Dieter Lukas
Causes and consequences of sociality
For more information, please see my new website.
I am a Senior Researcher in the Comparative Behavioral Ecology group of the Department of Human Behaviour, Ecology and Culture at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (see here for my full CV).
Resources
Diversity in Academia: in a collaboration with Dr Carter, Dr Croft, and Dr Sandstrom, we have collected an overview of data, resources, and advice around the attrition of minorities in academia. This arose from our project to promote diversity in question asking at academic seminars.
I am starting to turn information into blog posts:
- information on how to think about academic life after the PhD
- my experiences on outreach and interacting with the press
- tools and strategies for how to find data for comparative analyses
- links to information by other people with resources on academic career advice
- why and how to submit your preregistrations for peer-review
Job and grant information
I compiled a list of 250 funding agencies for postdoctoral research fellowships in the biological sciences.
Various online boards collect job announcements, here is a list of some in biology and conservation.
There are a number of searchable online databases with funding opportunities:
- Research Professional for researchers based at UK universities with subscriptions
- SPIN for US universities with subscriptions; Instrumentl for individuals/institutions with subscriptions (mainly US)
- ELFI for German universities with subscriptions
- Information on funding for early career researchers (master's through to postdoc) from grad centers at UCLA, UChicago, and Harvard University
- Lists of private philanthropic foundations in the US, in the UK, in Switzerland, and in Germany.
Academic culture
I have been fortunate to experience very supportive mentors, peers, and colleagues, and I work to create positive academic environments.
- Build networks: in addition to informal peer alliances, formal communities for students, postdocs, or researchers, are important to strengthen solidarity and address structural issues.
- Establish mentoring: the aim of such programs is to help mentees clarify their goals and gain tools to approach future situations; academic environments might also benefit from reverse mentoring to raise awareness.
- Run workshops: the postdoc committee at the Department of Zoology invited experts to provide their views on various skills relevant for career progression.
- Organise talks: seminar series (involving local or external speakers) help bring the department together and offer forums for exchange. Here are some ideas for what to consider when organising them.
Inclusivity
Existing biases and skewed incentive structures mean that opportunities, pay, and career progression are not equally available to all. To promote inclusive environments, I aim to:
- Provide fair employment conditions and support for all involved in research.
- Be an active collaborator to create inclusive workspaces.
- Support a scientific approach and process that is open to all
- Ensure equal representation among speakers at conferences and in seminar series.
- Study the processes that limit equal participation and suggest actions to increase visibility of underrepresented groups.
- Judge people based on what they achieved with the opportunities afforded to them, and not fall for the myth of meritocracy.
- Provide a supportive and harassment-free environment for everyone.
Tools for comparative analyses
A number of researchers provide introductions and advice on how to perform comparative analyses in a phylogenetic framework:
- AnthroTree website, which accompanies a book by Charles Nunn.
- TreeThinkers blog of the Bodega Workshop.
- R Phylo Wiki, which grew out of a hackaton at NESCENT.
- Ultimate overview of phylogenetic programs, curated by Joe Felsenstein.
- Phylogenetic packages in R, maintained by Brian O'Meara.
- PhyTools blog, written by Liam Revell.
- Several lists of manuals, resources, overviews, and tutorials about the statistical software R.
News coverage of my research
I engage with people from diverse backgrounds who are fascinated by animal behaviour. These interactions inspire me to see new angles to my research. Here are some examples of my exchanges with science journalists:
- CBC radio special on Love
- ScienceVS True Love podcast
- Breaking Bio podcast on parent of the year
- BBC iWonder exploration of monogamy in animals
- Carl Zimmer on the 'natural' of family life
Food
An alternative creative, explorative, fun, and hands-on activity: finding, making, tasting, and enjoying food:
- You're Vegan? What do you Eat?! So many things! - with Corina Logan.
- Great community based guide to restaurants all around the world.
- Recipe collections at the BBC and the NY Times.
