The Mentee: XXX
The Mentor: Dr. Federica B. Bianco
DPA: Department of Physics and Astronomy (at the University of Delaware)
FASTLab: Federica’s Astrostatistics Lab - our research group
LSST: Legacy Survey of Space and Time of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory
TVS SC: the Transient and Variable Stars Science Collaboration of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time
ISSC: the Informatics and Statistics Science Collaboration of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time
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Slack: a communication platform used by FASTLab members
Here we the define the verb shall as a requirement. If the word shall is used, not engaging in the described activity is a violation of disagreement. We define the word should as a highly desirable, although not strictly required, activity. Mentor and Mentee are expected to perform the activities described by the verb “should” if at all possible making significant effort to achieve or perform them. “Is expected” should be considered as a requirement.
To provide comprehensive mentorship and guidance to FASTLab Graduate Students in astrophysics research toward their doctoral degree, fostering their development as a skilled researcher capable of contributing meaningfully to the field.
Transitioning into dissertation status and during the design of the dissertation, the Mentee and the Mentor met to establish reciprocal goals and expectations. Dr. Bianco’s research group’s responsibilities and expectations are outlined in the FASTLab manuals available at https://github.com/fedhere/FASTlab/blob/master/Roles%20and%20Responsibilities.md In addition, rules of engagement for all activities of FASTLab are stated in https://github.com/fedhere/FASTlab/blob/master/CodeOfConduct.md. This Code of Conduct ensures all members of FASTLab are treated with respect and care. It was reviewed and co-signed by the Mentee upon joining FASTLab and it is revised by FASTLab members (including the Mentee) as a collaborative activity at the start of every academic year.
Goals, expectations, and milestones for research projects relevant to FASTLab shoud be set and reviewed. Ongoing and initial projects shoud scoped by Dr. Bianco and the Mentee jointly to find topics that best match mutual interests and skills within the first 2 months of the mentorship relation.
The Mentee shall share his expectations:
Desired outcomes in addition to publications
Steps expected of the Mentor and Mentee to meet them
Resources likely to be important to the student’s success given their background/salient identities
The Mentee should provide weekly reports on their progress following the template available at https://github.com/fedhere/FASTlab/blob/master/weeklyReportTemplate.md. These reports are provided at least one day before the weekly meeting. Because our research is data intensive, progress can easily be gauged by the creation of new plots, so the template requires a new plot to be delivered every week. In addition, reading and writing activities shall happen regularly and should be reported weekly on the report.
The Mentee shall maintain documentation of their research on GitHub and in Google Docs and slide decks that shall be placed on the FASTLab shared drive.
The Mentee shall be available to meet with the adviser and to be present to FASTLab and department activities (see below)
The Mentee shall publish research. Their research should generally be published in the form of peer-reviewed papers as this is consistent with the career goals of the Mentee. A general expectation is for 3 papers over the course of their entire PhD as a first or core author. Additional forms of publications may be software packages (code repository, documentation, software release papers, peer-reviewed or not), or white papers. Collaborations will likely lead to more publications (see FASTLab norms for coauthorship)
The Mentee shall to contribute to grants that will lead to support for their research. This may include writing sections of the grant proposal or producing figures and tables for the grant proposal, and conducting activities as outlined in the grant proposal if awarded. Learning how to write grants is an important outcome for the Mentee.
The Mentee shall participate into activities as outlined below (section 4, 5, 6, 7)
The Mentor shall provide training on relevant research methods, techniques, and software tools used in astrophysics research. This may include encouraging and securing support for the student to attend workshops, conferences, and seminars to broaden their knowledge and network with other researchers. Where possible, the expertise and support of other FASTLab members will be leveraged.
The Mentor will assist the student in designing experiments, simulations, or observational studies relevant to their research question. Provide support in data collection, processing, and analysis, including statistical methods if applicable.
The Mentor will offer guidance on writing research papers, reports, and proposals, including structuring, formatting, and citing sources, and help the student improve their presentation skills through practice talks and constructive feedback.
The Mentor will facilitate opportunities for the student to collaborate with other researchers in the field, both within and outside the institution. Encourage participation in research groups, discussion forums, and collaborative projects to broaden their professional network.
The research Mentor and Mentee should hold weekly meetings (excluding when the Mentor or Mentee are taking time off, see work-life balance, and Mentor responsibilities. These meetings are dedicated to discussing progress, challenges, and next steps. If other students are involved in a project, a second meeting will be set up weekly with them but one one-on-one meetings with the Mentor should always be available to the Mentee.
Scheduling: It is the responsibility of the Mentee to ensure that the meetings are scheduled. Skipping weekly meetings should happen very rarely and under exceptional circumstances, for example, due to travel of either the Mentor or Mentee, if the Mentor or Mentee have significant tasking activities occurring in that time period (exams, extended committee work, grant deadlines). If meetings cannot be held at the regular time it is the responsibility of the Mentee to try and reschedule the meeting. No more than two meetings in a row should be skipped consecutively, and when that occurs Mentor and Mentee shall stay in contact on Slack and the Mentee shall share progress reports.
Feedback: During meetings, the adviser shall provide feedback on the student's work, offer guidance on problem-solving, and address any questions or concerns.
It is the responsibility of the Mentor to provide feedback and encouragement, ensure the Mentee has the resources needed to overcome present obstacles and validate the student's progress in meaningful and tangible ways.
It is the responsibility of the Mentee to be prepared to explain the current challenges, to accept and incorporate the Mentor’s feedback in their work, and to adapt their working modalities as needed under the advice of the Mentor to meet the expected progress.
The Mentee shall attend regularly:
Weekly FASTLab meetings
DPA colloquia (required for DPA members)
DPA Astronomy seminars (required for DPA members)
Astronomy journal club meetings, where the Mentee is also expected to present occasionally (required for DPA members)
The UD Data Science Symposium (required for UD members)
FASTLab group meetings: The Mentee is expected to attend FASTLab group meetings weekly (typically on Thursdays at 11AM) and regularly present updates on their research to the group. Each FASTLab member, including the Mentee, should present a plot that describes their most recent work or a problem they need help to solve every week. The group meetings are an opportunity to learn from peers and support each other. All members are required to pay attention to each speaker and presenter at the meeting without working on their research, so research material to be presented at the meeting strictly needs to be read before the start of the meeting.
F ASTLab members conduct annual self-evaluation (including PI Bianco). The form is available at https://forms.gle/FTD4YhEtSdkqi6dn8. These self-evaluations are reviewed and discussed with PI Bianco and adjustments to the Mentoring style and Mentee working practices are decided together. The form includes space to measure oneself against the previous cycle’s expectations, request support (more or different support), set goals for the next cycle.
DPA Graduate Students:
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The DPA mentorship plan for students in dissertation status includes annual reviews of thesis progress by the student dissertation committee which includes three UD faculty members in addition to the student’s adviser, and an external reviewer.
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The Mentee and Mentor will discuss together the composition of the Mentee’s dissertation committee. The Dissertation committee should be finalized by the end of the first semester in the Mentee’s second year in the DPA Ph.D. program.
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It is the responsibility of the Mentee to organize the annual meetings, deliver a 1-2 page progress report ahead of the meetings, and address the concerns of the committee in a timely manner.
The Mentee shall communicate their career goals, as they evolve through time, to ensure their research plan is supporting them
The Mentor shall provide Mentorship on career planning, including options for fellowship and research grants, further study, postdoctoral research, or careers in academia, industry, or government.
The Mentor shall help the Mentee keep an up-to-date CV, preparing for job interviews, and navigating the job market in astrophysics or outside of astrophysics if the Mentee career goals are not within the field.
The Mentee should regularly travel to conferences. The Mentor should support this travel with FASTLab funds, pending the availability of funding. Generally, FASTLab members attend three meetings a year on average, plus any meeting symposium or workshop available at UD.
The Mentor should evaluate the feasibility of nominating the Mentee for fellowships within and outside of UD. All FASTLab graduate students are eligible to be nominated for the Data Science Institute Fellowship and Siddharth Chaini has already received this award.
I the research that the Mentee engages in justifies it, the Mentor should encourage Mentees participation into activities of Rubin Observatory, including and especially activities of the Rubin LSST Transient and Variable Stars Science Collaboration.
FASTLab members are encouraged to maintain a healthy work-life balance. We emphasize the importance of self-care, relaxation, and time management. Research work is “by project” so that a somewhat irregular schedule is expected, and occasionally there will be periods of intense workload to meet deadlines, which are compensated by a flexible schedule. If the Mentee wants to take time off, they shall let the advisor know ahead of time. If the Mentee is encountering personal difficulties, the Mentor shall support them and should space while helping them meet the requirements of their program.