Today for my graduate class, we spent some time talking about the notion of a lab’s culture. I spent the first 1/2 of the class giving vignettes of some of the many labs I’ve been a member or close observer of. We spent the second half of the class in group discussion about which of the described labs was best for a grad student and which was best for the PI or lab chief. It was a very interesting and disparate set of answers.

What is lab culture? What defines the labs with really good cultures? I think it’s an open question.

From my perspective, it certainly involves a commitment to do excellent science. It probably also requires the ability to deliver on that commitment across the group. But also requires a certain tolerance for differences, for pressure and a certain group sense of humor that can bring the group together in a cohesive way that energizes the science.

Jim

Tomorrow I’m off to the Great Ape Trust of Iowa as a member of its Science Advisory Board. Above is an article from today’s NY Times on one of the risks of being a primatologist–at least in Brazil. I’m always concerned when scholars are locked up by governments–and sixteen years in the case seems egregious.

Jim

It’s not often that I get excited about the New York Times business section, but here’s an article about an idea that I’ve proposed myself to colleagues at Krasnow: the notion of the subject taking measurements from their own fMRI scan in real time.

Jim

In thirty minutes, I’ll be joining the rest of the Krasnow staff to welcome our incoming cohort of neuroscience graduate students–burgers, hot dogs, potato salad–you get the drift. It’s always a very enjoyable occasion and serves as a fantastic opportunity for everybody to get acquainted.

In the meantime, I’d also like to welcome the new cohort of graduate students in computational social sciences

So welcome to the Fall semester. I look forward to spending time with all of you.

Jim

I am continually impressed by the disconnect that I see evidenced often between what the public thinks science is, and what science actually consists of. Most interesting is the surprised looks I get when I explain gently that trying to understand the universe/nature per se is not science. That science is the intellectual practice of constructing theories, developing hypotheses from those theories and then designing experiments with the explicit goal of falsifying the cherished hypothesis.

The lay public too often confuses science with religion, technology, clinical practice and just plain curiosity. Karl Popper would be rolling in his grave.

Jim

After Yale decided no, another big player decides yes. It’s getting interesting in the science publishing world.

Jim

The Neuroimaging Core of the Krasnow Institute (NICKI) elected Raja Parasuraman as its chair Friday for a two year term. I’m really looking forward to working with him and the rest of NICKI to get the maximum scientific productivity from our 3T MRI. I’d also like to thank outgoing co-chairs Layne Kalbfleisch and Kevin McCabe for their hard work in getting the center going and especially to Layne for staying on as Chief Magnet Safety Officer in addition to her role as the head of KIDLAB.

Jim

Of course that moniker usually is reserved for the one in Princeton where Einstein was. Recently I saw the term used on its own for another institute at Los Alamos. That got me thinking about the usefulness of the term in communicating to stakeholders what we do at Krasnow. This week, I reported to Mason’s Board of Visitors on the past academic year and started out my remarks by referring to the successful year of the institute for advanced study–the one at George Mason.

Jim

It felt good to drive onto Campus this morning and walk into my office here at Krasnow. Today is crammed with meetings, but I do hope there is time to savor a quiet walk through the new wing of the Institute.

Jim