Chapter 6 Onboarding

Welcome to the lab! We’ll have a more detailed schedule and orientation as soon as you arrive, but there are some things to start on beforehand.

The most important are to read the whole handbook and not to hesitate to ask questions.

Before you arrive,

• Let me know if you’ll need a laptop, mouse, display, etc., so we can have the right hardware waiting for you. Please let me know if you will need other accommodations for your workspace.
• Connie Homan will work with you if you need a visa.
• I strongly suggest you consult lab members about good neighborhoods, blocks, landlords, transit options, etc., before you sign a lease. We’re happy to help.
• Plan ahead for travel within the first few months of your start and discuss it with me: Is there a conference or other work trip you’ve already committed to? Personal trip? Is there a conference coming up that you’d like to attend and with an impending abstract deadline? If you’ll be working on CEIRR-related research, we need to submit all travel requests ~30 days in advance for approval.

In your first few weeks, you can expect to be checking in with me or another lab member most days per week before we settle on a more regular cadence. The exception to this would be new graduate students, who have a bazillion orientations and other events to attend, and who will usually be preoccupied with coursework for the first two quarters. We will check in less often. But I encourage graduate students to be in touch if they would like to work in the lab, attend lab meetings, etc., before the quarter starts.