What some of our readers did, or have to do (if still on tenure-track), to earn tenure.
By The Readers and Editors of The Scientist
RESEARCHER
TENURED?
INSTITUTION, DEPT.
PUBLICATIONS
GRANTS
OTHER
George Plopper
yes, 2006
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, biology department
35 publications, 30 peer-reviewed abstracts for national conferences
14 grants, worth more than $5 million
submitted six letters of recommendation, supervised four graduate students and 40 undergraduates in lab, taught more than 1500 students
Abigail Salyers
yes, 1983
University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign, microbiology department
27 publications
2 grants, worth $150,000
taught a microbiology class to medical students, guest lectured in other courses
Caryn Evilia
no
Idaho State University, department of biological sciences
7 published or in-press studies
"applied for" $200,000 from any funding source
"must maintain" satisfactory teaching (good student and mentor evaluations)
Margit Burmeister
yes, 1997
University of Michigan, psychiatry department
35 publications
5 grants (worth more than $1 million total)
trained a graduate student, undergraduates and postdocs; received good reviews from colleagues and students; served on 4 thesis committees; gave more than 10 invited talks
Shinya Yamanaka
yes, 1997
Osaka City University , Medical School , Osaka , Japan
17 papers (7 first-author, 10 co-author)
None. At that time in Japan, researchers applied for grants after tenure.
completed 3-year postdoc in the U.S.
Rasmus Nielsen
yes, 2004
University of Copenhagen, Center for Bioinformatics
70 publications
10 grants totaling $3 million
Teaching classes, mentoring students, and serving on committees "don't seem important in Denmark."
Balakrishnan Ramakrishna
yes, 1990
Christian Medical College in Vellore, India, clinical research unit in gastrointestinal sciences in Wellcome Trust Research Laboratory
6 publications
Research is only considered necessary in a handful of India's medical schools, therefore funding was not a major consideration.
Taught approximately 2 classes per year, treated 80 patients per year, performed 15,000 endoscopies
Bernardo Herold
yes, 1962
Instituto Superior Tecnico, department of chemical engineering, Lisbon, Portugal
2 publications plus a PhD thesis
None, except for a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service
days-long exam, 10-hour presentation in front of 23 professors in public (students bet on an applicant's success), and secret ballot
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