Postdoc to PhD: Dr. Sahana H Balasubramanya
Sahana H Balasubramanya is a member of the Institut for Mathematical Logic and Foundational Research and is advised by Dr. Katrin Tent.
Sahana does research in Geometric Group Theory and will share details about her research and academic background in the following interview.
What are you working on? / What is your research topic?
My research is focused in the area of Geometric Group Theory. This is an area of math that lies at the intersection of algebra, topology, and geometry. The basic idea is to try to understand the properties of a group by studying the action of the group on some space. The spaces that I look at mostly tend to be hyperbolic or CAT(0) spaces, and the presence of this (negative) curvature often yields strong properties for the groups. I also therefore try and build different actions of a given group on different spaces, so that we can look at information provided by different group actions.
Why did you choose WWU for your Postdoc? Which universities have you been to before?
I graduated with my PhD from Vanderbilt University, following which I was a postdoc at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. This postdoc came with a rather heavy teaching load of 3 courses every semester. Though I learned a lot about the teaching process, I wanted a bit more time to focus on my ongoing research. The postdoc offer by WWU came with no teaching obligations, so it was an excellent fit in this regard. Further, I would have a chance to work under some leading mathematicians, which I believe would expand my horizons. It was also an opportunity to be a part of the academic system in Europe, which I think will also be beneficial for my career goals.
How was the transition from you doctorate to your Postdocs and what would have been nice to know beforehand?
I think the biggest change for me when transitioning to my first postdoc was the immense amount of responsibility with regards to being the primary instructor of courses. Though I had done this as a graduate student, it had only ever been for one course at a time. Having 3 full courses meant being responsible for about 120 students, so there was a lot of time, effort, preparation and communication via email that went into making sure everything was well organized and running smoothly over the duration of the entire semester. Consequently, I was a little stressed during the Fall semester, but as I discovered, things were much easier to cope with in the Spring semester - that would have been nice to know beforehand as then I wouldn't have been so anxious about it. I think the experience is pretty much the same for everyone in this matter.
How did you find your research topic?
I had a lot of help from my PhD advisor in terms of finding my first viable project to work on. Dr. Denis Osin was extremely supportive in this matter, and eventually a question he suggested was the first one that I worked on. I think it is therefore extremely important to choose one's PhD advisor carefully. Subsequent projects that I worked on were questions that naturally arose in the context of my work, but I again had help, support and input from my advisor, my PhD committee members and my postdoctoral mentors Dr. Talia Fernos and Dr. Katrin Tent.
What does a normal working day look like? What is the difference to your PhD time?
I like to wake up at 8 am and do some German lessons first! I am usually working on mathematics by 10 am in the morning and stop for lunch at about 2pm. Following that I again work will 8 pm – this involves virtual calls with collaborators or tex-ing my existing results as well. Twice a week though, I will take time out of my evening to work out. The household chores usually get done on the weekend, though I am prone to resuming work on Sunday evening! This is pretty much the schedule I had as a PhD student, except that I would be teaching a class at 8 am. I find that this schedule has worked well for me.
What do you plan after your postdoc?
Ideally, I would like to be hired on tenure-track following my postdoc. But that is not guaranteed, and so, I am trying not to be too fixated on the idea. As long as I can continue to do good mathematics, that will definitely be a source of satisfaction for me.
Some Advice to the MMGS Members:
What would you like to have done differently during your PhD?
I don't think there is much I would like to change about the time I spent as a PhD student. It was a rather satisfying 5 years, and I think I got to experience all the aspects that one should at that time attending conferences, giving seminar talks, publishing process, etc.
However, it would have been nice to have some of the advice I had the second time I was applying for postdocs the first time round. There were some nuances about the process and drafting one's statements that would have been very helpful if I had known them beforehand.
How was the final phase of your PhD? How much time should you take for things like proofreading and printing?
The last year of my PhD was definitely the most stressful, as I was trying to finish writing my thesis and applying for jobs at the same time. My recommendation in this regard is to always start early -about a year in advance if you are drafting your research and teaching statements for the first time. I actually did this during the months of May-July, as the application round in the USA starts sometime in September. That way, I had nearly final versions to send to my recommenders for their perusal. Vanderbilt has the option of publishing PhD theses online, so the `printing' process did not take long. However, the peer-review process usually takes about a year, so that is something to keep in mind when submitting papers to journals.
How long should a PhD thesis be?
I do not think there is a set length for a PhD thesis. I think what matters more is the quality of work that goes into it. However, most PhD theses I have read tend to be about 100 pages long.