You're Hired! Now What? ─ A Guide For New Science Faculty

Noor (biology, Duke U.) offers a concise handbook for navigating the professional demands of being an academic scientist. The guide is aimed at newly hired science faculty and considers setting up an office from which to do research as well as teaching-work, organizing a research team and strategizing grants; supervising and motivating people; on-going research-team communication considerations; organizing your teaching materials and approach; managing time between the lab, classroom and home; staying competitive and creating opportunities. These are demands that arise from aspects of the academic setting that, in his experience and that of his colleagues, years of research-training as students doesn't really provide. Conversational in style, the guide's appendices include lab rules, authorship policy, graduate student expectations, grad-student meeting agendas, and a lab-projects list. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Mohamed Noor is the Earl D. McLean Professor and Associate Chair of Biology at Duke University. Having earned his Ph.D. (Ecology and Evolution) in 1996 from the University of Chicago, he did postdoctoral work at Cornell. He joined the Department of Biological Sciences at Louisiana State University in 1998 as an Assistant Professor and held an adjunct appointment in Womena$e s and Gender Studies. In 2005, he joined the faculty at Duke. Supported from the outset of his career with continuous NSF and/or NIH funding, his research in evolutionary genetics focuses on the formation of new species and molecular evolution. Dr. Noor has received numerous research-related awards, including the prestigious Darwin-Wallace Medal from the Linnean Society of London. He is currently President of the American Genetic Association (2012) and has served in an editorial capacity for nine different journals. At Duke, he is Chair of the University Provost's Advisory Committee on Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure. Despite these commitments, Dr. Noor is a tireless advocate and mentor for his students and lab members. In 2010, he received the Dean's Award for Excellence in Mentoring. Having negotiated his own balance between personal life (he is married with two school-age children) and the myriad responsibilities of a faculty position, he offers in this reader-friendly handbook invaluable experience and insights for new faculty.