Past Professional Development Events
Lunch and Learn
July 26th, 2017
by Dr. Daniel Dries, Assistant Professor at Juniata College
Dr. Daniel Dries chose to work in a primarily undergraduate institution (PUI) after his postdoc training. This luncheon discussion was surrounded around the transition from postdoc to teaching and research at a PUI. He included the discussion of joys and challenges of teaching and doing research with undergraduate students.
Covering the Cover Letter for Non-Academic Jobs
July 26th, 2017
by Pallavi Eswara, Director of Postdoctoral Affairs.
Pallavi Eswara, the Director of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, gave a presentation on the essentials of writing cover letters for non-academic jobs. The presentation focused on how to demonstrate a postdoc's fit between their research and academic background to a given advertised position.
Millennium Scholars Presentation and Hike
July 1st, 2017
The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs teamed with the Millennium Scholars Program and the Penn State Postdoc Society to create a presentation for the incoming freshman Millennium Scholars. Five postdocs presented on their research and afterwards brought the students on a hike to Mount Nittany. Please follow the link below for more information about the presentations and the Millennium Scholars Program.
https://www.research.psu.edu/opa/millenniumscholars
Crafting your Research Statement
June 22, 2017
by Dr. Tim Meredith, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
![image 1.jpg](/sites/default/files/u465/image%201.jpg)
Dr. Meredith returned to present on an important component of the application package for the faculty position. An important and common component of the academic or faculty job application is the Research Statement (also called the Statement of Research Interests). This statement provides a summary of one’s research accomplishments, current work and discusses the future direction and potential of one’s work. It can also have information of possible funding mechanisms for the kind of research that is being proposed.
Landscape of Academic Institutions in U.S.
June 23, 2017
by Pallavi Eswara, Director of Postdoctoral Affairs.
![image 2.jpg](/sites/default/files/u465/image%202.jpg)
In this seminar postdos learned about the Carnegie Classification of institutions, examples of R1, R2, Masters granting, Primarily Undergraduate, Community Colleges and what is expected of the faculty members at each of these institutions. They learned about the broad hiring criteria of these institutions and assess the level of preparation and the path to follow for institutions of one’s choice.
If you are interested in future events like this please contact postdocaffairs@psu.edu.