In 2007, Willie Merrell, a theoretical particle physics student from PROMISE at College Park, shared the following information following his doctoral defense. Willie was part of the first group of PROMISE Peer Mentors. We reprise this article which has been used as a handout for the Dissertation House, and hope that it will assist a wide range of students.

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In my experience from watching dissertation defenses and from defending my own dissertation, I have observed that there are three important components to any successful defense. These components are:

1. The Presentation

2. The Original Work

3. Your Work in Context

Here are some tips I’ve learned for performing well on each component.

1)      The Presentation

This area is sometimes overlooked because it is viewed as superficial, especially when compared to the actual work that is being judged. However, just as in dating, presentation matters. In a defense, one can’t get by just on a great looking presentation, but it can help in getting the relevant information across and in eliminating unwanted questions arising from simple misunderstandings.

The key parts to having a good presentation are:

a)      Making the presentation readable. Make sure that relevant characters can be seen.

b)      Using a clear and consistent labeling scheme. Make sure that your variables, and names are used to mean only one thing. If there is community accepted double use for a label, make sure that you give a explanation of that convention.

c)       Having a clear organization. As much as possible you would like the ideas and results that you present to follow a logical and pedagogical progression of thought. A lot of questions come from this component for the simple fact that not everyone thinks alike. Sometimes, committee members will ask these types of questions just to see how well you have thought about the logic of your work. Examples are very helpful in explaining concepts. Wherever possible, use simple examples that capture the essence of the point you are trying to make.  Examples are nice in that, if you are running out of time they can be easily skipped.

d)      Eliminating distracting content. Since there are often many different and independent components of the work, multiple colors and animations are often used to help distinguish these pieces. However, one should not add something just because it looks nice. Such things tend to distract people and can introduce confusion when they expect the added fluff to be meaningful. It can be very embarrassing to have to admit that something you put in the presentation had no real value.

e)      Clearly point out your original contribution. This is not the time to be modest. Let everyone in the room know what you claim as your work with pride (But make sure you leave your arrogance at home.)

2)      The Original Work

This is your baby. You own this. You have done the research, the analysis, the implementation. You should have complete mastery over this part. That is the first reason for the defense. It is time to show others that you have mastered your work. Expect them to attack anything and everything just to see if there is a weakness in your understanding. This might seem like a daunting challenge but remember that the committee knows you are only human. There will be some things that you don’t know and that is o.k. Knowing the depths of the foundations of the principles used in your research is a lifelong challenge. For this component you want to keep two things in mind.

a)      What you want to do is make sure that you have a reasonable understanding of the principles that you have used in your work. You are expected to get the community standard concepts right. You get extra credit for understanding the strengths, the flaws, and the hidden assumptions used in your techniques and procedures and how they relate to other techniques and procedures that you didn’t use.

b)      There is a reason it is called a defense. Be prepared to defend your work and the choices made in your analysis, and procedures. It may sound like a lot but remember that you have already done most of this work when you were learning about the foundations of your research. This is where you want to go back and make sure you understand as many of those things as you can for which you said “I’ll figure it out later.”

3)       Your Work in Context

As a Ph.D.,  you are expected to have some idea of where your work fits in the broad view of your academic area and how your work relates to the work of others. Since this amount of work done by others is very large, focus on learning works directly related your work to a degree that is reasonable for your workload. Don’t be afraid of questions about works with which you are not familiar. There is a strategy for dealing with such questions. The point of the question is about how the other work relates to your work. Ask questions to find the perceived link between your work and other work referenced and comment about that link based the goals of your work and the constraints under which your work was performed. Try to be specific, but concise, about the reasons you have for the perspective you give. This will effectively demonstrate that you understand how to place your work in context as you encounter other works and expand your own work.

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About the author:

Willie Merrell completed his PhD in Physics at the University of Maryland College Park.  Following receipt of the doctorate, he joined the String Theory Group at the University of Kentucky as a Lyman T. Johnson Postdoctoral Fellow. His work in supersymmetry can be summarized as follows:  

Supersymmetry is a symmetry that relates bosonic and fermionic states of a theory. It is a great theoretical tool for performing calculations that are otherwise intractable. The use of supersymmetry is also a leading candidate for solving a major theoretical problems with the standard model of particle physics, the hierarchy problem, and is a necessary part of superstring theory. His research involves using the natural mathematical language for supersymmetry, i.e. Superspace, to aid in formulating supersymmetric theories and performing calculations in supersymmetric systems relevant to superstring theory and supersymmetric field theory.

Dr. Merrell is now a scientist at NASA.

Photos of nebulae courtesy of nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
National Space Science Data Center

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This post may be copied, but please reference “The Dissertation House — http://www.thedissertationhouse.com, a program of PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP.”

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The text content of this post was compiled and written by the staff of PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP and may not be copied without referencing the PROMISE organization, as “PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP”.

PROMISE AGEP Online Information by PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Come out and join us at the annual PROMISE Maryland’s AGEP May “Friends and Family” Cookout and Celebration of Graduates. Graduate students and postdocs from UMBC, UM College Park, UMB, and other campuses within the University System of Maryland are invited. PROMISE students may bring guests … any family members or friends who have supported your journey in graduate school. PROMISE alumni, faculty, SSI Mentors-in-Residence, and “Friends of PROMISE” are invited to attend.

• The event is free. It will span from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM.
• The “Celebration of Grads Ceremony” will be held in the park at 3:00 PM.
• Attire: casual.
• Location:  Cedar Lane Park (Cedar Lane Park Pavilion East) 10725 Route 108, Columbia, Maryland
  Directions: http://gis.howardcountymd.gov/mainsite/MapGallery/drivingdirections/07_CedarLaneParkEast.pdf
  NOTE: Our event is in *CEDAR LANE PARK EAST* (not Centennial Park which is nearby, and not Cedar Lane Park West, where we held the event last year.)
  Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=10745+Route+108,+Columbia,+MD&hl=en&sll=39.171514,-76.794315&sspn=0.011595,0.019205&oq=10745+Route+108+c&hnear=10745+Maryland+108,+Columbia,+Howard,+Maryland+21042&t=m&z=16
  This is a smaller park, with basketball courts, a children’s playground, and a softball/baseball field. It has one pavilion, which is reserved for our event.
• All PROMISE grads (Master’s and Doctoral) will be celebrated! If you are graduating, please send email to promisestaff@gmail.com with the subject “Graduate!” so that you can be recognized.

The event is free, but please RSVP.

• RSVP:  http://www.facebook.com/events/122247844566000/
• Please RSVP so that we can have an accurate order for food.
• You may use the Facebook site above which is open to the public, or RSVP as a comment to this post.

You may bring blankets, games, and other items to make your afternoon enjoyable. Food and beverages will be provided. Alcoholic beverages are not allowed.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Come out and join us at the annual PROMISE Maryland’s AGEP May “Friends and Family” Cookout and Celebration of Graduates. Graduate students and postdocs from UMBC, UM College Park, UMB, and other campuses within the University System of Maryland are invited. PROMISE students may bring guests … any family members or friends who have supported your journey in graduate school. PROMISE alumni, faculty, SSI Mentors-in-Residence, and “Friends of PROMISE” are invited to attend.

• The event is free. It will span from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM.
• The “Celebration of Grads Ceremony” will be held in the park at 3:00 PM.
• Attire: casual.
• Location:  Cedar Lane Park (Cedar Lane Park Pavilion East) 10725 Route 108, Columbia, Maryland
  Directions: http://gis.howardcountymd.gov/mainsite/MapGallery/drivingdirections/07_CedarLaneParkEast.pdf
  NOTE: Our event is in *CEDAR LANE PARK EAST* (not Centennial Park which is nearby, and not Cedar Lane Park West, where we held the event last year.)
  Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=10745+Route+108,+Columbia,+MD&hl=en&sll=39.171514,-76.794315&sspn=0.011595,0.019205&oq=10745+Route+108+c&hnear=10745+Maryland+108,+Columbia,+Howard,+Maryland+21042&t=m&z=16
  This is a smaller park, with basketball courts, a children’s playground, and a softball/baseball field. It has one pavilion, which is reserved for our event.
• All PROMISE grads (Master’s and Doctoral) will be celebrated! If you are graduating, please send email to promisestaff@gmail.com with the subject “Graduate!” so that you can be recognized.

The event is free, but please RSVP.

• RSVP:  http://www.facebook.com/events/122247844566000/
• Please RSVP so that we can have an accurate order for food.
• You may use the Facebook site above which is open to the public, or RSVP as a comment to this post.

You may bring blankets, games, and other items to make your afternoon enjoyable. Food and beverages will be provided. Alcoholic beverages are not allowed.

Throughout the last several years, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduate students who participate in PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP have given various reasons for and against planning to choose careers in the academy.  Among reasons against becoming a faculty member, students have told us that “professors don’t make any money” or that “professors are poor.”  Students may be surprised to learn that they are often making assumptions without any data.  We’ve found it interesting that students who really wanted to teach and have a research program were considering going to industry because they thought that they wouldn’t make a decent living as a professor.  To combat this notion, over the years, PROMISE has been giving students opportunities to hear from, and talk with, STEM faculty  from around the country during our PROMISE Summer Success Institutes (SSI).  The students learned that not only were many of the professors making a very comfortable salary, but that many were, by their own admission, “living large!”  Students were not aware that many faculty salaries are based on a 9 month scale, which means that faculty can do something else for 3 months in the summer, including taking advantage of other opportunities to make even more money.  Some faculty choose to supplement incomes through grant funding, teaching a summer class, or working on a project in another university/industry/government lab.  Some faculty choose to take the summer off to travel, spend time with family, or as PROMISE  faculty “Mentor-in-Residence”  put it, “go fishing.”

The following table presents a sample of faculty salaries from a few STEM fields at different ranks:  Assistant Professor (entry-level, immediately following completion of a PhD or postdoctoral appointment), Associate Professor (after tenure, which generally requires 7 years of experience and a strong record of research and publications, teaching, and service), and Full Professor (promotion after having the qualifications of Associate Professor, achieving national/international reputation for scholarship, continued service to the university.) For more information on faculty rankings, see the 2011 “Promotion and Tenure” policies for UMBC as an example:   http://www.umbc.edu/provost/Faculty_Handbook/section6.pdf.  The numbers in the table showcase a range of salaries based on faculty rank for a few STEM fields. Some of the ranges represent high end or top levels of salaries, and others are medians. The time frame also varies as some numbers represent salary paid out over 9 months, while others represent an annual 12 month salary.

NOTES.  Information has been compiled from the following sources:

• Salaries 2009: Analysis of the American Chemical Society‘s 2009 Comprehensive Salary and Employment Status Survey, published by the American Chemical Society. Range in table represents median salaries. http://portal.acs.org/portal/PublicWebSite/careers/salaries/surveys/CNBP_026817
• Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) Faculty Salary Scale, FY 2010.   Range in table represents Grade 13, “High or Top” level. http://www.ccbcmd.edu/media/hr/faculty_salary_ranges.pdf
• “The Bent” Magazine of Tau Beta Pi, Engineering Honor Society, Spring 2012, reporting American Society for Engineering Education salary data from 2010-2011. Range in table represents median salaries.   http://www.asee.org/papers-and-publications/blogs-and-newsletters/connections/2012March-special-issue.html#Faculty
• Salaries of PhD Physicists and Related Scientists During Spring 2006: Summary Report, published by the American Institute of Physics.   Range in table represents “Top” level. http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/highlite/salary/salsum06.pdf

Related articles

• 15 Things to Consider as You Prepare for Your Faculty Interview (promiseagep.wordpress.com)
• Postdoc and Faculty Jobs “Down Under.” Consider Australia! (promiseagep.wordpress.com)

Throughout the last several years, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduate students who participate in PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP have given various reasons for and against planning to choose careers in the academy.  Among reasons against becoming a faculty member, students have told us that “professors don’t make any money” or that “professors are poor.”  Students may be surprised to learn that they are often making assumptions without any data.  We’ve found it interesting that students who really wanted to teach and have a research program were considering going to industry because they thought that they wouldn’t make a decent living as a professor.  To combat this notion, over the years, PROMISE has been giving students opportunities to hear from, and talk with, STEM faculty  from around the country during our PROMISE Summer Success Institutes (SSI).  The students learned that not only were many of the professors making a very comfortable salary, but that many were, by their own admission, “living large!”  Students were not aware that many faculty salaries are based on a 9 month scale, which means that faculty can do something else for 3 months in the summer, including taking advantage of other opportunities to make even more money.  Some faculty choose to supplement incomes through grant funding, teaching a summer class, or working on a project in another university/industry/government lab.  Some faculty choose to take the summer off to travel, spend time with family, or as PROMISE  faculty “Mentor-in-Residence”  put it, “go fishing.”

The following table presents a sample of faculty salaries from a few STEM fields at different ranks:  Assistant Professor (entry-level, immediately following completion of a PhD or postdoctoral appointment), Associate Professor (after tenure, which generally requires 7 years of experience and a strong record of research and publications, teaching, and service), and Full Professor (promotion after having the qualifications of Associate Professor, achieving national/international reputation for scholarship, continued service to the university.) For more information on faculty rankings, see the 2011 “Promotion and Tenure” policies for UMBC as an example:   http://www.umbc.edu/provost/Faculty_Handbook/section6.pdf.  The numbers in the table showcase a range of salaries based on faculty rank for a few STEM fields. Some of the ranges represent high end or top levels of salaries, and others are medians. The time frame also varies as some numbers represent salary paid out over 9 months, while others represent an annual 12 month salary.

NOTES.  Information has been compiled from the following sources:

• Salaries 2009: Analysis of the American Chemical Society‘s 2009 Comprehensive Salary and Employment Status Survey, published by the American Chemical Society. Range in table represents median salaries. http://portal.acs.org/portal/PublicWebSite/careers/salaries/surveys/CNBP_026817
• Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) Faculty Salary Scale, FY 2010.   Range in table represents Grade 13, “High or Top” level. http://www.ccbcmd.edu/media/hr/faculty_salary_ranges.pdf
• “The Bent” Magazine of Tau Beta Pi, Engineering Honor Society, Spring 2012, reporting American Society for Engineering Education salary data from 2010-2011. Range in table represents median salaries.   http://www.asee.org/papers-and-publications/blogs-and-newsletters/connections/2012March-special-issue.html#Faculty
• Salaries of PhD Physicists and Related Scientists During Spring 2006: Summary Report, published by the American Institute of Physics.   Range in table represents “Top” level. http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/highlite/salary/salsum06.pdf

Related articles

• 15 Things to Consider as You Prepare for Your Faculty Interview (promiseagep.wordpress.com)
• Postdoc and Faculty Jobs “Down Under.” Consider Australia! (promiseagep.wordpress.com)

Today’s Dissertation House mini-lecture for Wednesday, March 28, 2012 will be “Understanding your advisor and your committee”.  This session will be held from 1:00 – 2:00 PM in the Gates-Hillman 4405 Building on Carnegie Mellon’s campus in Pittsburgh.  All graduate students are invited (e.g., Pitt, CMU, students visiting for the NSBE conference, any discipline, any level, all backgrounds, part-time or full-time.) Light refreshments will be served.

Related articles

• This dissertation process is not a campfire, it’s a 6 burner stove (dissertationhouse.wordpress.com)
• Are you in Pittsburgh? Come to our Dissertation House Seminars @CarnegieMellon 3/27 & 3/28 (dissertationhouse.wordpress.com)
• Next full-scale Dissertation House at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, March 26-28, 2012 (dissertationhouse.wordpress.com)