Thesis Update

My contract with the university ends at the beginning of September 2013. And no contract means no salary means Big Trouble. To avoid Big Trouble, I will finish my PhD before my contract ends. Yes, it's that easy.

Well, maybe not. Maybe finishing a PhD takes a little more than just the fear of Big Trouble. Maybe it requires pushing through really hard to make sure I can finally go and live in the same place as my husband. Maybe it takes a little anger and a spoonful of frustration.

With 10 months on the countdown, things do look quite good here, and I thought it's time for an update on my thesis.

I'd like to go chapter by chapter, to illustrate what I still want to do.

Chapter 1: Introduction: Finished and got feedback from co-promotor and promotor. I do want to go over it once I have all chapters finished to see if the description still covers the contents.

Chapter 2: Literature Review: Finished and got feedback from co-promotor and promotor. I want to go over it once more and put more emphasis on the theory I ended up using for my theoretical work.

Chapter 3: Experimental Results: Finished and got feedback from co-promotor. I think it's done done done, unless my promotor has comments.

Chapter 4: Parameter Analysis: Finished and got feedback from co-promotor. Not sure if my promotor agrees with the way I structured the chapter....

Chapter 5: Modified Bond Model: Aka my theoretical chapter. It's in progress, and I really hope to finish it next week - unless other work is going to get in the way again.

Chapter 6: Probabilistic Assessment: I still need to implement to comparison between the Modified Bond Model and my experimental results in there, but the bulk of the chapter is finished. I sent it off to prospective committee member because he's an expert in structural reliability.

Chapter 7: Application to slab bridges: I need to add one paragraph on skewed bridges, but other than that it is finished, but still needs to be discussed with my supervisors.

Chapter 8: Conclusions: Work to be done!

As you can see, I have quite some material ready there. In fact, my goal is to finish the first draft before the December holidays. Afterwards, I can't defend it right away. In Delft, it takes time for the promotor to approve it, then compile the committee, then send it out, then make changes and then print the whole thing. I'm still hoping for printing and defending before September 2013 though.

Vrouwennetwerk 2.0

This post is in Dutch - in short: I'm heading to Universiteit Utrecht to give a workshop on (micro)blogging for PhDs and Post-Docs on November 8th.

Het Vrouwennetwerk van de Universiteit Utrecht organiseert op 8 november aanstaande haar tweejaarlijkse netwerkdag. Alle medewerkers van de Universiteit Utrecht zijn uitgenodigd om kostenloos deel te name, mits inschrijving (plaatsen zijn beperkt). Het belooft een ontzettend interessante dag te worden, dus als je in Utrecht zit, kom zeker langs!

Het programma
9.00u - 10.00u: Inloop, inschrijving, kennismaken, netwerken, koffie en thee
10.00u -10.30u: Introductie door het Vrouwennetwerk. Probeer een laptop mee te brengen
10.30u - 12.00u: Interactieve Lezing + discussie
12.00u -12.15u: Digitaal intermezzo
12.15u - 13.45u: Lunch, infoplaza, uitwisselen en netwerken
14u – 15.30u: Zes workshops, waaruit je kunt kiezen
15.30u – 16.00u: Thee/koffie
16.00u – 18.00u: “2.0 doen”, gelegenheid tot netwerken, borrelen, dat alles met een gezellige
muzikale omlijsting door salonduo 'La bohème'

Workshop: "(Micro)Bloggen voor PhDs en Post-docs."
Waarom is het interessant om als wetenschapper te bloggen en tweeten? In deze workshop kijken we naar een aantal verschillende aspecten: hoe je(micro)bloggen kan gebruiken om je (online)(inter)nationaal netwerk uit te bouwen, hoe je jezelf en je onderzoek zichtbaar kan maken, maar ook over wat je kan weerhouden om een blog te starten.
Via een korte tutorial kijken we ook naar het praktische aspect. Het doel is om tot een omlijnd idee te komen over welke onderwerpen en waar je aan de slag kan met (micro)bloggen.
Door ir. Eva Lantsoght, PhD student TUDelft. Blogt op phdtalk.blogspot.com over haar onderzoek, over promoveren en de niet-wetenschappelijke vaardigheden die daarbij aan bod komen, en overige onderwerpen zoals reizen en kunst. Twitter: @evalantsoght

Towards better concentration in five steps

Recently, I was asked in the comments of my post on motivation for my input on concentration. I've quickly given an answer in the comments, but I'd like to expand on the topic in a full post.

Concentration is not my natural strength. With a concentration span of about 20 minutes and my generally super-scattered brain, I've needed to work hard when I started university and couldn't simply study 20 minutes before an exam anymore.

My first years at university were not a big success (or at least, my grades were not as good as I would have wanted them to be), mostly because I didn't put my concentration where I had to.

Bit by bit, I started to learn how to focus (still working on it though!), and at the end of my studies, I was back to studying very few hours per day during exams, but with more concentration and dedication - which also resulted in significantly higher grades.

Therefore, I've gained some experience in observing my own habits and how to improve your concentration. I've already given my 10 tips for a better concentration, but here you can find 5 easy steps to implement and work towards a better concentration:

1. Know your tools

Identify the length of your concentration span: during a few work days, note down precisely how long you stay at one task. You can as well use a software tool, like ManicTime, to tag your time slots (but then, make sure you consistently tag whenever you leave your thesis document and go browse online or run off to the coffee machine).

Knowing how your brain works regularly is absolutely important to improve your concentration. Only once you know what you can work with, you can also work towards expanding your concentration span.

Action: map your concentration span!

2. Clear goals

This example should give you a sense for setting clear goals: compare "write thesis from 8am to 6pm" on your to do list to "write 400 words on paragraph 5.3.4 in thesis between 10am and noon". Setting clear goals, and knowing what precisely you need to do in which time slot, allows for less drifting off in thoughts.

Action: take your planning tool and schedule clear goals.

3. Frequent breaks

If you want to have several hours of deep concentration in a work day, then it is absolutely important to unwind every now and then. In the Pomodoro technique, 25 minute sets of concentration are alternated with 5 minute breaks, and a longer break after 4 Pomodoros. If you try to force yourself to sit on your chair for hours and hours, your mind will start to wander and you'll make slower progress. The key is to take short, but frequent breaks such that you can stay at a decent level of concentration throughout the day.

Action: build some air into your schedule and try a timing technique.

4. Take care of your body

You can't concentrated when you're tired, sick or generally unwell. Therefore, it's important to find time to prepare wholesome food, work out, relax and get your hours of sleep. Sleep deprivation is one of the most common reasons for poor concentration.

Action: Take that planning tool again, and schedule time to take care of your health (gym, cooking a healthy meal,...) or skip some commitments to safeguard your 8 hours of sleep.

5. Meditate

If you want to improve your focus over a longer period of time, there is no better way than to work out your brains. Meditation is indeed nothing more than a good workout for your brain (plus all the benefits that are associated with meditation!). As a researcher, you're "paid to think", and therefore taking good care of your brain and optimizing its performance is very important.

Action: Look at your schedule. At what point during the day can you guarantee 5 minutes for meditation?

Fifty Shades of Concrete

My TEDx Delft Salon talk is online! 

The active bird catches the worm

Over the past 10 years, I've been a student, and thus living as a student in shared houses. In total, I've had 36 housemates so far (if I didn't forget to count anyone), and I have lived with different characters. But most of all, I think you can subdivide people in the go-getters and the sedentary folks.

When I started studying, I was already juggling a lot of activities: my studies, my band, my music classes and an active student life. Nowadays, I am juggling a PhD, lots of transatlantic trips to see my husband, almost daily workouts, taking care of my cat, actively playing music, blogging here and there, reviewing CDs, daily meditation, daily journaling and a tadload of other activities. You might get tired at the very idea of buzzing around all the time, but it mostly boils down to having the right mindset. Admittedly, I might come across as 10.000 Volts kind of person, but moving around and doing different things is exactly what fuels me up and what sparks my creativity.

Here's how you too can make the switch and become a go-getter:

1. Different activity, different location

For me, moving to different places and having appointments here and there is key to finish one task (for example my research day), and then get to the next place (for, say, a workout).
When I plan to work from home, eat at home, and do some yoga at home - my day becomes too blurred and I might not get much out of it. When I take the energy level up and move from the office to the gym to home and maybe some store on the way,  I actually feel fueled up.

2. Good planning

Vague ideas on the different activities you'd like to add to your schedule won't actually get you there. Know the dates and times and plan accordingly. Also, a good planning will help you to get more hours out of your day - we all know that, but really, having a schedule can prevent you from sinking in the TV/internet/... black hole.
Having a fixed day or gym class will help you consider it as an appointment. Not only will you be more productive during the day because you have something to look forward to, but you will also notice that additional activities energize you.

3. Be active, everywhere

What I observed over time is that the go-getters are the people who work hard, play hard, and, while they're somewhere, see what needs to get done, roll up their sleeves and get it over with. You won't easily catch me staring in the blue while I wait for my food to cook. I typically will start putting dishes aside, cleaning up part of the kitchen (very much inspired by Zen Habits cleaning as you go) and prepare lunch for the next day.

4. Put your heart and mind to it

Being active is easier when you put your heart and mind to what you do. When you're fully dedicated and passionate about your activities, it's easy to keep the flame alive.
In the end, it's about knowing what you can do, and simply doing it.

5. Really enjoy relaxation time

The fact that I like to be jumping around and going here and there doesn't mean I don't value downtime. It only means that I more consciously enjoy my downtime: relaxing in the sauna after the gym, drinking a cup of wine in the evening, watching something online - I experience downtime as much more rewarding when I have been active for the entire day. It's similar to the idea of celebrating your successes in research.

Science is Fun, Science is Play

When I went for my PhD Start-Up training course, I learned to know the expression "Science is fun".

In the end, as a researcher, you are in the privileged position to play around with ideas, use your time to explore different paths and -most likely- in one way or another carry out experiments nobody has ever done before.

You are not required to follow existing flow charts to solve a problem, but are instead encouraged to explore possibilities, and you are given the time to truly explore the research question in order to advance your field. 

The basic character trait you need is just curiosity: the ability to ask yourself why are things the way they are? And then, in order to study the implications of this question, you need to set up a game. When described in these terms, research is something that is absolutely suitable for children as well. Beau Lotto tested the scientific method with a group of school children - and ended up having the kids become published scientists. This video is one of the best insights in science I have seen in a long time - please enjoy, share, and -if possible- go and spread the love for science to young children.

More than "Science: It's a girl thing!" in which science is Barbified, I think that we need young girls to learn that "Science is fun" by actually exposing them to true science, such that they can experience what it is really like.

Performing for TEDx Delft Salon

And so the day has come that I gathered all  my courage and gave it my best shot!

The whole journey started almost 10 months ago, when I got an invitation to come and discuss the possibility for a TEDx Delft Salon talk on concrete. I expected that somewhere along the way I'd be kicked out for not being good enough (imposter alert!), but that never happened and I ended up taking my concrete story to the stage...

To start preparing for the performance, I wanted to wipe out all my previous conference presentations, and go back to the roots of my interest in concrete. I reframed the main question: Why is concrete an interesting and versatile building material?

When I started preparing my TEDx talk, I received great guidelines written by Rob Speekenbrink (TEDx Delft founder) and while initially I wondered if all of that is necessary, I learned along the way how important these bits and pieces of advice are.

Now let me go into detail on some of the points that are entirely different from giving a research lecture at a conference:

1. You're a performer

You're in there as a performer, with an audience that wants to learn from you but also wants to be entertained. Initially, I thought if I'd just talk a bit about concrete, that would do. But then I realized I needed to try and make a more lively story, by adding personal anecdotes and using analogies (I used cake throughout my talk).
Initially, I found this idea terrifying. But then, I thought that, if I could climb the stage of a local theater at the age of 17 with a saxophone and a few poems by Pablo Neruda in my head to give an entire performance, speaking about my material of choice for 15 minutes wouldn't be too hard...

2. Listen and learn

This advice does count for conferences as well - but here I mean it even more literally: what kind of story structure do you like best? How do others use slides as a simple visual support? Our focus here is on the techniques others use to convey their message. I've been watching so many TED(x) talks over the past months to learn from others how to deliver a great talk.

3. Write it out

Usually I improvise on the spot and use my slides as a starting point. For this talk, I was asked to write out my story verbatim. I wrote, and rewrote and wrote the last version 10 days ago. Leaving blanks in the text also helped me to define resting points in the story.

4. Have yourself recorded

Although I've been recorded for conferences, lecturing from a lectern, being out there on a stage feels very different. I was recorded on my 3rd trial, and I hated everything about myself in there: my constant blabbering, my gestures and how I pull up my eyebrows. Being aware of these stress-induced actions helped me to focus on my gestures.

5. It takes time

A minute of public speaking takes an hour of preparation. My 15 minutes of TEDx Delft Salon took 55 hours of preparation, just to give you an idea.

6. Don't forget to enjoy

Right before delivering my talk, I looked at the room and told myself: "Well, all these people have come here because they're interesting in the free lunch and your story. Isn't that really cool?" So instead of holding my breath and trying to get it over with, I tried to enjoy the experience (can't say I really succeeded, but at least I tried to enjoy it)