boring research

[Pamela Norton]

In article <v01510101adb4b3ecb567@[128.173.187.13]>, mstorrie at vt.edu
(muriel lederman) wrote:

> Gee- I always find grant writing to be the most exciting part of the whole
> business! You get a chance to make things up and imagine what the world is
> like - subtle link here to social construction of science! Muriel
> 
> Muriel Lederman           lederman at vt.edu     540.231.5702 (phone)
> Department of Biology                         540.231.9307 (fax)
> Virginia Tech
> Blacksburg VA 24061-0406

Thanks Muriel, I was also surprised by the person who claimed that grant
writing is boring. Sure, some of the paperwork is boring, but not the
development of the science. Grant writing is _tremendously_ challenging,
and it forces you to really think about what your work means and why
anyone else should care enough about it to give you money for it. And
while I still love tackling a new pile of data, sequence, whatever,
getting those grant award notices is a huge high (but all too
infrequent).It's not just the money, although that is great, but the
approval of your ideas by your peers, who are a critical bunch.

   Pam Norton

-- 
Pamela A. Norton, Ph.D.          Assistant Professor of Medicine
Thomas Jefferson University
Philadelphia, PA 19107           p_norton at lac.jci.tju.edu