Beyond Technical Expertise: Dealing With Sources of Personal and Professional Stress
Tuesday, 3 June14:00 - 16:00
Organized by The Academic-Life Faculty-Development Workshops, an affiliate of TRF.

We use short dramatizations supplemented with extensive discussion to explore stressful non-technical issues that often arise in the high-tech life. Specifically, we focus on three topics: power imbalance during peer review, when a junior investigator is asked to review a paper by a senior person, and there is a question of originality of the work; microaggressions, behaviors that create personal discomfort, whether intended or accidental; and the imposter syndrome, feelings of personal or professional inadequacy that can arise when exploring uncharted territory.

Presenters:

• Stephen Senturia, MIT Emeritus
• Jennifer Blain Christen, Arizona State
• Nicole McFarlane, University of Tennessee
• Pamela Abshire, University of Maryland
• Maira Samary, Boston College

14:00 - Power and Plagiarism, a vignette about peer review, in which a junior person is asked to review a paper by a very senior person, and there is a question about the originality of the work.

14:45 - On the Receiving End, a vignette about difficulties a minority junior person encounters during what amounts to a really bad day at work.

15:30 - Am I an Imposter? A vignette about personal doubts in high-tech work, in which a supervisor is unable to follow the technical work of a student.