EnterTheVoid Posted April 28, 2011 Author Posted April 28, 2011 Don't worry PK, you'll be joining them soon. Not long to go now :nice:
EnterTheVoid Posted April 28, 2011 Author Posted April 28, 2011 "Ex-Students of Cai MJ commented on how they were abused by him' date=' so much so that they filed a complaint to the University about his Bad behaviour, how much publications he had published since he was employed by the Research Institutes earning tax-payers money (16 years with only 14 publications)... and how much political involvements in the institutes.. "[/quote'] How is it possible to spend 16 years as a lead researcher and only have 14 publications to your name? Without quality publications, on what basis can you apply for further funding? If he was truly that incompetent, he'd have been fired long ago, let alone survive 16 years. Either way, the guy probably raked in a fortune selling his book.
The Outsider Posted April 28, 2011 Posted April 28, 2011 How is it possible to spend 16 years as a lead researcher and only have 14 publications to your name? Without quality publications, on what basis can you apply for further funding? If he was truly that incompetent, he'd have been fired long ago, let alone survive 16 years. Either way, the guy probably raked in a fortune selling his book. A lot depends on the exact field of research as well as the quality of the publications. I don't know much about the publication trends in Cell Biology, but in abstract Math, for example, a publication rate of 1 paper/year would actually be extremely good if they are first/single author papers in the top journals. Even in areas like theoretical Physics even well established professors would usually have no more than 1-2 first/single author papers per year. The remaining would be either with their graduate students and post docs, in which the bulk of the work is done by the student, or as part of some collaborative efforts where their contribution would be something like using some code, equations, or tools already developed for some prior project - the idea and bulk of the work for these won't be theirs.
punjabi_khota Posted April 28, 2011 Posted April 28, 2011 ^Biology is a VERY high paper production area. Several journals in biology(some even mediocre ones) have a impact factor in range of 10-20, while none of the math/physics journals even come close (PRL ~7). Some very good math journals typically have IF 1-3.
EnterTheVoid Posted April 28, 2011 Author Posted April 28, 2011 14 papers in 16 years, that too for a lead researcher, seems extremely low. In his blog, he states that he got the boot only because of recent management changes. If that's to be believed, than what the hell has been doing for the good part of 16 years that he was there when he only has a handful of publications to show for his efforts :hmmmm2:
kabira Posted April 28, 2011 Posted April 28, 2011 ^it depends, I was in biology research. If all hsi papers were published in high profile journal than its great job by him.
The Outsider Posted April 28, 2011 Posted April 28, 2011 ^Biology is a VERY high paper production area. Several journals in biology(some even mediocre ones) have a impact factor in range of 10-20, while none of the math/physics journals even come close (PRL ~7). Some very good math journals typically have IF 1-3. Yeah, abstract Math is probably the toughest to publish in. Sometimes even well established names can go a couple of years without any publication. From those IFs, 14 in 16 years sounds low. But then I guess it also depends on how other PIs in the institute were doing. Lab research can take substantial money and time to set up. Not sure how well funded the projects were. They also need a large number of students and post docs to run the experiments - no idea what was the number and quality of the institute the place was attracting.
Late Cut Posted April 28, 2011 Posted April 28, 2011 ^it depends' date=' I was in biology research. If all hsi papers were published in high profile journal than its great job by him.[/quote'] They weren't from what i gather. It reads like new management decided to clean house, and get rid of the old cronies. It begs to reason that if he was that talented or well puiblished, he would have easily been picked up.
EnterTheVoid Posted April 28, 2011 Author Posted April 28, 2011 ^ Or maybe they had a grudge and he was told to piss off for good. Politics and backstabbing is nothing new in the research community.
Mariyam Posted April 28, 2011 Posted April 28, 2011 Singapore is a city of real growth/development and in general, a pretty kickass place to live. I've been there before and its pretty jaw dropping how quickly things get done there. A guy of his caliber should never have been reduced to driving taxis. Maybe it just wasn't his time :dontknow: I've been to Singapore only as a tourist, but from whatever interaction I've had with Indians who went there to study ( MBA or whatever else) , I am under the impression that Singapore is good place to chill out spend the odd week as a holiday. They weren't very gung-ho about working there. They said that prospects - especially for those working in marketing or finance were better in India. They also said that Singapore has some autocratic rules when it comes to housing. You apparently don't get to choose what kind of house you can buy, but the government allots a house to you based on your ethnicity and your place of work ( for convenience). All housing societies in Singapore have to nearly reflect the national ethnic composition or something. But I think that this is only when you want to buy a home. Not sure about the renting bit. But for those who want to be out of India fast, its a good option. I think they offer you nationality in 4-5 years. :(( However, I agree with your assessment about the rapid development. I've been to the place twice in the span of 4 years and some of the areas, especially the part towards Malaysia have developed rapidly.
Ram Posted April 28, 2011 Posted April 28, 2011 I am sorry, I simply refuse to believe that a PhD from Stanford couldn’t find any other job apart from a Taxi driver, since the time he was fired in 2008. He obviously hasn’t been trying hard enough.
Guest Gunner Posted April 28, 2011 Posted April 28, 2011 I've been to Singapore only as a tourist' date=' but from whatever interaction I've had with Indians who went there to study ( MBA or whatever else) , I am under the impression that Singapore is good place to chill out spend the odd week as a holiday. They weren't very gung-ho about working there.[/quote'] Bingo. I have had close friends work with multinationals in Singapore, the work culture is ludicrous. They expect 60 hour weeks and all kinds of nonsense. I wouldn't even consider working there but if I wanted to chill out or use a city as a base for travelling through east asia I would always pick Singapore. Have done it many times in the past and will do so in the future.
nballa Posted April 28, 2011 Posted April 28, 2011 he probably meant stratford university. its a misprint.
EnterTheVoid Posted April 28, 2011 Author Posted April 28, 2011 I am sorry, I simply refuse to believe that a PhD from Stanford couldn’t find any other job apart from a Taxi driver, since the time he was fired in 2008. He obviously hasn’t been trying hard enough. If he was reduced to driving taxis, it was probably a move out of sheer desperation as he needed the money to survive. If he had a mortgage on the house and a wife and kids to look after, as I assume a middle aged man his age would, 10 bucks an hour driving cabs around Singapore wouldn't stretch very far.
vvvslaxman Posted April 29, 2011 Posted April 29, 2011 The guy published all his blog posts in one big book: Seriously wanna get a hold of this book we prefer more like "confessions of a taxi driver" :cantstop:
Crookbond Posted October 15, 2012 Posted October 15, 2012 They also said that Singapore has some autocratic rules when it comes to housing. You apparently don't get to choose what kind of house you can buy, but the government allots a house to you based on your ethnicity and your place of work ( for convenience). All housing societies in Singapore have to nearly reflect the national ethnic composition or something. But I think that this is only when you want to buy a home. Not sure about the renting bit. But for those who want to be out of India fast, its a good option. I think they offer you nationality in 4-5 years. :(( Source?
Clarke Posted October 15, 2012 Posted October 15, 2012 He could've moved to China/North Korea, they would probably pay well for bringing glory to the country :hmmm:
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