Building an Academic Career Abroad: A Personal Perspective

Halim Kusumaatmaja

Department of Physics, University of Durham

Universitas Negeri Padang

Selasa, 20 Agustus 2019

Career Trajectory

Education:

• SD-SMA: Jakarta (1988-2000); Bronze medals APHO & IPHO

• UG: ITB (2000-2001);

• UG: U. Leicester, UK (2001-2004); Full Scholarship

• PhD: U. Oxford, UK (2004-2008), Full Scholarship

Postdoctoral Training:

• MPI Colloids & Interfaces, Germany (2008-2011)

• U. Cambridge, UK (2011-2013)

Independent Career:

• Assistant Professor, U. Durham (2013-2017)

• Associate Professor, U. Durham (2017-now)

University of Durham (United Kingdom)

About Durham and University of Durham:

• 3rd oldest university in England after Oxford and Cambridge

• Top 5 university in UK rankings

• Top 100 university in world rankings

• 4 Faculties: Arts & Humanities, Science, Social Sciences & Heath, Business School

• Host one of two soft matter Centres for Doctoral Training in the UK

• Durham Castle and Cathedral are World Heritage sites

• Durham Cathedral was used to film Harry Potter and The Avengers, among others

My Research Group

Current composition:

• 1 PDRA

• 9 PhD students

• ~2 UG final year students

• ~2 UG summer internships

Past group members:

• 4 Postdocs

(2 are now assistant profs in the UK)

• 12 UG final year students

• 14 UG summer internships

Topics:

Soft Matter and Biophysics

• Interfacial Phenomena

• Membrane Biophysics

• Phase Separation in Biology

• Self-Assembly

• Mechanics and elasticity

Methods:

• Lattice Boltzmann

• Molecular Dynamics

• Monte Carlo

• Pen & Paper

• Energy Landscape

• Collaborations!!!

Steps to Become An Academic Abroad

A PhD

What are supervisors looking for in a PhD student:

• Good communication skills: written and spoken English

• You can think for yourself; Have a curious and open mind

• You have useful skills FOR THEM

• Being independent and a good team player at the same time

What do you need:

YES: well-written and specific CV*

YES: good grades, in the UK usually GPA > 3.3/4.0

YES: good TOEFL/IELTS score

YES: has some research experience

YES: positive recommendation letters

* Include relevant prizes and anything that separates you from others academically.

What is a Postdoc?

• Usually a PhD is not enough to get a position at a reputable university. A PhD is like “a license” that shows that you can do research.

• Characteristics of postdoc positions:

Temporary: 2-5 years

Usually work on a similar broad area, but on a new problem

Have more independence

• What you need to show:

You can do well in different environments and different problems

You can lead research, at least in a small scale

You have become a unique scientist

Getting a Faculty Job Abroad

• The Job Expectation

Lead a sustainable research program

Write papers & speak at conferences

Supervise research

Teach at at BSc, MSc and PhD levels

Obtain funding, write grant proposals

Service for your department/university

Service for your research community

• Typically the proportion is 40% research, 40% teaching and 20% service (or something similar)

• Why it is an interesting job

I do what I want – academic freedom

Get to travel and share your ideas

Working with young bright people

Inspiring the next generation

Ok, not fun, but it’s taxpayer’s money

Make your institution great

Keep standard, get to invite people

What is Soft Matter?

Soft Matter refers to 'all things that are squishy’!

Soft Matter: Condensed or semi-fluid matter that is easily deformed by relatively small external forces and thermal fluctuations

A small object is made of Soft Matter if it makes you uncomfortable but does not hurt you when someone throws it at you…

What is Soft Matter?

Soft matter is everywhere

Composite materials:

Mayo, Paint, Blood,…

Pure liquid:

water, alcohol,…

Stretchy material:

Polymers, proteins,…

Examples of Soft Matter

Soft materials are often a mixture of solid, liquids and gases structured on a particular scale. The details of this structure gives Soft Matter its properties

Solid

Solid

Liquid Gas

Liquid

Gas

Polymers

(mm)

plastics, fibres

Colloids, gels

(nm - mm)

cement, cosmetics

Foams

(mm - mm)

wools, insulation

Mixtures, emulsion

(nm - mm)

dressings, drinks

Foams

(mm - mm)

foodstuffs

X

Colloids, gels

(nm - mm)

cement, cosmetics

Foams

(mm - mm)

wools, insulation

Foams

(mm - mm)

foodstuffs

Better Together

Typical Soft Matter can exhibit different properties on different spatial and temporal scales.

Timescale and structure are often related.

Complex Materials

Soft matter can behave as a solid (elastic) or a liquid (viscous) depending on the timescale considered: this is called viscoelasticity

Youtube

Discovery Channel

The Viscoelastic Property of Corn Starch

Weak bonds

Order on a particular spatial scale (mesoscale)

Self-assembly

InterfacesComposite materials

Soft

Matter

Some Key Themes of Soft Matter Science

Soft Matter & Biophysics

Many concepts of soft matter in the context of materials show up in many biological contexts, e.g phase separation

Stress Granules

Bird feathersVinaigrette

Building International Collaborations

Interdisciplinary Science – Virtual Centres

UKCOMES

UK Consortium on Mesoscale

Engineering Sciences

www.dur.ac.uk/soft.matter/cdt/

www.facebook.com/softmattercdt/

16 funded PhD studentships

for graduates per year in

Chemistry, Physics, Food

Science, Mathematics,

Engineering or related subjects

Centre for Doctoral Training in

Soft Matter and Functional Interfaces

• Ideal preparation for career in industry or academia

• Multidisciplinary PhD programme – great science for many

student backgrounds

• Initial integrated training based in Durham

• PhD places at Durham, Leeds, Edinburgh, across a wide

range of schools and departments

• Mini-MBA summer school

• Industrial and international secondments

Centre for Doctoral Training in

Soft Matter and Functional Interfaces

My Group’s Collaborators

• Industrial Funding

• Exchanges Grant

• Consortium

• Self-Funded

Example 1: Global Challenges Research Fund

• Durham GCRF CDT: support a cohort of around 20 students working on a

specific challenge in one or more of the areas of the UN Sustainable

Development Goals with all PhD students coming from a DAC nation.

The Water Problem

Water Harvesting Project

Raymond Christianto

PhD Student

Dr Yudi Rahmawan

Universitas Pertamina

Prof Jas Pal Badyal FRS

Durham Chemistry

• HK Visited Pertamina U for

SCKD 2017

• Indonesian student funded

by UK starting in Jan 2019

• Pertamina U will host

student during placement –

signing MoU this year

• YR visited Durham funded

by Pertamina

• Joint workshop in Dec 19

co-funded by Durham &

Pertamina

• YR is applying for grant from

DIKTI with us as partner.

Example 2: Unpad Collaboration

Dr Irwan Ary Dharmawan

Universitas Padjajaran

• IAD visited Durham in 2018 funded

by Unpad

• Project: Modelling advanced oil

recovery

• Trained IAD & his students to use

our group’s software

• HK visited Unpad and gave public

lecture in 2018

• IAD won grant from DIKTI with us as

partner/collaborator for 2 years

• IAD visited Durham in 2019 funded

by DIKTI grant

Opportunities

Various possibilities:

• Undergraduate Internships

• Durham Doctoral Studentships

• Beasiswa DIKTI

• Durham International Engagement Travel Grants

• Newton Fund Researcher Links

• Newton Fund Institutional Links

• GCRF Networking Grant

• GCRF Project Grant

1) What is the project/the aim of the collaboration?

2) Who are the people with suitable capabilities?

3) What are the benefits for both groups/institutions?

4) What are the possible funding schemes?

5) How do we get it done?

Thank you for Listening!

Any Questions?

Water Harvesting Project

Raymond Christianto

PhD Student

Dr Yudi Rahmawan

Universitas Pertamina

Prof Jas Pal Badyal

Durham Chemistry

For a material to be ‘soft’, the interactions holding it together must be weak; comparable to the thermal energy available or the external forces

Solid ice Liquid water

Thermal energy ET available ET

~ kBT

A Question of Structure

A PhD

What are supervisors looking for in a PhD student:

Step 0) Find a potential supervisor

Key Point: You are actually interested in their work

YES: read 1-2 of their papers, send a specific email

YES: say how your skills fit in their group

Hint: Do consider the funding issue early.

A Real Example

A PhD

What are supervisors looking for in a PhD student:

Step 0) Find a potential supervisor

Key Point: You are actually interested in their work

YES: read 1-2 of their papers, send a specific email

YES: say how your skills fit in their group

Hint: Do consider the funding issue early.

Signs of good supervisors:

• They publish well with their students

• Their students get good jobs after they leave

• Their students are enthusiastic when talking about their supervisors

Hint: Ask to speak with their students when you get an offer.

A PhD

What are supervisors looking for in a PhD student:

Step 1) Paperwork

Key Point: Convince them that on paper you are worth talking to

YES: well-written and specific CV*

YES: good grades, in the UK usually GPA > 3.3/4.0

YES: good TOEFL/IELTS score

YES: has some research experience

YES: positive recommendation letters written with care**

* Include relevant prizes and anything that separates you from others academically.

** This means: the letter is clearly written for you!

Step 2) Interview

Key Point: Convince them that they can work with you

• Good communication skills: written and spoken English

• You can think for yourself; Have a curious and open mind

• You have useful skills FOR THEM

• Being independent and a good team player at the same time

• Secondary criterion: your personality, do you fit in the group?