I Have a Research Support System

Xu Qiu took the unfinished ice cream box and returned to the laboratory.

Student, how did your talk with Teacher Wei go? Chen Wanqing said.

It's okay, I just feel that the progress is a little bit fast, Xu Qiu said:

I just proposed to blog directly here, and Teacher Wei called my counselor directly to finalize the matter.

Chen Wanqing covered her mouth and smiled lightly, and said:

What else did you talk about?

Not anymore. Xu Qiu said.

Well, I still remember what happened when I first came here and asked him to study for a Ph. D. Chen Wanqing recalled:

He told me at the time how promising the field of organic photovoltaics is, how easy it is to publish articles, and a big picture has been drawn.

As a result, when I entered the laboratory and started to do experiments, I realized that it was not what he said.

I almost started from scratch, constantly debugging the equipment, exploring the experimental conditions, and made a large number of devices, but the efficiency of the first test was all zero.

And I often have to work overtime on Saturdays, which has lasted for more than half a year, and it didn't get better until this semester.

Hey, thinking about it, I was fooled by him at the beginning.

At least the situation is not bad now. Xu Qiu comforted.

By the way, senior sister also came here earlier?

That's right, I've just finished my master's degree defense, and I'll be here in June, Chen Wanqing said:

If a graduate of a master's degree wants to study for a doctoral degree, he generally doesn't need a written test, he just needs to get the approval of his supervisor, and then pass the interview in the department when enrolling students.

Therefore, it is generally necessary to contact the supervisor in advance. Basically, the supervisor agrees, and the Ph.D. is more than half successful. The next thing to consider is how to graduate smoothly.

Except for the combination of masters and doctorates, most doctoral students study in different fields from those during the master's degree, and some even have two completely unrelated fields.

Like me, I used to do electrospinning of organic polymers for my master's degree, and now I am doing organic photovoltaics when I am a doctoral student, and I can still get a little bit of edge.

The difference in the research fields between the master's and doctoral periods is also one of the main reasons why it is difficult for doctoral students to graduate.

When a Ph.D. just joins the group, he must first learn various instruments in the research group, read a large number of literature in new fields, and find his own research direction. Basically, the first year has passed.

In the second year, formal studies begin.

In the third year, prepare to write a graduation thesis and find a job.

At the same time, during the doctoral period, you have to take about 20 credits of courses and deal with some school-related affairs.

It seems to be three years of PhD, but the real golden research time is only one year.

If you can't produce a big article within this year, or two small articles, then basically wait for the delay.

Therefore, the standard graduation period for a doctorate in some universities is four years, and the extension is five years, such as Shanghai Jiaotong University, a sister school next door.

It sounds like the doctor is miserable, Xu Qiu said:

However, my sister will post her first article soon, so the pressure of graduation should be much less.

Yeah, with the first article, after getting familiar with the routine, it's not that difficult to continue posting articles.

In fact, Teacher Wei didn’t completely fool me at the beginning. At least it’s quite easy to think about water articles in this field. If you mix a few things together and improve efficiency, it’s just an article.

But it is always a bit of a dream to engage in scientific research. I also want to work hard and publish an article of the level of Adv. Mater.

AM? Xu Qiu said, This should be the top materials-related journal after the sub-journal of Nature.

Basically, set a goal and try hard. If you really can't achieve it, then Shui Shui Wenwen will be fine. Chen Wan paused and asked:

What about Xu Qiu, do you have any scientific research dreams?

I... Xu Qiu hesitated.

He remembered that when the system was first obtained, his inner idea was to let organic solar cells go out of the laboratory and reach the homes of ordinary people.

However, more than a month of scientific research experience has made him understand that this dream is still far away from him.

If this dream is compared to building a building, he is probably still laying the foundation.

Therefore, it is still necessary to be pragmatic and set a short-term goal first.

Thinking of this, Xu Qiu said:

Then I will also set a small goal, and publish an article on Nature during my doctoral period.

Is it a sub-journal of Nature? Chen Wanqing asked.

Of course it's the main magazine. Xu Qiu said.

Wow, the ambition is great, Chen Wanqing said with emotion: Nature has not been published in the field of organic photovoltaics for many years, maybe ten years.

However, if you can post one, my junior, then I must be the second author, and I can tell others that I have posted Nature when I go out in the future, hehehe. She actually giggled after she said it.

Seeing this, Xu Qiu shook her hand in front of the senior sister, and said:

Senior sister, wake up, have you never doubted that I can post?

According to my observation, you, there is almost a 10% chance of posting it. Chen Wanqing said.

Only 10%? Xu Qiu refused to accept, Who do you look down on? Believe it or not, I will submit an article next year.

10% is already a very high evaluation, Chen Wanqing said:

To engage in scientific research and want to publish a top journal like CNS, talent is not enough, and hard work is not enough. The most important thing is luck. I have to be rewarded by God, otherwise it will be useless.

You are already the most gifted in scientific research among the people I have ever met.

Before, I thought Wu Feifei had the highest talent, but her talent mainly lies in writing articles, so she is suitable for writing reviews.

In terms of experiments, her upper limit is estimated to be at the level of the Nature kid magazine.

As for myself, I know it well, and it is enough to send an AM.

What about Duan Yun and Tian Qing? Xu Qiu asked.

Tian Qing, she is not interested in scientific research, so it's hard to comment, she lives in Shanghai, and it is said that she has two or three apartments at home, so you understand.

Duan Yun, it's hard for him to talk about it. On the one hand, he has had very little contact with him this year, and on the other hand, the field he does is very different from others.

Although Wu Feifei, Tian Qing and I have different fields, we all work on solar cells, while Duan Yun is working on thermoelectricity.

In the past, he used to go to Tongji University to acquire equipment, but now he has to set up the equipment himself, and then he has to do experiments. If the results are slow, it may be delayed.

Xu Qiu glanced sympathetically at Duan Yun in the glove box, and said:

By the way, you and Duan Yun are both doctors in the same class, how did you come to Teacher Wei's side together?

I heard that each doctoral supervisor in the department can only recruit one doctor and one master a year.

I found Teacher Wei first, and then Duan Yun was recommended by his boss, and Teacher Wei also accepted him.

But Teacher Wei's enrollment quota had already been used up, so he found Fang Guangwu, the deputy head of the department, and borrowed a quota from there.

In other words, Duan Yun is affiliated with Fang Guangwu, but in essence he came to work with Mr. Wei. Chen Wanqing said.

So it's like this, there are quite a lot of show operations in the department. Xu Qiu said.

There are policies at the top, and countermeasures at the bottom. As long as it doesn't violate the principles, everything can be accommodated, Chen Wanqing said:

The main issue is the teacher-student ratio in the Materials Department, which is almost 1:1. If there is no enrollment restriction, it is very likely that some associate professors will not be able to find tutors for several years in a row.

For example, in the Department of Chemistry, there are few teachers and many students, so one teacher can recruit three master students.