special issue?
My wife and I both have PhDs in the same field. I am currently in academia (post doc), she conducts research for a non profit (research scientist). I was asked to lead a special issue in a journal (journal is reputable in my field) in a research area I've dedicated my entire career to, so I'm happy to do so. The journal asked if I have colleagues I could recommend to serve as co guest editors.
In conversation with my wife, she expressed interest in this as she has overlapping expertise. I thought it was a reasonable idea, but then I thought that it might be perceived as unethical. I'm not sure if that is the consensus opinion. Perception is important  in my view. I strive to be an ethical academic. The fact I'm having to ask this question makes me think that there is an unethical perception. To summarize my question, is a husband and wife co-editor team on a journal special issue perceived as unethical?

I don't see an ethical issue around you suggesting your spouse, among others. It doesn't seem to raise any conflict of interest. It will be the journal that decides on whether they are the best choice.
One issue they might raise, though it isn't an ethical issue, is whether a more idea-diverse set of guest editors might lead to a better product. If you and your spouse "think alike" on what is important in the field as applied to a special issue, then having one of you is sufficient.
Your description, however, is that they are competent and involved enough in the field to do a good job. It would be different if you nominated your secondary school age child for a position for which they weren't qualified to give them a boost on their college admissions.
But, since you aren't the one making the decisions here, there is no ethical issue for you. Perceptions are up to the journal to manage.
If the spouse is the only one you recommend, then it gets more sensitive. But if you name a few others, including your spouse, I see no issues.
Note: I don't mean to imply that spouses necessarily "think alike", but that could be the perception. The same would be the case for two unrelated people who very frequently publish together.

Also, OP should tell the journal that they are married to the person

I think it is a conflict of interest that should be declared, but not an ethical issue.


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eInk eBook reader for reading scientific PDF papers (as of 2018)
While reading lot's of papers for my Thesis, I was looking for another solution than printing important papers. So I started browsing the internets, watched tons of reviews on YouTube, etc.
I learned that, as of 2018, most of the current eInk eBook readers support PDF reading. However, none of the reviews covered, if the readers can be used for highlighting and adding annotations to the PDF-files as necessary for a sufficient literature review.
Therefore, I wanted to ask if any of you can share their experiences with certain devices and include some advantages and drawbacks. Some rather outdated discussions on this topic does not cover current devices.
I thought that probably devices that support working with a stylus (such as Onyx Boox Max, reMarkable, etc.) are more suited for excessive reading (and marking). What do you think.
I'm not asking whether or not to read on an eReader, but trying to shed some light on which device in this giant ecosystem is suitable for the needs within academic work.

for me, a tablet is much better.

@user2173836 I acknowledge that tablets might come with the better editing possibilities. However, eInk doesn't stress the eyes as much. (Might be subjective...)

dated answers are mostly "I have been thinking about this and that" and are from 2018

I love my Kindle and was looking for a solution that would allow me to read scientific papers on epaper display. Generally, that boils down to finding a reader that has a screen big enough so that it can acomodate single PDF page, with margins possibly removed.
I don't annotate printed papers much, so option of having a stylus is not deciding for me. You'd have to think how much marking does your workflow involve. For me, the speed and software quality of a reader are first priority for me, as you have to be able to read comfortably before you can start thinking about annotation.The screen has to be also big enough to read PDFs comfortably.
That said, recently I have been contemplating two readers: reMarkable and soon-to-be released Onyx Boox Note, both sporting a little more than 10" display. Both adverise as supporting marking of documents. The reviews for the former unfortunately point out that it's reading experience is sub-par, the latter has not yet been reviewed, as far as I know. I've also emailed manufacturers of those solutions and asked for a precise dimensions of active part of the screen (to know whether PDFs fit well). Nobody answered, what is not very reassuring.
EDIT: reMarkable manufacturer has replied stating that the screen dimensions are 210x162 mm.

After contemplating the reMarkable and going for 12" iPad Pro with Apple Pencil, finding it too big and heavy and trading it for smaller iPad Pro with Apple Pencil, I've just ordered the reMarkable. Have not been happy with experience of writing on glass. And with new Macbook 12, I think reMarkable + laptop will better give me what I need (off-computer reading, annotating PDFs, correcting student papers + on-computer writing, email) than the iPad, which kind of tries to do both, but none of them well. Ability to also use reMarkable as a personal journal and for to-do lists, is a bonus. Relieved that it's now possible to name folders, but concerned to read above that annotated PDFs end up as huge files, a problem that is also apparent on the iPad, and which I was hoping reMarkable had resolved.

Any update on how this is working out for you?

If money is no object, the 13.3-inch Sony DPT-RP1 (currently retailing at 699 USD) is probably the best option. Reviews from Laptop Mag and PCMag and generally positive, and many of their reservations are to do with the lack of functionality beyond reading and annotating PDF files. As PCMag concludes:

If you're an academic who belongs [sic] to PDF-format journals that clutter up your desk, this tablet will your new best friend.

I have a reMarkable as listed in @lukeg's answer, and have used it extensively for academic purposes. I haven't tried any of the alternatives (although I have tried an iPad Pro with stylus). Some points:

It's really excellent to write on. The feel of the device is really good - compared to using a stylus on, say, an iPad Pro, the reMarkable is very nice to write on.
It's not just the size of the screen that matters, but how much is usable. The reMarkable is pretty good, but it loses accuracy near the edges - probably the last 3-5mm on each edge isn't usable, depending on your writing style. If your PDF documents don't have large margins, or big line separations, they can be hard to annotate.
It's fine to annotate and highlight PDFs. It is, of course, only black-and-white, but exported files show highlighting in colour (yellow).
The exported PDFs are really large: essentially 1MB per side of A4. This causes problems with electronically sending exported files to others. (This may improve with software updates - there were big changes in the 1.6 update, for example).
All documents are stored in reMarkable's cloud. This is a very serious issue for data protection, particularly around student work.
The battery life is good, but not that much better than other tablets.
The cost is high: I don't begrudge paying that amount for myself, but if you're worried about cost I can't say I think it's worth the amount of money.
The latest software update (1.6) included handwriting recognition. This currently doesn't work on PDF documents, and (at least on the samples I've tried) isn't accurate enough to be useful.

My Kindle Paperwhite works well for academic books; the highlight function is key. Reading academic papers on it is a pain, especially ones in two-column format. Not being able to annotate, via stylus, is a real pain. Being able to 'write' notes on a paper is key for me; I still print papers for this reason.

As a general comment on the eInk reader vs. the Ipad/Surface/ …
As an eReader cannot do Internet, Facebook, News etc., if you only have that the temptation to just quickly check whatever is greatly reduced.
I find I read much more concentrated with an eReader than an Internet surfing device. I think there is even some research on this focusing mental cost.
So for me the eReader was a Godsent.

I have the HANVON E960. It was about 3000 RMB and I have never seen it outside of China.
I love it. Solid, works fine, though the stylus broke after two years.
The best way to go about it is get a Chinese friend to order it on Taobao, and then switch it from Chinese to English. The software translation is not great, and the folders are named in Chinese. BUT - the battery is great, the production is solid etc. I actually picked mine up in some shady back room office in some big block in Shenzhen, as I was suspicious and wanted them to switch it on in front of my eyes. They didn't speak English, so I was talking to them with a friend translating on my mobile. They were however super friendly, and I have it now with me and it is great!

Kindle Paperwhite is great for reading entertainment books. I was looking for a device for reading academic books and paper as well, my research shows three devices/brands:

Sony DPT RP1(13.3")/CP1(10.3"): good looking, really light, not good writing experience through
Onyx Boox Max(13.3")/Note(10.3"): with Android 6.0 system's full functionality
Remarkable(10.3"): best writing experiences, seems battery not so good

I have been struggling back and forth (mostly because none of them is cheap).

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I am interested in researching two very different problems (Genetics + Computer Vision). Haven't started a PhD yet
I have two topics that I really want to get involved in.
1) Confirming current research in chromosome structure while using machine learning to find relationships in genetic motifs. For instance, is function associated with how the genome condenses?
2) Developing novel Computer Vision algorithms to learn from small sample sizes and video using specialized equipment.
Maybe there is a common problem between 1) and 2) that I can study in depth, but these seem like very different projects.
Would it be feasible to apply for a Master's in Quantitative Genetics (+ Research Thesis) with electives in Machine Learning and Statistics, then apply for a PhD in Machine Learning? I have a double major in Math and Computer Science with a few electives in genetics.

Your approach sounds reasonable to me.
Both problems do share some elements in common:

both operate on a larger data set, so efficient algorithms are needed.
both may profit from novel approaches to identify patterns

Both could be based on AI. I know greedy algorithms from traditional computing for genetic research as well as for vision. Why not trying that way with you specific ideas?
As I did a PhD in high performance computing, I can recommend doing your way. You should have passion for your path; it may take a while.


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I was a judge in a science competition, should I include that my resume
I served as a judge in a science competition for high, middle and elementary school students. I am confused if I can put this activity in my resume. Also, I do not know in which section I need to include if I can put this on my resume.
Thanks!

Sure, if your CV is a bit skimpy at this stage in your career.  You could put it under Outreach, which is very up and coming, or Volunteer Experience.  Related: https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/107320/32436

I wouldn’t make it a large part, but it’s certainly worthy of mention if you’re applying for any position that requires teaching or outreach activities. Even in straight non-teachin roles, it helps flesh out your character, but I’d leave it off a one-pager, but include in a longer resume.

Thank you for your all comments and answers. It helped me to clear my mind on this. I just had my MS degree, so I am trying to make my resume more appealing. I was just trying to figure out if it would be awkward to put this activity on my resume.

What is this resume for?
If it's for a job judging science competitions, put it on there.
If it's for a job herding goats in Peru, leave it off.
Anything in the middle, use your experience in judgement to decide if it's relevant.

While I did smile reading this, I think it would have been better to ask this (what is the resume for)  as a comment. OP probably wants the expertise of others to help decide, but left out a critical piece of information.

@Bitwise, indeed, I was originally going to write the whole thing as a comment but it got too long.

Typically, such activities would be listed under "service activities" in a CV or "other professional activities" in a resume. However, I would argue that such activities be limited to "ongoing" professional activities. Something you did just once probably should not be listed on your resume; an activity you do year after year probably should.


text:
Difference between contributed and invited talk
I am a second-year PhD student.
Through a grant I was able to organize a scientific visit for myself to another university. The aim of this visit was just to talk and discuss with some of the staff there about their research.
Prior to my arrival, my host notified me that they frequently hold internal seminars/colloquia etc. and would I like to give a talk. I obviously accepted this offer.
My question is, when listing this talk on my CV, should I list it as contributed, invited, or just a 'Talk'?
I only ask as typically I think of the term 'invited talks' for more senior, established academics and it was I who petitioned my host in the first instance for a visit.
Any input welcome. Thanks

The distinction between contributed and invited talks applies to conferences, and not to departmental seminars.
The details of who asked first, etc, are no reasonable basis for any distinction between seminar talks.
Since getting yourself invited to give a seminar talk tends to be very easy, I would recommend to list them apart from invited conference talks. One can either go for "Invited talks / Contributed talks / Seminar talks" or for "Invited talks / Contributed & Seminar talks" as subcategories.

Although there is a big discussion on my answer about what exactly counts as an invited talk, in pragmatic terms I think what Arno suggests in this answer is basically the right approach (and for what it's worth, it's what I do).

When they pay for you to fly out and stay at a hotel and arrange a full day of visits and have you give a seminar... I'd put that as invited not contributed and I wouldn't say it's "so easy" to get invited for seminars. I don't think it matters if the initial suggestion to talk came from you or them, in the end they paid for you to come!

They asked you to give the talk, so therefore it's an invited talk.
In general, what counts as an invited talk can be rather fuzzy, which is why questions like this are valuable. There are clear cases: if you receive an email from the organiser of a seminar or colloquium series at an external organisation, asking you to come and give a talk, then that's an invited talk. Similarly if they ask you to make a research visit to their institution, and give a talk while you're there. But what if you organise the visit, as in this question, and they ask you to give a talk during your visit? This is less clear, since it may well be that they would not have issued the invitation otherwise (although this is always subject to externalities: perhaps they wouldn't have had the funding to invite you, but are delighted that you will be there, since they would have invited you if they could). My view is that in such situations, a clear invitation to give a talk having been issued by the organiser, such talks count as invited.

Even further along this continuum, many contributors to this site appear to agree that even if you had suggested that you could give a talk, it would still count as an invited talk.
JeffE puts this view very clearly in his answer to the linked question:

If you discover that a friend in a distant city is having a birthday party, and you ask "Hey, can I come?" and they say "Sure!", you've been invited to the party.
Same thing goes for talks. When the host institution agreed to let you talk, that was your invitation, which makes it an invited talk.

In my experience in math, the comparison to a birthday party is not accurate. Or, at least, that would count as a "contributed" talk. Nevertheless, since you did not push to give a talk, but were literally invited to, this would seem to count more-or-less as an invited talk, circumstances aside. True, it would have been "more" invited if your entire visit were not at your initiative, but nevermind.

@NajibIdrissi it should be clear that the context here is seminar series or colloquia, not conferences. Talks are not "invited" when they're contributed via some standard procedure. One example is when one submits to a conference which has put out a call for papers or abstracts. Another is when a department has a standing work-in-progress seminar that any member of the department can give a talk at.

@paulgarrett there is obviously some kind of continuum here. On one end there's the "Will you come and give a talk at our institution?". Then there's "Since you're visiting, you should give a talk". Finally we have "Since I'm going to be visiting, I would love to give a talk". My sense, based on what people in my field appear to do, is that all of these talks can be considered "invited", although evidently some invited talks are more invited than others. But disciplinary norms may well vary.

@NajibIdrissi I don't think my comment contradicts JeffE's quote. I think you're reading the quote with a much broader scope than he intended. He was writing about the situation that the OP in that question described: a request to give a talk made to the organiser of a seminar or series of talks at an external institution.

@NajibIdrissi in any case, I think there are many situations covered by JeffE's comment where it's reasonable to call the talk "invited". A common one is when you're planning a visit to a distant geographical location, and takes the opportunity to ask the organisers of some relevant seminars in that area whether they'd be interested in you giving a talk. In such situations you send an initial inquiry soliciting interest, which may be followed by an invitation to give a talk.

@NajibIdrissi my general view here is that we should allow a fair amount of leeway in the use of these terms, especially for early-career researchers who aren't well enough known (through no fault of their own) to get lots of invitations to give talks at external institutions.


text:
Is it reasonable to list PhD funding as grant money for an industry CV?
A colleague passed me their CV which they have used for applications to non-academic positions. In it they have a short sentence/profile that states that have X publications, Y citations and $Z in grants.
In calculating what the value for Z should be, they include the funding provided for their PhD.
My question is, is this a reasonable practice?
In the UK science PhDs are typically funded by a Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) studentship. The studentship covers university fees, pays a stipend, and offers some extra cash for e.g. travel to conferences. The studentships are competitively awarded.
I can see the argument for, which is that this is funding which has been competitively awarded by a funding body. Other PhDs may e.g. self-fund or be employed directly by a supervisor's grant money.
The argument against is that the funding is not awarded directly to the applicant, but travels via a university. It is effectively just a way of listing your salary + benefits during your PhD. To me this seems somewhat different to money awarded via an independent research grant.
For academic applications, I would not list PhD funding as "grants", but it may go under a (e.g.) "scholarships" section.
For non-academic applications, is it reasonable to roll all the money under a single Z value in this way?

I doubt that most non-academic employers care about your grant money at all. Most likely, the people who are responsible for hiring don't even really know (let alone care) what precisely a grant is. So I suggest not to list Z at all. (By the way, the same goes for Y.)

@JochenGlueck, I concur.

Nonacademic doesn't mean they aren't involved in research, or aren't grant- and funds-seeking institutions. I would be more interested in knowing if they were responsible for seeking and securing those grants, and is there supporting evidence for that. Not having to teach that skill from scratch is a positive factor i would consider in hiring as a non academic.

I think it's reasonable to count for fellowships or similar, where money is for the student and the university only ever sees the money because that particular student is a student there.
If the money is to fund an arbitrary student, it's not specifically allocated to the individual and shouldn't be listed as a grant.
It probably doesn't matter nearly as much to an industry employer as skills and productivity, which means there's even less reason to try to manipulate the number with dodgy allocation.

I agree - if the student applied for and won a competitive fewllowship (NSF, Maxwell, ...), then that should be a line on the CV. Actual dollars are pretty irrelevant in any case.

@JonCuster Yeah, the actual dollars may even be somewhat counterproductive in an industry setting, where people are more used to seeing numbers in terms of overall business impact; if someone is only bringing in money equal to their own salary, they're typically going to be seen as a net drag on a company, whereas they are seen as self-sufficient in an academic context.

If they applied for, and was awarded, the funding for their PhD then they are at full liberty to state it. If someone else got the funding and they were then selected as the PhD student to work on the project, then no, they should not.
The difference is that they by putting it on their CV they would be taking credit for bringing in funding. If they did not, it is unethical.


text:
Is there a UK PhD scholarship for international students that pays as much as a particular city's average annual salary?
After checking out PhD stipends offered by various UK universities, I've come to the conclusion that they are way below the average annual salary.
I realize now that this is normal. At Durham, for instance, the most competitive studentship is valued only at GBP 14,000+ annually.
Are there scholarships in the UK that pays as much as a particular city's average annual salary?
Are there scholarships that are as generous as Vanier (CAD 50,000 annually) and Trillium (CAD 40,000 annually) in Canada?

Why do you think that a PhD student should be paid at some 'average' annual salary?

@JonCuster Why not?

@Orion because is very qualified workforce which is autolearning 99.9% of the time, and in many contracts his/her production is property of the institution that provides the fellowship

Of course stipends are below the average salary just about everywhere—even the Vanier and Trillium are probably below market salary. Stipends are not meant to be a salary, but a means of providing support for the student while they are enrolled as a graduate student.

If you think a PhD scholarship should be an average wage, you're sorely mistaken. In Australia, the average wage is about $78k, do you think that any student should be paid $78k when they're learning to become a professional? Doing your PhD isn't supposed to be about the money that you earn.

@Orion - well, because many people who are productive in real jobs are not paid the (average, median, mode) salary. A student, still learning their trade, is by definition not as productive as a graduated PhD working as a professor or industry researcher (who likely are paid more than the average locally). You need enough money to live on, not be 'average' relative to the surrounding population. I was not rich as a grad student, but lived just fine on a 'below average' salary.

Among many studentships provided by Universities in the UK and major research councils (through Centers for Doctoral Training), most programs will only cover student fees and some moderate living expenses which may not be comparable with the median salary in the region. However, you should bear in mind, that the stipends are usually tax-free, and there are significant discounts for students (e.g. train tickets, council tax) helping to reduce the expenses.
To answer your question formally, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions PhD Funding provides about €3,110 per month for living expenses, which will exceed the median salary in almost every county in the UK, expect the greater London perhaps.

Train ticket discounts in the UK for students? Where? There were none when I was there for monthly tickets. Towards the end of my PhD, South Yorkshire increased the age limit for people in full time education so that university students could get a reduced monthly ticket. However if you had to get a national rail monthly ticket, you ended up paying the same full fee... - Bus reductions were also city dependent. Student discounts existed in Sheffield but not in Leeds for example.

@DetlevCM Full-time students in the UK are eligible for 16-25 travel card (even if they are older than 25), which provides 30% discount for off-peak tickets.

Except that they aren't applicable for season tickets. And one might even go a bit further than call them a bit of a scam - I had one, a single time during my undergraduate degree when I replaced my passport and had to go to London - the sole usage. When I tried to use it again, I couldn't because the distance travelled was too short (anytime return) or it wasn't applicable to the train ticket desired (first class travel to the airport which took 2 hours and at full price for first class over second class was only 8-10£ more at the time). - So nice in theory, useless in reality.

@DetlevCM I feel your pain - it's a shame they don't combine a 18-25 discount with the season ticket discount. Well, some services do: https://www.southernrailway.com/tickets/discounts-and-railcards/unizone And a discount for one-off tickets is still a discount, which is often quite useful in my opinon. And the 100% discount for the council tax is nice, too.

The discount is good if you can get it (but the same with a normal railcard...). It seems like only advance long distance travels are covered - given UK railway prices, a luxury expense and not a regular work/study commute. The council tax discount is good - but then I wouldn't look at this as being so special - other countries offer similar "advantages", some offer more.

@DetlevCM Who ever said these discounts are special? It seems like you are beating a strawman here. This is just something students get in the UK which makes their life a bit easier even on a lower stipend compared to e.g. a fully tax-paying postdoc.

Yes, except that for the season ticket that you actually need to get to the university they don't apply. There is no point in theoretical discounts that the majority of students cannot get.


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How unusual is it for a postdoc to do a K99 with a new mentor?
The K99 funding mechanism through NIH includes 2 years of mentored research (postdoc phase) followed by the R00 (independent PI phase) for 3 years. Based on the verbage of the grant, it appears geared towards existing postdocs (not just graduated PhD students).
I am currently a postdoc with a mentor who is a basic scientist (mentor is high-caliber and great, no issues there). However, my career goals have always been  to enter the clinical space and perform clinical research, a near impossible task at my current institution. A neighboring prestigious university has a very strong clinical research focus with numerous PIs and post doc opportunities. My question is this, how unusual is it for a K99 applicant to propose to do their postdoc with a different mentor rather than their current mentor? It seems that most continue with their current mentor, but have a more independent role per the verbage of the grant (e.g. the data they generate is no longer owned by the mentor). I wonder if others with k99 experience (awardee/mentor) can speak to this?
Thank you,
Rami

Different institutes within NIH have different norms and expectations. Thus suggest to reach out to program officer of target institute for a 15 min phone call (call is better as they may not be able to put everything into writing). Anecdotally, bringing in an additional mentor is no problem for some institutes in NIH, but there may be different options for you.

Surely every institute is a bit different, but having co-mentors is pretty standard. You could have your current mentor and have a new clinical research mentor. It’s not like the NIH is paying them, so it’s all about the support you will receive. My K08 co-mentor is not even in the same time zone, so I don’t think a different institution would be that big of a barrier. Remember, however, that the institution is the one entering the contract with the NIH, so trying to take the K99 portion with you is a lot of paperwork and requires your institution’s and the NIH’s approval.

Thanks for the insights, the problem arises in that after speaking with an MD clinical scientist there, the liability insurance does not cover individuals at my current institution, only theirs. So my primary institution will likely need to be this new one, not my current.


text:
When is the right time to inquire about the status of my manuscript after second round of revisions?
After resubmitting my manuscript following revisions for the second time, when should I contact the journal? Here is a timeline of the process thus far:

First submission: March 2023
Request for major revisions: June 2023
Resubmission after revisions: August 2023
The manuscript then underwent a second round of review.
Email regarding the status of the manuscript: January 2024
Request for minor revisions: February 2024
Resubmission after revisions: February 2024
Current manuscript status: With editor

I'm uncertain about when to inquire about the status of my paper. I realise this might seem hasty, but as I'm pursuing my PhD by publication and planning to defend next year, I need my papers published or at least accepted before then. I don't mind if the editor rejects it, but given how lengthy the review/publication process can be, it would be helpful to know sooner so I can submit my paper to another journal.

What is the usual time-frame for papers in your field?  How long is the paper?   What your describes seems very fast for a 60-page pure-math paper, a bit slow for a five-page physics paper.

I think you can wait and I also think you will hear soon-ish if it is "with editor" after minor revisions. The history suggests acceptance. You also have about a year and the paper has, I assume, been improved.
Don't give up on other possible submissions of related work, however, so that you have some backup.
But if it has been two months since your last communication you could make a polite request for a status update. But Feb-April could be just one month and a bit depending on dates.
Note also that a request for status update isn't going to speed the process and withdrawal will certainly slow it.

Thank you for your response! Yes, the paper has significantly improved. It's been one month since I resubmitted. I'll wait another month or so.


text:
Double blind review allowing arXiv submissions
I am submitting an article on a conference that follows a double-blind review system. However, the following is mentioned on its dual submission policy:

Papers that have appeared on non-peered reviewed websites (like arXiv) or that have been presented at workshops (i.e., venues that do not have a publication proceedings) do not violate the policy.

So, if the above is true, I might as well have submitted a paper that has also appeared in arXiv, where the identities of the authors are visible. Wouldn't that effectively constitute a violation of the double-blind review policy?

Don't reviewers in double-blind systems have a code of ethics?

Wouldn't that effectively constitute a violation of the double-blind
  review policy?

Clearly not, as they state that it doesn't violate the policy.
Does it break double-blinding? Yes. But the intent is clearly to allow those who submit preprints, are in fields where conference proceedings are a thing, etc. to still be able to submit. It's essentially a compromise position of "Double Blind where possible, but we're not going to kick you out if you've broken it through the standard course of research."

+1 There are plenty of other ways to break double-blinding too - perhaps your lab is the only one working on a particular application of a topic; perhaps the reviewers have seen you present an earlier stage of this work at a colloquium; perhaps the field site or type of samples you use will give you away. 100% double blind is often impossible, but we make do.

I'd also expect the reviewers to avoid deliberately breaking blinding by looking up who wrote the paper on arXiv, unless they have a reason that specifically involves authorship (e.g. suspected salami-slicing or plagiarism)...

@nengel Sometimes it's impossible to miss: for instance when the arxiv preprint appears on a search page for a related topic, or when google scholar notifies you automatically because they cite you or because  you 'follow' one of the authors.


text:
Using a statistical method in an applied context for (probably) the first time. How do I convey this?
I am a graduate student in statistics, writing the methods and data analysis section of an epidemiology paper. I used an obscure but highly relevant statistical method to analyze our data. I genuinely believe this is the first novel application of this method outside of toy problems in highly theoretical paper.
What I want to say is: Previous research on METHOD XX has been limited to statistics and econometrics literature
This seems too sweeping a claim for me to make though. It's entirely possible that someone, somewhere has used this method before. It is also a nightmare to cite. How do you cite the absence of evidence?
So, what is the best way to convey this? Is it as simple as tempering my initial statement a bit: Previous research on METHOD XX has largely been limited to statistics and econometrics literature. Should I get rid of this statement all together?

Cool! You may want to do a thorough look at Google Scholar, Web of Science, etc. to specifically look for the papers that cite that original method. (If it is a recent innovation, this is fairly doable...) Alternately, are there terms like "descriptive statistics" or "limitations" you could add to your search, which would almost certainly be found in empirical applications of the method, but rarely in theory?

I've done a thorough search. Is there any way I can include that information?

Then corey979's answer sounds great. If you ask professors if they know of any such papers, you can say, "I've done a thorough search, but have you seen any papers that...?"

I guess the contribution of your work is the applications of the method XXXX to statistics and econometrics. Only a few research has applied the method such as XXXX to address problems in statistics and econometrics. So, your work will be the next one..... I will say that
"To our knowledge, the method such as XXXX has a few applications in  statistics and econometrics [give citations to the exceptional papers where the methods similar to XXXX has been used in statistics and econometrics]."
Or you may say...
"To our knowledge, only a few research [citation] has applied the method such as XXXX to address problems in statistics and econometrics"
But be careful about differentiating your reason for applying this method against the existing way that the method XXX have been used in statistics and econometrics.


text:
Help someone in research paper in practical using my coding skills
I'm a developer and I want to help someone in research and be a part of it by implementing it practical. Where I can find those people?

Welcome here. I think this question is slightly unfit for academia.SE. You could do so by being a freelance developer in some specific website.

While I do not think that your question is generally off-topic here, it is difficult to give you a helpful answer without further details. Can you please [edit] your question to elaborate: 1) What is your motivation to do this? 2) What exactly do you mean by implementing it practical? 3) Do you have a specific field of research in mind? 4) What is your prior experience with research or academia in general?


text:
Listing "Publications" in CV - How to list multiple co-authored book chapters from one single Book?
I have co-authored 2 book chapters on two different topics under 1 Book Title.
The Book has a single editor (but not co-author to these chapters), one ISBN and one DOI number. The chapters do not have individual ISBN or DOI.
So, when I listed the book chapters in my CV, both the listed items have same ISBN and DOI.

Should I list the 2 book chapters under a single item or as separate items?

SINGLE ITEM

[1] (a) Authors. Book chapter 1. ISBN: XYZ-1234-ABC. DOI: 10.1234/XYZ
     (b) Authors. Book chapter 2. ISBN: XYZ-1234-ABC. DOI: 10.1234/XYZ

SEPERATE ITEMS

[1] Authors. Book chapter 1. ISBN: XYZ-1234-ABC. DOI: 10.1234/XYZ
[2] Authors. Book chapter 2. ISBN: XYZ-1234-ABC. DOI: 10.1234/XYZ

Should I keep ISBN and DOI with the publications?

The contribution type here is "book chapter", and you have two of them. Thus, you should list two separate items. Even if the doi is pointing to the entire book rather than the individual chapter, it still seems useful, thus you should include it. I see no problem with having the same doi listed for two items (other than that a careful reader might suspect a copy&paste error, but anyone who actually follows it will understand).

It's not uncommon to list separately. However, in your scenario, the single list might work for DOIs that are not distinct for each chapters.
Nonetheless, if I were in your shoes, I'll engage with the publisher about having separate/distinct DOI for each chapters.
Normally, chapters DOI are separated with an underscore. For instance,
Book DOI:10.1234/xyz
Chap 1 DOI: 10.1234/xyz_1
Chap 2 DOI: 10.1234/xyz_2

I'd say that on a CV you actually have quite a bit of freedom on how to structure items, so personally I might go with

TITLE/EDITOR/IBSN

chapter 1
chapter 2

So 1 item and then the chapters detailed without individual ISBNs.
Of course it also depends on your CV - if you don't have a lot of publications yet, you might prefer more items.

Is it advisable if I list them as separate publications with the ISBN, but without DOI?
I intend to remove the DOI completely to avoid any kind of confusion.

Both ISBNs and DOIs serve as identifiers, it is totally fine to list both, they are well known and nobody would be confused (the ISBN just signals "book").


text:
Including independent research project in PhD application
I am applying for a PhD program and want to demonstrate my research abilities and enthusiasm for scientific writing. While I currently have no plans to publish this work, I completed an independent research project and wrote a paper summarizing the findings in a formal research paper format.
The application asks for "Example of an academic work, e.g., master's thesis, seminar paper." Would it be appropriate to include this independent project under this category, showcasing my ability to conduct research and present it effectively?
I understand that published work may be preferred, but I would appreciate any insights on whether including this unpublished, self-initiated project would be considered acceptable or detrimental to my application.

From my perspective, I can speak only for the Czech Republic (CR). In the CR, academics tend to be rough. So, since your work was not supervised by a professional or the results were not reviewed by professionals, most academics would not accept it and may see it as boasting. But maybe in other parts of the world, academics would love to see that you work on your own and that you are interested.

That's a very helpful point, thank you. While it wasn't formally supervised or peer-reviewed, I'm currently formatting the results into a comprehensive scientific report to ensure clarity and structure. Do you think including this report in my PhD application would be beneficial?

If it is the best you have, include it. However, if it hasn't been reviewed, as in a published work, or otherwise vetted, it will likely count for less than otherwise.
If you intend, at some future point, to publish it then you could tag it as "Work in Progress", which would explain the lack of review.
The problem is that a committee or PI would have to vet the work themselves, which they are probably unlikely to do because of the time and effort required. Depending on the judgements of others, when valid, is much easier.
But, use what you have.

Thank you for your insightful response. I understand your point that unpublished work may carry less weight due to the lack of external review. I appreciate the suggestion to label the work as "Work in Progress" if I eventually intend to publish it, providing context for the absence of external vetting.

Including your independent research project and the accompanying paper in your PhD application can be seen as a strong testament to your commitment to your field of study, your initiative in conducting research independently, and your ability to effectively communicate complex ideas through scientific writing.
In academia, everything counts. However, you don't want overwhelm your reader with additional information. Do you intend to submit this as part of your writing sample package?
While published work might carry a certain prestige, the key qualities PhD programs often look for in candidates include research competency, intellectual curiosity, and self-motivation. Your project demonstrates all these traits. Universities understand that not all candidates will have the opportunity to publish their work, especially at an early career stage.
Ensure that your submission clearly articulates the research question, methodology, findings, and conclusions, and discusses the implications of your work within your field. This will showcase not only your ability to conduct thorough research but also your understanding of its relevance and potential impact. Therefore, submitting your independent research project could indeed be beneficial for your application, rather than detrimental.

Thank you very much for your detailed and encouraging response. I do intend to submit this project as part of my writing sample package. This project is supposed to be a GitHub project. However, I was wondering if you have any insights on whether formatting the research findings specifically as a conference paper, even though it may not be published, is a valuable approach for showcasing my work within the context of a PhD application.

No, I don't think this is necessary. As long as the formatting is consistant throughout, this should work.

This is exactly what I was looking for, much appreciated.


text:
How to properly sort and name variables / parameters in mathematical papers?
I have the following question. I am in the process of finalizing my model for my first paper. I have a question about the naming or sorting of the variables / parameters. I have now labeled all decision variables with lowercase letters and the parameters with uppercase letters and Greek letters. Is there a general rule on how to name everything? And if I now present my parameters / variables in a list, I would of course sort them alphabetically. How do I then handle Greek letters? Are they then sorted according to the normal letters or are they integrated into the normal letters.
F.e:

a
d
z
β
λ

or

a
β
d
λ
z

In general I think it is sufficient to introduce variable names in the text  without a separate list of variable names. In my opinion such a list makes sense only for notation-heavy books where the definition of the variables can be very far from where they are used.
Having said that, I suggest you separate Greek from Latin letters, since they also have a distinct semantic role in your paper (distinguishing decision variables from parameters).

There is no universally accepted convention on that, but there are a few common sense rules that can facilitate the reading.

Each letter should be used for just one quantity (at least locally).

Quantities with similar meanings should be denoted by similar letters. Similarity may mean many things: a group of the letters in the same (lower/upper) case close to each other in the same alphabet (like $a,b,c,d$) or similar letters from  alphabets used in parallel (like $a,\alpha$), etc.

Quantities with drastically different meanings (like a set of vectors and a real number) should be denoted by different type letters (like $\mathcal V$ for the first and $\alpha$ for the second.

If you have various constants denoted by $c$ and $C$ (with indices or without them), as it is common in mathematical articles, it helps if you use the lowercase letter for small ones and the uppercase letters for large ones, so
$
c_1n\le f(n)\le C_2n^2
$
reads better than $C_1 n\le f(n)\le c_2n^2$, say

Ideally, when trying to comprehend your notation, the reader should be able to quickly build a set of conditional reflexes in his/her mind, so that it would become possible to determine the type of object by its name without scrolling back to the formal definitions too often.
Note that some of those reflexes are their already: $e$ normally stands for the Euler's constant, $\pi$ for the Archimedes one, $i$ for the imaginary unit, $f$ for a function, etc. But $e$ can also be used for an edge in a graph (provided you write $e^x$ as $\exp(x)$ if it also occurs in your paper), $\pi$ can be a permutation, $i$ an index of summation and $f$ a face of a polyhedron. So, you can override the defaults to a certain extent if you do not use them simultaneously with your overrides too often.
I'm not sure why you might want to sort your variables except, perhaps, for the notation list, but even then I would rather group them like
We denote the decision parameters by lowercase letters from the beginning of the Latin alphabet ($a,b,c,\dots$)
We denote the output variables by lowercase letters from the end of the Latin alphabet ($z,y,x,\dots$)
We denote various numeric parameters by lowercase Greek letters ($\alpha,\beta,\dots$)
We denote functions by the capital letters from the middle of the Latin alphabet ($F,G,H,\dots$)
and so on.
In reality, almost no one goes that far, but having something like that in mind when you design your notation and sticking to it most of the time really helps the reader.
One can expand this list of the "unwritten rules" to infinity, but I hope you got the general idea by now, so I'll stop here.


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How to shorten references
How to shorten the reference format to maximum one line per reference so that it fits to the guidelines. I have already used APA format. But is there any other format for doing so?

Can you have a look at how others do it in the same publication?

Do you mean that you have to fit each reference on one line, but you are not told what format to use? That is unusual.

Does this answer your question?  https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/87218/which-citation-style-is-the-most-concise-and-has-the-least-impact-on-word-count

Does this answer your question? Which citation style is the most concise and has the least impact on word count?

There is a very compact format that is used in this paper:
https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.1089072
Here is an extract:

J. Ihmels et al., Nature Genet. 31, 370 (Aug, 2002).
E. Ravasz, A. L. Somera, D. A. Mongru, Z. N. Oltvai,
A.-L. Baraba´si, Science 297, 1551 (2002).
C. R. Myers, arXiv: cond-mat/0305575 (2003).
J. J. Hopﬁeld, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 79, 2554
(1982).
D. Bray, J. Theor. Biol. 143, 215 (1990).


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Can I provide citations in the abstract of a project proposal
I am writing a project proposal for the first time but I am in dilemma whether I should add the citation in the abstract as well or not. Any suggestions?

Generally citations are avoided in an abstract. I've seen citations allowed a few times a various conferences - I assume because the abstracts are expected to stand alone i.e., without any accompanying paper - but it isn't the norm (at least in my field). Probably you should ask why you feel like you need them. Is it critical to call out specific prior works? Are you expecting the abstract to be viewed with no other context or material available? Whether or not you add them depends on the guidelines/expectations for the project proposal in the end though.


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Did I offend my prospective PhD supervisor?
So I had cold emailed to a professor asking for a PhD position. Initially she did not have any but opened one for me. After several rounds of interviews I received an email from her offering phd position in her group. Later she informed me about her preferred start date and that is December. However since I’m an international student, I asked if it could be postponed by one month and if I start a month later.To which she didn’t reply. I also have email tracker. She has seen it but no reply. I have sent a follow up email but again no reply. Did I somehow offend her? What could be the reason?

How long after the first e-mail did you send the reminder (follow-up email)?

I suggest that you reconsider your use of email trackers. If I found one in an email I received, I would question whether I should continue to engage with the person who sent it.

Note that modern email software can test and block email trackers, and it is likely the recipient is aware of the tracker you inserted.

Hi. This is not the first time I have used the tracker during  communication also I have the advanced version of the tracker and the recipient wont be able to get the notification

@XINDA: That's even worse. At a base ethical level, you're being sneaky and trying to get the recipient's computer to tell you things about them that they have not actively or intentionally-passively told you themselves. At a technical level your "advanced version of the tracker" is either more visible than you think, or is exploiting a security vulnerability in their system.

@RLH Yeah Okay I do understand your point. But why all of a sudden? I have sent multiple emails to her over the period of 3 months. Nothing happened. Even when I confirmed that I accept the offer and that day only she replied and then within a hour I asked if I can start a month later and got no reply. I agree that using a tracker is ethically worse but I feel using the tracker is right or not, is the issue here.

"I asked if it could be postponed by one month" Did you tell her the reasons ? If you did, are they valid ? For example, if it is because of visa, did you tell her what's the average time of processing visa ? Also, please do not use e-mail tracker. It's intrusion of privacy. Whether she receive/open the e-mail is her privacy. Once you use the tracker, the professor would probably think you will continue to use it after you become her student. No one wants such a student.

"why all of a sudden?" Maybe she did not know about the tracker until the recent e-mail.

No, asking for a later start shouldn't be offensive. An email tracker might be, though, if visible to the recipient.
You don't say how long it has been, but if it is less than, perhaps, two weeks, it is too soon to conclude anything. An repeated emails might be an issue if they follow on too quickly or are, themselves, imply impatience.
I suggest patience. And a bit of trust.
Be aware that a later start might cause problems and so might also cause a delay in decision making if things need to be arranged.

Hi, Yes I do understand. so basically last week I got the offer. So usually she replies quickly. So she suggested starting in December and asked if it was okay with me or not. but considering few complications at my end (my current job) so asked if it is okay with her if I request if I start in January. I have received no reply yet even after follow up email. Its highly unlikely that she is aware of the email tracker all of a sudden when I am using it from day 1 with her ( from June).

Whatever it is, Atleast she could let me know if the date is okay with her or not or she needs more time to think about it, if at all things need to be arranged

@XINDA keep in mind that this decision is very important to you, but probably only one of many important matters the professor is dealing with. They may be traveling, or given the time of year, they may be preparing for the start of the academic year. Demanding follow up after only one week is being impatient. As Buffy suggests a little patience may serve you well (and stop using email trackers).

Yeah thanks for the words! I was freaking out thinking I might have said something (reasons for asking for a one month delay in the date of joining. Ex visa and other stuff) which has offended her


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Good SOP for a prospective MS ECE student
As an international student vying for a good research university in the US, I have often heard how the SOP is an integral part of any application. unlike the advice for prospective PhD students, there is a dearth of specific resources for Master's students.
In the same vein, I would be very thankful to know, what makes the admissions committee and professors consider certain applications to be promising. Is it the prestige of the college, the research experience or LORs? Does the lack of research papers for a niche field of ECE hamper students' chances?

If the SoP doesn't require you answer specific questions, then it would be the same as for doctoral study. Give your goals for study and thereafter. For a research masters say what area(s) you are interested in pursuing.
If the SoP requires specific questions be addressed, then dow what is asked.
Admissions in US is broad based. Things like GPA, especially in advanced courses, along with good letters of recommendation can make the difference. Institutional reputation means less. Research experience isn't usually essential, though helpful.
Put past accomplishments in the CV. Put future goals in the SoP.


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How to cite the number of articles with a specific keyword?
In the introduction of a paper I'm writing, I want to make the observation that the specific field we're studying is experiencing a huge boom. I don't know if I need to back this affirmation by citing the articles database I'm using (Scopus) or how should I do it.

It may be worthwhile noting the recent focus the field has brought to the area of research. This is touching on the field of meta-analysis, or specifically, bibliometrics. You could use a version of this figure and describe your search terms (perhaps in supplementary materials) and the database (Scopus) you used to illustrate the point. It is worth noting that what you can say about this trend without further analysis is limited so making broad claims should be avoided.


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Huge gap in the deadlines for graduate programs in US and Germany. How to commit to one?
I am finishing up my Bachelors in Physics from a US university and have applied to graduate programs in both USA and Germany (PhD programs in USA and Masters in Germany, because German uni's require a Masters to apply to their PhD programs). For German universities, I will be able to apply only to their winter semester that starts in October, because the summer semester starts in April, and I am still in school during this time. I was accepted to couple PhD programs in the US, but I have to accept the offer by mid-April. However, the deadlines for the winter semester of German uni's isn't until July. I was wondering if German universities get this question every year, and if there is any way to know the decisions from Germany before I have to accept the offers from US.

Different countries different systems, YOU have to decide...

If your ultimate goal is to get a PhD and you've already been accepted to two, I don't see why you want to wait to hear back about Master's applications.

While it may be sensible to not try and catch up with the summer semester (moving to foreign country plus catching up with courses is a tough proposition), it would make sense to find out whether any labwork or research practica or block courses are on during summer break that you could attend already. And yes, I'd think the universities are used to this question.

Most universities in Germany are aware of this problem but there is no common system so the only way to find out if you can get an early decision is to ask the university you applied at directly. If your program is "zulassungsbeschränkt" it means they only accept the best X applicants so it is not possible to be accepted before the deadline but there are many programs which accept all students meeting certain requirements.
Be aware that having (even a good) Masters degree is no guarantee to get a PhD position in Germany. Only a small fraction of Master students continue to do a PhD and, if you do not have scholarship, you need to find a professor who is willing to supervise you and has funding available.

Quick check of a few universities: none of them (currently) has any Zulassungsbeschränkung for Physics Master studies, but you may have to pass some test.


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I graduated but school is withholding my degree
I graduated in 2016 for my Associates Degree. My college told me to enroll in history 11 over at a different college (they dropped me from the class by mistake and I couldn’t get back into it because it was full), that it’s equivalent to their 111 American History, so I did. I gave my college the transcripts, transcripts accepted it. Upon finishing my checklist counseling and admissions signed off my “petition to graduate” form. I walked the stage, paid for cap and gown, paid for my graduation pictures, and then as they gave everyone else their actual diploma months later, they informed me that they aren’t going to give me my degree because the other college does not match their American institution portion. I spoke to head of admissions and she was going to give it to me since I wasn’t going to use it to transfer, I’d just needed it for employers! (Degree in communications). Now, since she is now the Dean, she’s refusing to give it to me, even though THEY signed off. It has to go through several steps for the petition and still she is now blaming me for not taking their course too. I already took it at another college, what do I do now?

I feel for you, as my sister had something like this happen where she was denied her degree and the entire direction of her life got derailed.  But this sounds extremely specific to your particular situation and university, so I'm not sure there's much we can do, other than to tell you to go through whatever your university's process is and maybe consult a lawyer if you can.

If they signed you off, then you may be able to approach the Governing Board, or as well, the Accrediting Institution for the college but you should find some good independent advice - a lawyer specialising in that area possibly..


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Can I mention multiple faculty members in my SOP?
I'm applying for PhD and thesis masters programs in Electrical and Computer Engineering. In one of the schools, there is a specific faculty member I'm extremely interested in working with. However, admission into her lab is really competitive. Realistically, my odds of getting in are mediocre at best.
At the same university, there is another faculty member who I share some interests with. I have also done research in his lab as an undergrad, and I know for a fact that he has millions in funding and more or less accepts any grad student who applies because he can afford to. He's definitely not ideal, but I'd be okay with doing my masters with him and then finding somewhere better for my PhD.
Finally, there's a third faculty member whose work is also pretty interesting. His research interests align fairly well with mine, but admission into his lab is also extremely competitive.
If I mention all three professors in my SOP, does it affect my chances of getting into the competitive labs? Obviously, if I only mention one name, it makes it look like I'm a lot more passionate about her work specifically. I was hoping for a way to maximize my chances of getting into the first prof's lab while still retaining the second and third prof as a back up. I was hoping for some advice on how I can phrase my SOP to accomplish this.

Presumably this is about American universities?  In many other countries, you need to determine your supervisor before you formally apply.

I'm in a program (and went to a program) where students are admitted to the program, not a lab.
When considering students, I'm actually quite nervous about those who only mention a single professor they're interested in working with, as that's not a particularly robust "plan". What if they don't get tenure, or are recruited elsewhere? What if they have a personal emergency? What if they just don't have funding for a student right now? What if it turns out you just have wildly incompatible working habits (this happened to me)?
I'm going to echo Buffy's suggestion - don't try to write your SOP as the optimal solution to a game whose rules you don't know. Write about your interests in the program, and how that applies to one or more specific faculty members.

I'm not sure this is a good forum for this question. You have set up the situation like a game with hidden rules. There is no algorithm for this and it depends on both everything you say and how the various readers will interpret it. Secret rules.
So, this is just a suggestion about something you might think about. It isn't a solution to the game.
But you could write your SOP focusing on the field or fields in which you are interested, rather than the professors. Make it as fine grained as you like. Talk about how you are suited to studying in those fields. You can stress those fields most that align most with the professors you want to study with even without mentioning them by name. Hint that you are flexible, but don't make it easy for them to make a suggestion you would rather have made otherwise. Emphasize your suitability for the option you most want.
If it is necessary to name one or more of the professors you will need to figure out how to work them in to it, possibly even at the end. But if it isn't necessary then perhaps you could leave it unsaid.
Don't write the SOP as if you are unsure, of course. State your goals. Stress the most important one.

It's not a game with hidden rules.  People on this site have been on admissions committees and they know the rules.  It is necessary to name professors.  This shows the applicant understands what they are applying for.

@AnonymousPhysicist, My point was that, not knowing the people involved you can't know how they will interpret what you say. The opinions and behavior of people here don't figure into the actual process as experienced by the OP. If I name 3 professors will they all be insulted? I can't know that. If I name one and miss the cut, then what?

@AnonymousPhysicist this is country dependent, some universities you contact the faculty personally directly, have an interview and the faculty then takes you on, organises the payment of funding as appropriate. This does sound like the OP is trying to "hedge their bets"...

@AnonymousPhysicist The question isn't "Do I name professors", it's "How many". And I agree with Buffy that this question feels like "Surely there is an optimal number of professors to name".


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Does it look bad if I email multiple professors in the same department at once?
I'm currently in the process of applying to grad schools, and I'm emailing profs whose work I find interesting. I always read a bit of their work, and then customize both, the email I send them, and the CV I attach. I discuss their work in my email, and slightly change the listed research interests in my CV to match their interests.
Often, I'll find multiple profs in the same school and department whose work I find interesting. I was wondering it its acceptable to email them all at once. Are there any potential consequences to sending out multiple emails + CVs at once to the same department, all containing slightly different research interests and repeatedly claiming I find the profs' work "fascinating"?

It might be detected that you're attempting to "game the system", which would make people doubt your sincerity... and credibility.

It only looks bad if you are dishonest, seem desperate, or haven't put in effort.
It's perfectly fine to contact multiple professors in separate emails where each is somewhat customized, especially in a field where students are admitted to a program rather than a specific lab directly. You are on a mission to gather and share information, you aren't promising yourself to each of them.
Your goal in graduate admissions should be to find a good fit between you and a professor.
If you are not actually interested in both lions and cuttlefish, you should not email the lion professor and tell her how much you like lions and your passion is to be out on the African savanna (and by implication, could never study cuttlefish), and then do the opposite with the cuttlefish professor. Do consider that professors may talk to each other, so if you think your email to one professor would be embarrassing if another professor saw it because it differed so much to the one he read you should rethink a bit.
Having seen these sorts of emails from prospective students, I would dial back the flourishing prose about fascination: unless you have a history of work in a specific area it can come off as a bit superficial or naive, and maybe a bit desperate. Instead, be honest and reflective both with yourself and in your emails: grad school is a big commitment, don't commit to something you can't actually find some interest in. You don't need to convince someone that studies cuttlefish that cuttlefish are awesome - they know it better than anyone else. Convince them that you are ready and able to learn, pick up some of their papers to show you've done your homework. "I'm interested in your work about lion manes in mate attraction" is a lot better than "Lions are the best mammals ever I've really been fascinated by them since I was young": it shows you know and read about what the lab does (they study mate attraction in lions).

Yes, it does look bad. When people approach me with a generic or just marginally tailored email and do not show that they have at least thought a little bit about how their research interests possibly match mine, I just throw the email away -- if they do not put in the effort then why should I?


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Addressing medical issues in grad school applications
For most of university, I usually got around a ~3.5, with my GPA in my fourth year being around a 3.8.
However, during the first semester of my first year, I had some medical issues that made it really challenging to focus on school. Because of that, my GPA that semester was around a 1.7.
This one semester 4 years ago is completely destroying my GPA. Because of it my cumulative GPA is around a 3.35 instead of the 3.6 it should be.
I'm applying to PhD programs right now, and I'm afraid that most grad schools will take a quick look at the 3.35 and immediately dismiss my application because it's so low... I've done as much as I can to mitigate the effect of it, including doing quite well my fourth year, publishing a research paper and doing several research internships throughout university.
I was hoping for some advice on the best way to deal with this. I'll definitely mention this in my SOP, but I don't know if that will be sufficient. I'm also not sure how many details I'm expected to share about the medical issue. It's obviously very personal and I'd prefer to not share too much, but if I absolutely need to I guess that's okay...

Can I ask why you didn't take a hardship withdrawal at the time?

@AzorAhai I am not trying to put words in the OP's mouth, but many students don't know that is a real option or are afraid they won't be able to refund the tuition and fees that they paid out.

@koverman47 I know, that's why I asked the OP.

Could you please clarify how good is a 3.8? What is the maximum score?

I would think that the one semester is an anomaly. As such, since it was your first semester, it likely won't have much impact as long as you explain it adequately. People do get sick. Other people understand that. On the other hand some people do tend to party a lot and others may not be so understanding. But an explanation should suffice. If appropriate (it isn't always) be able to back up your statements with some evidence - say a recommendation from a doctor that the issue is in the past.
Some people won't even blink since your trend line is positive.
If you can also show the the poor grades early on didn't leave you with a hole in your education, all the better. That seems unlikely in this case, of course.
But of course, my analysis won't be universal. Some people will look harshly, but it should be rare most places.


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How do I judge a conference's trustworthiness?
I asked a question here How are travel expenses paid by conferences? , and the answer mentioned that it depends on how well I trust a conference (to pay back expenses).
That raises a new issue - how do I judge a conference's reputation (not in its field but in financial matters). Is there some objective way to judge that?

If it has been going on for a long time with a good reputation in the field it should be just fine.

@JonCuster Isn't that just an argument for their relevance in their field? Does it mean they are also fiscally responsible?

To stick around, the conference has to be fiscally responsible or venues stop booking them. And, if they stiff (do not reimburse) invited speakers that will get known in the community really really quickly and nobody will accept invitations to speak there anymore.

Careful: I remember, a few years ago, a reputable conference had its abbreviated name hijacked (and temporarily out-googled) by a scam conference and only careful reading of the PC and keynote speaker list would reveal that.

Financial reliability is going to be related to scientific validity. Definitely agree with JonCuster's comment that long-standing conferences (e.g., annually recurring events with a history of substantive organizers and programs) are more trustworthy. Some new conferences are hard to evaluate; this will depend more on who exactly is organizing and whether your network trusts them. Otherwise, this general list could help.
https://libguides.ucd.ie/publishing/predatory

The conference has an overly ambitious title
The technical programme is broad. Very broad.
The language on the conference website is…off
Renowned organisations are sponsoring a low-profile conference
The organisers’ contact details are missing, or aren’t quite right
Another conference with a suspiciously similar name already exists
The conference or its organisers have known associates
The organisers are charging higher-than-normal fees
The conference is unusually frequent

Caltech Library’s list of predatory conferences:

https://libguides.caltech.edu/c.php?g=512665&p=3503029