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| A way too spiky Polacanthus, with no sacral shield to boot. I mean, we've known the dinosaur had one since 1881. Get a grip! |
With less than a month to go before I start my Phd in earnest I
am organising myself for the coming years of research. I already have a
reasonable system of filing and directory structure that I've adapted from the
methods I use in my day job as a motion graphics designer and 3D animator. I am
used to handling large amounts of data (projects can run into hundreds of gigs
for a large animation) and lots of footage is generated which means I need to
keep track of exactly which versions I'm working on at any one point, and this
has the potential to become very confusing if not careful. As I will be working
on 3D data this system can be readily adapted to research, and I can use a
similar system for writing and research.
Being self-funded also presents many challenges and I will have
to choose activities such as visits to collections and meetings very carefully,
and plan well ahead. Funding is going to be tight, and I could have called this
blog 'Doing a PhD on a shoestring' as every penny will have to be watched and
accounted for. This is not as bad as it sounds, as funding for the first couple
of years is in place much of the software I use to earn a living shall be used
in the course of research. The real issue will be affording hardware, and for
the time being I’m going to have to make do with what I’ve
got.
Part-time study needs to be reconciled with the day job and by
necessity will be subordinate to paying work. I have no grants and no
sponsorship and so need to keep working; l will be looking into both of these
funding resources though, although part of me feels perhaps grants would be
better off going to young researchers. I don't have the luxury of a permanent
office in my institution and I will be studying from home most of the time
although I’m set up for this already (my institution, the University of
Southampton is actually 200 miles away from where I live).
Even though I am working and studying at the same time I can turn
this to my advantage. I will be creating a crossover between work and research
which means I shall use the skills developed in either, in both. As much if my
day job involves scientific visualisation I will be able to communicate more
clearly with my customers as a consequence of being immersed in scientific
method. Clients will appreciate having an artist that is also a scientist
working for them, helping them to communicate.
Conversely, the years I have spent working in the cut and thrust
of the commercial world should hold me in good stead when doing research. The
work ethic is a given; I routinely work on high-pressure projects with tight
deadlines and for very long hours in extensive stretches, so the volume of work
isn't intimidating (yet). More important are the skills I have acquired using complex
software for scientific visualisation and animation, and these will be put to
good use and expanded upon in my research. Also, I will be looking at how some
of the methodologies of the commercial world might be used in science outreach,
for instance when assessing how the best delivery systems for 3D meshes and
other data, including the re-use of data and assets generated during research
and making the presentation of this data engaging whilst retaining scientific
integrity. These will be part of the palaeontology outreach solutions I will be
working on.
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