So there has been some concern recently about the onset of the blog system here at the NSCL. Currently there are two competing theories on why this system is not such a good idea. The first thought is that the students blogging are going to be inclined to mention things involving their research projects. If they reveal too much, someone reading their blog could eventually scoop them. Come on now, we're nuclear physicists, in order to hear about the research and then scoop us they would have to design the experiment and propose it somewhere and then do all the analysis before we just do the analysis...is it gonna happen? not likely.
Second problem, what's to stop us from sugar coating everything we say and just tell the whole world that the cyclotron is a great place to work? If that is the point we would just make a bunch of fliers, plaster them around East Lansing and send them out to everyone in the science community. Oh, wait, isn't that what most of the big labs do anyway? Except the point of these blogs is to bring a realistic insight to working at the grad student level at a national lab. And by realistic I mean not just talking about the good things. This is a place of employment where we have to deal with other people. Any time you deal with other people you are bound to get personality clashes, miscommunications and other problems that arise. Not everything is peachy keen.
Nonetheless, due to the concerns that I have been hearing, I suppose that I should make a note about who my blogs are going to be targeting...those who the blogs are set up for--new and soon to be graduate students. Most of my blogs will be put up with the intention of informing students of what to expect. So many students, especially those without lab experience, really aren't quite sure what to expect out of certain places. They kind of have an idea but don't know for sure. I hope to be providing more of an insight to the life of a grad student at the lab, not useless propaganda that doesn't do anyone any good.