Ph.D update: On being a testudine, not a lagomorph.

How does a being a part-time PhD researcher actually work in daily life? This is a question I gave some considerable thought to before I started my doctorate in January, as I wanted to be sure I could make the commitment to research whilst working in a job that often means long hours for weeks at a time. Now the reality is becoming apparent and the past six weeks have gone some way to answering this question more fully than previously, as the practicalities of keeping research momentum when the day job gets busy have had to be addressed (see my work here).

As I've mentioned on this blog previously one of my specialities is creating 3D animations of drug mechanisms of action; these tend to be commissioned during the middle–later stages of a drug's development to show the target audience how the drug works at a molecular level. This involves modelling lots of proteins, cells, viri, bacteria, DNA, RNA etc, often referring to published data of the structures themselves for accuracy. The animations are mainly educational in nature (being targeted at consultants and doctors) and are based on some quite remarkable cutting edge science and I love working on them. They are also extremely labour intensive and time-consuming.

So recently I've been in full animation production mode and research has had to be put on the back-burner. Well, almost. Gaps in the production process (which occur for any number of reasons i.e. awaiting assets, team and client review, rendering) for the MOA are little windows of opportunity to keep things moving, even in a small way. I had photographed most of the vertebral column and some dermal armour elements of the Polacanthus specimen I'm working on for processing into 3D data. If a machine is not rendering a sequence of animation, it can be crunching through these data and making lovely 3D models of dinosaur bones. Despite being a basic set up, the results so far have been encouraging; I'm getting good quality, detailed meshes of the specimen.

My photogrammetry setup. A tad bottom end to be sure, but it's delivering good results.

Periods of reduced work activity also give me time to get on with other small but essential tasks such as reading and annotating papers, reviews, planning next steps and keeping up with developments in the field. I use this time to get to grips with new subjects such as looking at methods of statistical analysis, bones need measuring and drawing, meetings have to be booked, talks prepared amongst the myriad of other tasks that need attending to keep the whole process moving forward.

Animation showing the mesh obtained from the photogrammetry setup shown above.

All this can be done without the slightest disruption to my work as an artist and graphic designer. Although there are periods where I work long hours for many consecutive days (running into weeks on large projects) and can't get any research done at all generally I can take tortoise-like, small steps towards the mountain on a daily basis.

It's a marathon and not a sprint for sure.

Following the paper trail (starting the literature review)

It's a funny thing, life. At any one moment everything can change and your outlook is altered and new horizons open up as old vistas fade into the distance. On day 14 of being a doctoral candidate I feel this process as it is happening and a new reality hoves into view; the life of the palaeontologist and already it's quite obvious my routine outside of my day job is changing rapidly. After detailed discussions with both of my supervisors I am now constructing a framework for my research, and considering some of the practicalities of the process of actually doing a PhD.

First amongst these is the literature review. I have already been collecting the relevant literature around my key research subject, the nodosaurid Polacanthus foxii. Recent years have shown an increased amount of interest around Early Cretaceous ankylosaurs and this work will provide the structure in which my own research will sit. There's lots to do, and plenty of specimens to see in the UK alone so I'm looking forward to getting into the various collections to examine their fossils. I'm also hoping to look at all Early Cretaceous thyreophorans to compare material, and there are constant rumours of finds by collectors that might warrant further investigation.

Of course planning a literature review is a project in itself and there is plenty to consider when setting out on such a large undertaking. Aside from the process of selecting, reading and annotating the core literature there are also the practical matters of organising and structuring this library, with directory structures, naming conventions and the effective and efficient filing of notes and references to deal with. Here I can fall back on my own commercial experience as a motion graphics artist and animator as many of the projects I work on have large amounts of assets in the form of scripts, visual and written reference material as well as often very large amounts of data (sometimes 100s of gigabytes) and files generated during the production of a complex animation, and I have developed a system and directory structure that I can adapt for my research.

Then there is the subject of annotating the papers themselves. Should I pile them all on my iPad and use an app such as iAnnotate? Should I write in a book or use and index card system and type up onto the computer? Which is the best for data integrity and security? If the electricity goes off, could I still work? How do I keep my bibliography up to date and accurate?

There's plenty to be going at, and there's not a moment to loose in implementing a system so I'd better crack on. I'm sure any procedure I put in place for conducting my literature view might change over time, so I want to keep it as flexible as possible without sacrificing efficiency and most importantly, a method of keeping accurate notes and refs making papers quick and easy to locate.

So off we go . . .

PhD preparations in full swing

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.

Another step closer to the mountain.