Publishing

Publishing our work is an incredibly important part of our responsibilities as scientists and another example of communication skills that are critical for us to practice regularly. After all, our discoveries are nothing if we don’t share them and provide a platform for the next generation (or ourselves!) to build upon, much like we have learned from and built upon all of the great science that has preceded our time in the lab. I hope you are as excited for others to read your work and learn something new as you are to do the science.

Expectations for PhD students

You are required by the School of Chemical Engineering to have published one first-authored paper and have a second first-authored paper submitted before your defense. For all students in our group, this should be seen as the bare minimum, and your actual publishing goals should reflect both your project area and your long-term career goals.

With the diverse range of research topics being pursued in our group, what is “reasonable” will vary from student to student (i.e. bio-based projects are inherently slower and more tedious and may result in fewer, but more dense, publications than materials-based projects that are comparably fast-paced). The journal to which you choose to submit your papers will also dictate the amount of effort required per project (i.e. submitting to Science or Nature will require greater sustained effort than a submission to Macromolecules). Therefore, each student will work with me to develop a publishing plan based on their project area and their anticipated future career (both of which can change!) to be revisited periodically throughout your time in the lab. PhD students are also encouraged to engage in collaborative efforts and contribute to additional papers as co-authors.

Expectations for Postdocs 

Similar to PhD students, your publishing plan will be somewhat dictated by your career goals and the nature of your project. However, it is expected that you will have at least one first-authored paper submitted per year of your time in the group. Postdocs are expected to engage with other efforts and leverage their expertise to contribute to at least one collaborative paper as a co-author per year.

Authorship

• My belief is that anyone who contributes scientifically to the results presented in a manuscript should be included as an author, whether these contributions are made experimentally or in the process of putting together the figures/story to communicate the results. Authorship discussions should be had early and often – both for projects within our group and in collaborative efforts. I can engage in these discussions as necessary, but it should be something you become comfortable sorting out with your colleagues yourself. Non-scientific contributions always warrant acknowledgment (i.e. assisting with grammar/proofreading, conducting experiments without analyzing data or putting in context of the project, or iterating on design of experimental protocols).

• Generally, the first author should assume responsibility for drafting the bulk of the paper, including tables and figures, and should also take the lead in submission duties such as drafting the cover letter, formatting the manuscript properly, online submission, and proofing. The first author should ensure all contributors have received appropriate credit and have given their approval of the final draft. Additionally, the first author should take the lead in addressing reviews, resubmission, addressing reviewer comments with responses, and revisions to the original manuscript. (See the Writing Manuscripts page for tips!)

• For collaborative efforts that you engage in outside of our lab, it is generally assumed that I, as your PI, will also engage in the research either scientifically or by providing resources, etc. and should be included as an author on any resulting manuscript. However, if you believe there are circumstances where this does not apply, I am happy to discuss on a case-by-case basis, but this needs to be a discussion and not an assumption.