Letter from Boston Slow Week, Same Pressure By MASAKO YAMADA	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
ゆっくり過ごす週 雅子さんの研究室は、指導教授がいるときといないときで緊張感が違います。今度教授が学会でパリに出かけるので、雅子さんはその間、8月に自分が出席する予定の学会の準備をすることにしました。緊張がゆるむ教授不在の期間は、自分の仕事を進めるいい機会です。

I work in a very large research group. At any given time, there might be 20 to 30 members. It's hard to keep track of the exact numbers because there are many short-term researchers: professors on sabbatical from other institutions, post-docs with year-long grants and visiting scholars collaborating on short-term projects.

With so many people, it's obviously impossible for my advisor, Gene, to work closely with all of the members every day. Instead, small groups work together on a day-to-day basis and consult Gene once in a while to discuss their progress and to straighten out problems. There might be a more structured schedule within the small groups, but as a whole, the work atmosphere is casual. Nobody really cares if you come to work late, or if you take a long lunch break.

In spite of this very relaxed schedule, I find that most of the members work very hard. This is no doubt in part because our advisor is a workaholic himself. As a subordinate, it's difficult to not work hard when he's around. He's constantly running around making phone calls, editing papers, advising students, collaborating with researchers and going to conferences. This spirit has more or less colored us all — although I still think Gene has more energy than all of us put together — and it gives the group an energy that I don't see in other advisors' groups.

It's interesting to see what happens when Gene goes to a conference, which is quite often. It's almost possible to see the tension release from the group when he walks out the door. Gene went to conference last week and he will be attending another in Paris this week. The majority of the group members will also be attending the conference in Paris, so things around the lab are bound to be especially quiet.

I thought I might spend this time slowly catching up on the literature (keeping up with new papers is a very important part of being a researcher, but in my case, I still have a lot to learn about the existing history and techniques). However, right before leaving for Paris, my colleague Francis told me that I should work on a poster while everybody is away. I was shocked. Yes, I am planning on attending a conference in the beginning of August, but I thought I'd be an innocent spectator. Instead, he was telling me that I'd have to present something!

Granted, presenting a poster is not the same as giving a talk. At poster sessions, a bunch of researchers put short outlines of their work on the walls of a large room and explain the content to any interested passersby. It's a bit like academic window-shopping. And much like real window-shopping, an attractive presentation adds value to the product.

It's common for researchers to spend days working on color graphics to make their posters easy on the eyes. It's also crucial to be able to summarize the content using very few words, as the shoppers will quickly pass by anything that looks too complicated. Finally, although the poster itself should be simple and well-organized, the academic foundation has to be solid. Once a presentation catches the eye of the shopper, he or she is bound to look more carefully at the content and look for high quality scholarship by asking deeper questions.

I feel comfortable expressing my opinions on paper and among friends, but I become strangely nervous when I'm required to perform in front of people. This applies to piano concerts, oral exams, classroom presentations and lecture competitions. Although it's undoubtedly true that content lies at the heart of the matter, presentation is an important part of being understood. So I know that I must take it upon myself to seriously study what makes an effective performance and train myself to learn those skills. I've never presented anything in front of an audience as critical as the one I'm likely to encounter at this conference, so I'll have to be prepared on many levels.

Francis has told me that although the pace of the lab often slows down when Gene goes off to a conference with a large part of the group, it's often the best time in which to do work, because it's quiet. I'll soon find out if that's true.

Shukan ST: July 31, 1998

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