Alka Selzer: Acceptance Letter Ad

Funny ad on TV. College is expensive, and tuition costs have been rising more than inflation.

The problem with unisex bathrooms on campus...

I am surprised no one has yet posted anything about the toilet seat up/down argument or how some guys would spray their liquid waste onto the seat in its down position.

The whole thing is becoming very Ally McBeal-ish.

Yale Undergraduate Recruitment Musical Video

Hilarious.

Selecting undergraduates to mentor

A few weeks ago, I made the decision to take in a couple of undergrads and have them work directly under me in the lab. Regular readers of this blog might be able to guess my reason for doing so. It is not altrusic intent on my part, although I must state that this arrangement will be a win-win situation for all of us involved (if the research results and their lab performance turn out well). They will get the research experience along with strong recommendation letters for grad school and a small stipend, and I will get some help in my experimental work and substantially more to write about in my Teaching Statement. I am fortunate the advisor is agreeable and supportive of my decision, and sees this as a necessary step for my professional development as a future faculty.

That said, I set a relatively high bar for my applicants. I did not want any average Joe or Jane - I used the GPA (imperfect as it may be) as the first cut-off, basically restricting myself to the top 20% or so of the cohort. This group is also the one which is most likely to get admitted to the top-ranked departments. Then, to sieve out those who weren't serious about working or putting on their thinking caps in the lab, my applicants had to submit and complete a written exercise along with a resume listing the relevant coursework taken and grades obtained. Finally, they had to pass my interview. I focused on their academic ability, motivation, and commitment to put in time and effort in their work. I want them to succeed, and their success will reflect my success as a mentor.

A fellow postdoc friend in the neighboring lab thought I was crazy to set so many conditions. He operates on more of an open-door policy - basically allowing any interested undergraduates (GPA > 3.0) to volunteer in his lab for a few weeks and then offering those who do a good job the option to get research credits or for a lucky few - to become paid undergraduate research assistants. "You won't get anyone!" he howled, but I got the students who met my criteria within a week of putting out the advertisement. Too many in fact, and I had to reject some excellent candidates. I felt weird to be sitting on the other side - deciding on who gets into the group or not.

*

Many moons ago, I worked in an organic chemistry group in my undergraduate institution for 3 semesters. The postdoc I worked under was a hard driver. I remember spending my first few months in the lab just washing glassware, and this was a few years before Philip Yeo's now infamous comment that people with basic science degrees would qualify only as test-tube washers in A*star. I progressed from just doing the washing to doing the grunt work in mixing reactant solutions, preparing suspensions, purifying and separating intermediates using a rotovap and packed silica columns, and analysing the samples using TLC and 1H NMR. In return for my (hard) work, I got an A for the research credits that counted towards my major GPA, strong recommendations for grad school and a stint in another university for a summer of more research work.

Part of my labor went into a Science paper that the postdoc published with the professor a year after I graduated. There were just the 2 of them in the list of authors. My name did not even appear in the 'Acknowledgement' section, although to be fair I did not make any intellectual contribution to the publication. I was just a 'lab tech' following the postdoc's instructions.

Sometimes I look back and wonder - I was this close in getting my name to a Science paper as an undergraduate.

*

Note: To those of you who have never heard of Nature or Science, Jorge Cham does a good job illustrating scientists' obsession with having at least one paper published in either one: I, II, III.

Socialeconomic gulf in school

I came across a Boston Globe article on low income students attending elite, private (and expensive) colleges in the US, and a link to a Stanford undergraduate honors thesis on the same topic.

Class and Inequality

If applicable, please describe a situation where interacting with others from a different social class background made you feel out of place:

"Students complaining about how they don’t have any money." - Student at Yale University, Class of 2008

"When I came to Stanford, everyone asked me where my parents went to college, just assuming that they did, and it’s really awkward to say ’nowhere.’ It’s also awkward to talk about family - like the cousins on Welfare who dropped out of high school - to peers." - Student at Stanford University, Class of 2009

"Knowing I don’t have enough money to do the things everyone talks about. Knowing I can’t afford to spend money at the rates others do (shopping, going out to dinner often, etc.)" - Student at Princeton University, Class of 2011

"When I was hanging out with my girlfriend and her family, they took me to a country club they were a member of and her mother said something about how she 'couldn’t understand how people can live without country clubs'. She went on to comment on trips to the Caribbean and various other topics that made me feel QUITE inadequate." - Student at the University of Virginia, Class of 2011

"My roommate’s family is far more affluent than mine. When he mentions his vacations, car, etc. it sometimes makes me uncomfortable." - Student at Yale University, Class of 2010

"Talking about what people did over summer break - I don’t go on vacation." - Student at Brown University, Class of 2010

"When interacting with those clearly from a more upper-class background - say, when someone is very well-versed in stock trading, or when someone has a lot of expensive electronic equipment in their room - I’m very aware of my relatively humble origins and my very different ambitions." - Student at Princeton University, Class of 2011

"While out at a fancy dinner, I recognized that everyone else was used to the setting/had been informed of how to act. It was completely different from my norm, and I felt out of place." - Student at Stanford University, Class of 2011

"Sometimes when discussing my application to law school (and undergrad for that matter), I am struck by how foreign my situation is for most people. My parents can’t afford to pay for any of my education, so I’ve had to make a lot of decisions based on how much I can make at part-time jobs and how much I’m willing to borrow. I feel awkward when I have to say that I’m not even aiming for top schools, not because I’m not qualified, but because I can’t afford it." - Student at University of California, Berkeley, Class of 2008

*

I know of 2 main types of responses:

a. one will either borrow (by hook or by crook) to keep up with the Joneses,

or

b. leave the social circle to find another more aligned to their socioeconomic backgrounds.

The first will most likely lead to financial ruin, while the second requires some sort of courage to make the break. Critics of the second will point out that the main purpose of going to such elite schools is to network with the rich and powerful.

Obama's New Deal for Academia

I will be honest upfront - things were really looking bad for us folks in academia (and pretty much everyone else too) in last few months. Well, they still are, but things are looking up with the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the economic stimulus package) signed by President Obama on Feb 17.

In an email last semester, my PhD advisor actually had to send out a letter to the group (in addition to a pep talk during the regular group meetings) with encouraging words:

Dear group,

This (financial crisis) is a good opportunity to clarify and reinforce the positive things about our group. First of all, my primary concern is, and will continue to be, the welfare of my students. I will do anything (legally of course) and everything to keep your work going and with the best resources possible, and to help you make the most of your time here.

I know that situations like this can cause stress to rise and may lead to uncertainty among the group. First, I want to assure you that this will not fundamentally alter our ongoing research plans.

Secondly, it is obvious that the composition of our group is changing rapidly…mainly because of graduations. This is a good thing and it is normal. People are supposed to graduate and leave. So, there will be turnover in any organization. I wish that the group number were not fluctuating so largely, but that is only partially within my control. Grants get funded at unpredictable times, and about 5 years ago I had a lot of grants get funded all at once. I had a bunch of students join the group. Now those students (you know who you are) have finished or close to finishing.

The group size is small right now, and it’s going to get smaller temporarily, and this is intentional.

Let me explain:

In order to avoid this type of fluctuation in the future I have been attempting to take on only 1 student a year for the past two years. I have been writing only enough proposals to support this rate of growth (so I don’t have to take 3-4 people at once). So, this is part of a greater plan to provide more stability in the future.

Thirdly, about funding: Professors who have been in this business for 40 years (like the department chair) will tell you that they have never seen funding as tight as it is right now. So, writing only a few new proposals to grow the group 1 student per year is risky, which is why I was not planning originally to take on 2 this year. Another issue is that my current projects are non-overlapping –purely by chance – the main projects get renewed at the same time (January) each year. This means that at the end of the year I have to be careful – just like you do at the end of each month. So, if I look over your orders more carefully it is simply for this reason. It doesn’t mean that support for your project is going away and should not be a cause for your concern. I’ll take care of, and worry about, the funding. You guys (and gals) can worry about the research.

The quantity and quality of research output, and the type of job you get, and how long it takes you to graduate is rarely a direct function of the quantity or type of funding anyway. It is true! Some of the most highly-cited papers have come from poorly-funded research, not only in my group but in general throughout science. And some of the most well-funded work has produced few papers. I have other sources of funding to keep ideas afloat between big grants. It is not an impediment and I have always gotten the funding I sought.

When you go on a job interview, no one will ask how much funding your advisor had! What is important are the indicators of the quality and quantity of your work: how many papers, presentations and in what journals / conferences.

I am confident that our research is on the cutting edge and that each of your projects is going to lead you to an exciting career. For example, the number of citations of previous students’ work from my group is at an all-time high. It is among the highest of any associate professor at this university. My h-index is 20.

I will talk more about these things at our next group meeting, and until then my door is of course open to speak about this.

Regards,

Prof X

Yesterday my postdoc advisor had the whole group summoned:

Congress had given federal granting agencies (NSF, NIH, DOE) stimulus money for colleges to spend. There are opportunities for us in getting some of that package money. I want to help Congress spend those money and I want each and everyone of you to come up with ideas by Friday on how to tack on our existing NSF, NIH and DOE grants with more funding.

Focus on the "near-term" and ready to start projects, as these are especially advantaged in this environment.

Government-Wide Timeline

All agencies are under significant pressure to begin distributing the funding in the stimulus bill to States, organizations, and individuals as quickly as possible. The overall timeline announced by the Administration for the next few months is:
• February 19, 2009: Federal Agencies to begin reporting their formula block grant awards.
• March 3, 2009: Federal Agencies to begin reporting uses of funds.
• May 3, 2009: Federal agencies to make performance plans publically available; to begin reporting on their allocations for entitlement programs.
• May 15, 2009: Detailed agency financial reports to become available.
• May 20, 2009: Federal agencies to begin reporting their competitive grants and contracts.
• July 15, 2009: Recipients of Federal funding to begin reporting on their use of funds.

In addition, the Office of Management and Budget has set targets for implementation of programs by the agencies. Individual agencies have additional deadlines; for example, NSF, NIST, and NASA have been directed to deliver a spending plan to Congress by April 18, 2009.

I live in exciting times...plus it helps that I am in involved in the development of new, clean, renewable energy sources, one of the hottest areas (pun unintended) of research right now.

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we’ve no place to go,
Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

I love the music stations for blasting out the christmas songs whole day long. They bring out the holiday cheer. The best thing to do will be to snuggle up in bed and read a good book. The Tales of Beedle the Bard, anyone?

Isn't it amazing? Just a few days ago I was sweating it out in a hot and humid urban jungle in south east Asia, and watching bikini-clad babes frolicking about by a beach.

Education in Singapore

I found this at the Singapore Art Museum on Christmas Day. (Yes, I was at the museums on such public holidays... Nothing wrong with being at the museums; pondering over the exhibits beats squeezing with the crowds at the malls)

I can't remember the exact wording, but it certainly wasn't flattering...

Gild the lily Ivy

The Dangerous Wealth of the Ivy League. The Gilded Age of America's Higher Education has begun.

The stark difference (at least in terms of the infrastructure and the cars the students drive) can be seen in an East Coast City which has 3 major universities - a private, extremely selective and wealthy college, a state flagship and a second third tier public institution that is mainly a commuter school. Just like the wards in a hospital, you have the A class, B class and C class.

A case of 锦上添花 vs 雪中送炭.

Perks of being in Academia

Congratulations on landing a tenure-track faculty position in one of America's finest research universities! Maybe one day we will be colleagues in rival schools.

You can also start thinking about this soon. After all, it is good to hear that your (future) employer is one of those that provides tuition assistance and preferential admissions consideration to the Other Legacies: Fac Brats.

Imagine offering this carrot to your prospective bride: "I may not be as rich as my peers in Wall Street, but I can guarantee our kids a higher chance of getting admitted to this super-elite university and paying no college tuition for 4 years."

College towns are also islands of (economic) stability, and regularly rank amongst the best places to raise a family in the US.

*

I think there are many advantages for exposing children to an academic environment early in their lives. They get *easy access* to some of the best facilities available - well-equipped libraries, sports complexes etc. If you are a faculty member in the engineering/physical/biological sciences, your children may get to see some of the most sophisticated (read: expensive) equipment and view for themselves what happens when you add X to Y, or how a yeast cell is like under the Atomic Force Microscope before and after budding, or how the fourth state of matter can be used to completely remove organic residues from a Si wafer.

For those who are more inclined towards the Arts, it doesn't hurt too to have them know your colleagues in the humanities departments.

They might get that edge when it comes to college applications time. What better than to be able to see what your child is up to in college? :)

(Note: This is NOT helicopter parenting.)

*

I come from a family of teachers. There has always been an emphasis towards excelling in school. It's not just about getting an A, but about doing the best you can. If your best means being able to top the cohort and you failed, it doesn't matter even if you get a distinction for the subject. You would have disappointed the family. Conversely, if your predicted grade is a C but you get a B, it is considered an achievement worthy of praise.

That said, I always felt I was subject to a higher standard than my peers simply because my mum is a teacher. I am expected to do well.

*

Does Steven Chu's family history sound very similar to the typical high-achieving Asian American family?

Winter Party 2007

The company will be holding its Winter Formal tonight. We were strongly encouraged to bring along a partner, but I have nobody to invite. She has already left. The current blog header picture is a penthouse view of the resort (where the Ball will be held).

The stuff of fairy tales.

I guess I will be one of those standing by the sides watching others dance.

*

In college I remember getting emails and paper notices from the student government inviting us for the Winter Formal. "A chance to ask your date out for a dance!" The flyers screamed. But I was in a long distance relationship.

So while the Formal was held in the Union Hall, I would trudge up the steps of the Capitol to see the Holiday Tree alone.


Outside the Union Hall


View of the Holiday Tree


Tree Lighted up

Current music: Pachelbel's canon in D major

Same story, repeated

A friend of mine (in grad school) has just ended her relationship with her SO. He is now working in Sg, as part of his scholarship bond. Their last 3 years together were in the form of a LDR.

They had met while as undergrads in one of the Ivy schools.

*

She is leaving AZ (most likely for good) on Friday. There goes my 2007 夏天之恋.


Adiós


*

My sis' poly GPA is really uncompetitive, even for that *state school* (granted, it is a flagship and a football rival) down the road. I am not referring to AZ ones. On the other hand, most Aussie universities' GPA cut off for poly grads seem really low. Guess where my dad is pushing her to go to.

Beautiful Libraries of the Western World

Found this from -ben.

I love going to libraries. The joy of being surrounded by shelves of books, of various genres, and modifying Forrest's quote: "Life is like a box of chocolates library of books; you never know what you gonna get". The surprise and exhilaration of randomly picking up one which you like; thumbing your fingers through each and every page, savoring the words in your mind as one would to a glass of vintage wine as they bring you to another world...

One could spend a lifetime in these hallowed halls. -ben
Indeed!

I love Georgetown's Rigg library. I did a double take when I visited the campus during one spring break, literally gawking through the door window.

Riggs of Georgetown

My favorite is the Library of Congress though.

Don't you find the smell of musty books, erm, orgasmic?

*

Imagine a cold wintry night on campus - the ground outside is frozen stiff and you can hear the wind howling and pounding at the glass windows. Here you are sitting snugly next to the electric heater with a cup of warm cocoa in one hand and your favorite book on the other. There are other students around you, but the place is quiet. Everyone is engrossed in his/her book.
- My idea of how I would spend my winter months in college. (When I was in my first year.)

The reality was of course, quite different since I took a brutal undergrad courseload. Reading (outside of class work) was a luxury I could not afford.

Funny pictures

Not that I really agree with these assumptions about Liberal Arts majors...but I think they are worth a laugh.

Picture taken from here.

Reminded me of an earlier one I posted.

Mortar Boards for All? Or not?

This past week the Straits Times published many complaint letters from Singaporean parents whose kids did reasonably well in the A levels but fail to secure places in the local universities.

Suggestions such as freeing up the use of CPF monies to finance overseas undergraduate education, opening more universities and/or places in Singapore for the 'average' A level holders (The California model) were raised.

Open access or research/academic excellence with extremely selective criteria? Can the two coexist in a single institution? The current Sg public tertiary education system is clearly inadequate. While the number of slots available is obviously scarce, the public (rightly or wrongly) sees foreign talents as adding unnecessary competition to the local college going pool.

Recommended reads: Higher Education subsidies, and the situation with US state flagships.

Expect to see more of such letters next year, Dragon babies or not.

Ease CPF-funds rule for overseas study

MY DAUGHTER scored As and Bs for her A levels but failed to get into the law faculty at NUS and SMU. Neither did she qualify for her second choice - accountancy. She was offered her fifth choice.

Unless one has excellent grades, the influx of foreign talent and scholars has rendered it increasingly competitive (and difficult) for good to average performers to secure a place in the local universities. This has been exacerbated by the drive by the universities to attract top talent that would have otherwise qualified (with scholarships) for the likes of Oxford and Cambridge by offering double degrees, scholarships and tie-ups with overseas institutions.

It is shocking to learn that some students with four As failed to qualify for even an interview with the medicine faculty this year. Students with excellent results of A1 (General Paper) and four As also failed to qualify to study law at NUS.

These students may have to venture overseas. Ironically the four As would have secured them a place at some of the top international universities.

However, they may be deprived of pursuing their dreams by the very high cost of a tertiary education overseas.

My daughter has secured offers from UK universities to study law. An estimated $250,000 is required for the three-year course. None of the banks I contacted is prepared to offer a study loan for overseas tertiary education. All they could offer are the usual overdraft and personal loans, with collateral and at an interest rate of prime plus 1 per cent.

CPF Ordinary Account funds can be used for local tertiary education but not for overseas studies. I have written to the Ministry of Manpower but to no avail.

The ministry should consider allowing the use of CPF funds for overseas tertiary education, perhaps capping it at a certain limit, or come up with other solutions.

Singapore's goal of becoming an education hub would be questionable if the people's educational aspirations cannot be accommodated.

Ong Cher San

---

Did son just miss the mark or ...?

I WAS disappointed when my son, with As in all four subjects (three sciences and mathematics) and distinctions in two 'S' papers (one of which was Chemistry) and a B4 in the General Paper, could not obtain a place in the pharmacy course at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
But I was more disappointed with not knowing by how far he missed obtaining a place or whether he should not have applied for the course in the first place because, with his results, he had 'no chance'. I wonder what the A-level scores of the last qualifying student for the pharmacy course were.

It seems far easier for an O-level student to 'know' why he did not qualify for a polytechnic course. I have seen the polytechnics provide booklets with information on the aggregate O-level score of the last student to be admitted to each course in the previous year. Special requirements needed (e.g., minimum score for certain subjects) were also included.

There is also the Joint Admission Exercise booklet for secondary-school students with similar information.

I urge the local public universities to come up with the same. The universities should not refrain from doing so on the grounds that admission criteria change from year to year. The polytechnics do caution that the information they provide is meant as a guideline but the data remains very useful for students and their parents.

If there are non-academic criteria and other preferences for certain courses, lay them out too. It cannot be too difficult.

Tan Tor Seng

Another one closes

Last year, it was Johns Hopkins. I wonder how much money the tax payers have lost this time.

University of New South Wales Singapore campus to shut in June

By Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia

Posted: 23 May 2007 1715 hrs

SINGAPORE: The University of New South Wales will close its campus in Singapore next month.

The announcement came less than two months after its grand opening. The school says it is running into financial problems because enrolment was lower than expected.

Its target was 300 students in its first semester. But it only got 148 students, 100 of whom are Singaporeans.

Students have already paid their fees, which range between S$26,000 and S$29,000 a year. UNSW says these students will be offered a place at its home campus in Sydney. There will also be scholarships to help with the cost of travel and accommodation. The decision to shut the campus comes as a shock to many students. The scholarships offered are supposed to be based on needs and not on academic achievements. But most students Channel NewsAsia spoke to were not quite convinced. Many had chosen the Singapore campus because they could not afford to go to Australia.

And though the school is helping out financially with the scholarships, it is not clear at this point in time how much exactly the school is willing to fork out. Still, the university claims that about half its students have indicated that they would like to go to Australia to continue their studies. Most of the local students who enrolled in the university come from the polytechnics. “It’s quite an inappropriate time, with our exams coming as well. If they decide to close down after one semester, they should have done adequate research to see if this whole university was even feasible in the first place,” said a student. “Knowing that the school is a creditable one, it is unbelievable that this thing can happen,” said another.

“I do not know what is the next step I need to do. To transfer to another school or go to Sydney? What is the option for us? Now, they have not known what are the private institutes we can go to to transfer in Singapore,” said a third student.

The school says that it is also in talks with local institutions and other universities in the region to offer these students a place to continue their education. But this is little consolation for the 48 foreign students who wanted an Australian degree and Singapore cost of living. “The school is offering us to go back to Australia to study, but I cannot go back. I end up paying something like $30,000 and I can do nothing. I’ve spent the money and yah, it’s pretty hard for me now,” said a student from Hong Kong. ”I hope not to go back to Indonesia. I’m seeking to go overseas because it’s a better education but now this happens, it’s a bit confusing for me,” said a student from Indonesia. “Before this, I was in Los Angeles. I was going to go to UNSW in Sydney but I ended up coming here because Singapore is also a good place. It’s a good name, it’s a good school, so I thought I’ll give this a try, moved everything from LA, came here….I don’t know what I’m going to do right now,” said a student from the US. UNSW has already invested over S$22 million (AUD$17.5 million) in its Singapore campus. It was invited by Singapore’s Economic Development Board in 2004 to establish what would have been the first private comprehensive university in Singapore.

The EDB refuses to reveal how much it invested in the school. The episode is clearly damaging to Singapore’s aim to be a global schoolhouse. But the EDB, which drives the global schoolhouse initiatives, believes it will still reach its target of attracting 150,000 international students by 2015. There are currently 80,000 foreign students in Singapore.

Aw Kah Peng, EDB’s Assistant Managing Director, said: “The learning point is that we have to continue working very hard. Truly, with every institution, it will be different. With each one, we have to put everything we can to think about all these issues of whether we can make it work, how long it will take for us to make it work, what will it take for us to make it work. We will then have to step forward on that basis.”

UNSW says it would have stayed on in Singapore if it has been allowed to scale down its student enrolment numbers to 2,000 students by 2012. But this would be quite far from the original bargain with the EDB which had set a target of 15,000 UNSW students by 2020.

The UNSW closure does not mean that the EDB will no longer work with the school.

The EDB says there are many areas of cooperation between UNSW and Singapore which are mutually beneficial.

These include foundation schooling for university entry, research collaborations, University of New South Wales school competitions and joint programmes with Singapore institutions.

EDB says it will continue to pursue these areas and strengthen its relationship with UNSW.

Professor Fred Hilmer, Vice-Chancellor of the University of New South Wales, said: "Last year....we actually had much stronger demand in Sydney than we had in the previous four years. I think one of the things we've learnt, and it's really for Singapore to draw its own lesson, is that geography is really important. When a student says he wants an Australian degree, what he really means is, 'I want the experience of living in Sydney', and not just in educational terms but riding a surfboard, doing the other things a lot of students in a campus like ours, do."

Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder

...as you objectively try to benchmark yourself against the guy she has chosen over you.

无论是语言,长象,智商,文化背景,学术水平,你都不次于他。

"Then why?!", as your head demanded to make sense of it all. "Snobbish prick at times maybe?" offered the heart.

She then gladly delivered the K.O. punch, "Because he makes me laugh. He may not be as accomplished as you are, but he is funny. I feel happy when he is around. On the contrary, I always felt stressed when I was with you. It's not you; it's me."

She made it sound a little like the "Tufts Syndrome", of which you do have a real life connection to.

Related: quitacet's comments.

Price of Mobility

To be frank, I am getting a little tired of Grad School - the numerous unexpected problems that derail and set back apparently simple experiments. Situations like presence of static electrical charges even on grounded samples, adverse effect of outside weather conditions on operation of indoor equipment,...the list goes on.

This, plus the fact that I am a little apprehensive of heading to industry and the hassle (albeit temporary) of arranging for the move to another state, has given me many sleepless nights. I have settled into a comfortable little cocoon in school and there is the fear of the unknown. New city, new friends, new boss, new housemates.

I realize all my work experiences so far have the term 'research' - be it in the US, Japan, or Singapore. The social side remains the same - I move alone. Hence my envy in seeing my labmate leave together with his wife.

我好想有人陪。

VT Killings

My condolences to the students, parents, faculty and staff.



Hard to imagine that it can happen on a supposedly rural, laid back campus. *Shudders*

Teaching vs. Research (as a PhD student)

It feels somewhat weird to both fill up a survey form about my research experience in Grad School and participate in a roundtable discussion for Graduate Student Instructors on the same day.

On the front page of the Handbook for Faculty, Instructors, and Teaching Assistants given to me is a quote by the University's President:

"Although we are known as a research university, teaching is the core of our mission. We intend to excel at it for the entering undergraduate as well as the Ph.D. student working on advanced research."

Hur hur. I used to dread leading a discussion section, going over homework sets, overseeing the operation of lab equipments and having office hours. Because it takes away time from my lab (same for blogging too, hah!), and I have to spend effort thinking about the solutions to the problems and grading papers.

But it soon became obvious (after being a TA for 3 semesters already) that teaching actually helped me develop a deeper understanding of my undergraduate coursework. There is no doubt that teaching and research reinforce each other, and there is definitely a positive externality to my work. Plus the satisfaction of seeing students learn something beyond textbook knowledge.

Earlier entry on Greg Mankiw's blog.