World Association of Young Scientists

One of the problems (in my view) with open science is that the most established (and thus most influential) scientists keep a wait-and-see attitude (if they care at all).

Are you the sort of scientist who taps her toes while working in the laboratory? You look like you're crunching data over there on the computer, but you're actually browsing 1980s music videos on YouTube. In fact, doesn't your entire scientific career feel like one big dance, like Pina Bausch's Rite of Spring, the Village People doing YMCA, or maybe Michael Jackson dancing with zombies in Thriller, depending on your mood?

If so, then your name is written all over this:

Those who saw the results of the first-ever Dance Your Ph.D. contest know that the human body is an excellent medium for communicating science -- perhaps not as data-rich as a peer-reviewed article but far more exciting. Since then, e-mails have poured in from scientists around the world asking how they can take part in the next event.

For this year's contest, the stage is much larger and the prize is far grander. Rather than a single event in a single place, the dance is global.

For this year's contest, the stage is much larger and the prize is far grander. Rather than a single event in a single place, the dance is global.

1. Make a video of your own Ph.D. dance.
2. Post the video on YouTube.
3. Not later than 23:00 EST 16 November 2008, e-mail your name, the title of your Ph.D. thesis, and the video URL link to: gonzo@aaas.org .

Once this information is posted on the Dance Contest home page, you are officially entered in the contest. On 17 November 2008, a total of four winners will be chosen from the following categories:

• Graduate Student: Best among those currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program
• Postdoc: Best among those who have a Ph.D. but not tenure
• Professor: Best among those with Ph.D. and tenure
• Popular Choice: The video with the highest YouTube view count by the deadline

The Prize:  On 17 November 2008, you will provide a single peer-reviewed research article on which you are a co-author. (Graduate students who have not yet co-authored an article must choose one from their Ph.D. adviser.) You will be paired with a professional choreographer. Over the next couple of weeks (via e-mail and telephone), you must help your choreographer understand your article, its aims, the hypotheses it tests, and its big-picture context. Then the four choreographers will collaborate to create a single four-part dance based on the winning research articles. Finally, you will be an honored guest at the AAAS Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, where, on 13 February 2009, you will have front-row seats to the world debut of the output -- THIS IS SCIENCE -- a contemporary dance interpretation of contemporary scientific research. Accommodation in Chicago will be provided, and grants are available for travel expenses.

For full details of the contest, visit www.gonzolabs.org.

The title of this post is a sentence taken from a report on citation statistics prepared by the
International Mathematical Union (IMU). Another such take-home message is "Research is too important to measure its value with only a single coarse tool." Given that citation statistics are heavily used in assessing research and researchers, young scientists might gain a lot from investing some time to familiarize themselves with this subject.

Yesterday, on the train, I met another young scientist, and he introduced me to the mathematical software package SAGE. It is comparable to Mathematica, Maple and MATLAB in terms of performance, ease of use and portability but, in sharp contrast to the former products, freely available on the internet (via http://www.sagemath.org/). SAGE also understands commands known from several other similar packages (including Mathematica and Maple), so migration from there should be very easy.

I had a closer look today and will definitely give it some detailed trials but if any of you already have experience with this tool, please share it here. Thanks!

See also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAGE_%28computer_algebra_system%29 and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_computer_algebra_systems .

AWARD OF PAS GOLD MEDALS in 2008 IN VARIOUS SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES

Each Award carries Rs.20,000/- Cash, a Gold Medal and a Certificate.

Fields: Chemistry, Mathematics, Botany, Zoology, Medicine, Engineering & Technology and Agriculture.

The Academy invites nominations in January/February each year from its Fellows and high-level institutions engaged in Scientific Education and Research, and recognized as such by the Academy.

Only Pakistani scientists, other than Fellows of the Academy, will be eligible for the award of medals, and those who have not received any Medal/Prize from the Pakistan Academy of Sciences during the past five years.

Four copies each of Biodata and complete list of publications must accompany the nominations. A brief summary is required highlighting the outstanding internationally acclaimed achievements in the field of scientific research, including the citations of the nominee’s research papers by other scientists, Gold Medals and other awards already received. Reprints or photocopies of the research papers published in scientific journals of international repute must be submitted.

The nominations complete, in all respects, received within due dates are processed. The documents of the candidates are sent to members of the relevant Expert Committees for assessment in order of merit. On the basis of the recommendations of the experts, the Council of the Academy selects candidates for the award. The prize is awarded to the winners in the investiture ceremony in the General Body meeting in November/December. The decision of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences shall be final and shall not be challengeable in a court of law or elsewhere.

Last date is 28.03.2008