Recent content by moontiger

I am a physicist. I did a lot of physics. My PhD/postdoc were in (sort of) condensed matter theory, I did a tenure-track position at a teaching college for a while. I now work in industry, alongside engineers. There's no difference between what they do and what I do. So you know, something...

My own background: Big 5 PhD in abstruse theoretical subfield of physics with no applications. One postdoc, followed by a TT position at a liberal arts college--the position did not work out for me due to geographic and family reasons, so a year in I resigned, left, and went to what is...

I don't know about experiment, but yes you can be a solo theoretical physicist and I know a handful of people who are, though usually they have done non-solo training to the postdoc level first. But it is an uphill battle. The main problem is that without affiliation to a university or other...

I would say something that does not require one to train into one's 30s, where the nature of work is such that working from home is possible, jobs do not require extensive travel, and where part-time opportunities are available. I would guess that jobs in software or web development might be...

Hello. I am a former female physics professor at a four-year college. No, typically you do not take time off; that will be a big red flag on your CV. Here are the phases when I have known people to have kids: Grad School: I went to a Big 5 graduate school. I only know of one (male) physics...

You may be interested in researchers like Franziska Michor: http://michorlab.dfci.harvard.edu If you are interested in more direct uses of computation, there are roles in both diagnostics and therapeutics. I don't know much about therapeutics, but as Choppy said, on the diagnostics side there...

The cross product of any vector with itself is zero, so the second term is zero. The first term is zero because the cross product σ'(t) x σ''(t) is orthogonal to σ'(t). The dot product of a vector with a vector orthogonal to itself is zero. Hope that helps. [Edit: Oops...I was posting at...

Rather, the wave function at t = 0 can be expressed as some linear superposition of eigenstates. (And just a note that if you consider potentials that allow for scattering states, non-square-integrable states are allowable too.)

That opportunity does sound good; maybe it will come up in the future again. I know that at our college the department always needed adjuncts, to the point where they would hire local high school teachers to teach some of the lab sections. I have seen a number of MOOC classes on various...

I'm glad it was helpful! I think it's a natural human tendency to think "what if." There were good points about being a LAC professor, and some people thrived there. Just...other jobs are OK too. If you like teaching, there are ways to make it part of your life without necessarily devoting...

Usually interdisciplinary and easiest done during grad school though I've seen people do it at later stages very successfully. You find either a mathematically inclined engineer, or a former physicist who has switched to systems biology, neuroscience, or another field (there are plenty) and...

It's OK--but it wasn't for me I was also a professor at a liberal arts college. Your mileage may vary a lot depending what school you are at, but here were the positives and negatives I came across: Positives: Some schedule flexibility during the academic year, lots of opportunities to...

Yes, but not as much as you'd think. Over the course of my career, which included teaching and mentoring many students, I observed that a bright and motivated student will find a way to shine wherever he or she lands. At most, a good school makes it a little easier and gives them more...

There are many other ways to prove yourself, and you will have many opportunities to do so in the future.

Grad school is about research. The way to US grad admissions is to demonstrate your ability to do outstanding research. Do the things I mentioned in my last post. Broadly recognized credentials include research publications, and good recommendation letters from anyone known to US professors...