Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The winds of change

My adult life so far has been split almost exactly 50-50 between France and the US. Now things are changing once again: I am shortly going to move back to France. While I plan to still spend a couple of months per year at Brown, in the foreseeable future I will be primarily based at Ecole Normale Superieure, in the Latin quarter in Paris.

Should anyone wish to come to Paris for a work visit, it would be a pleasure to welcome foreign visitors, collaborators, and interns.

Blogging will be light for a while, as I am occupying my time with various tedious tasks related to my move.

7 comments:

  1. Good luck in your move.

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  2. Good luck with your move, and enjoy Paris...
    I don't know how you pulled it off, but seems like you managed to sit on two chairs, without the need to make a final decision in two years (which is a typical arrangement when faculty contemplate moving). Not sure why Brown went along with this, especially if they actually pay you for two months, without getting any teaching or PhD advising in return, and without the opportunity to hire a replacement (while effectively losing you for the foreseeable future). Anyway, enjoy Paris!

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    1. Why wouldn't Brown "go along" with this? They can claim Claire as an affiliate of Brown and get credit for her research. Meanwhile they only have to pay for two months salary and they do not have to hire a replacement! It's unlikely that they are desperately trying to graduate more theory students, so no problem about the lack of PhD advising.

      Anyway, aren't there other big-name researchers with multiple affiliations? Why is it surprising that Claire now has this status?

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    2. You are right in theory, but in practice multiple appointments like that are very rare (Shafi Goldwasser comes as the main one I know). The norm is the two-year deal for you to make up your mind. E.g., even Madhu Sudan had to eventually resign from MIT, despite being literally 200 meters from them at MSR. The reasons are obvious. First, fulfilling teaching obligations at top departments (with small teaching load) is not as easy as you think. Second, effectively advising students from abroad is virtually impossible. Can do it for a year or two, but very hard long term. Third, it freezes a hiring line which would be otherwise available. For a small theory group at Brown, this is a huge deal. Finally, and most importantly, if things like that become the norm, almost EVERY top person will hold multiple positions, and effectively stifle the already tough academic job market. So, as far as I know, it is VERY hard to get such a favorable deal, even without getting extra salary. To Claire's (well deserved) credit, this means Brown really values her, so I actually meant my comment as a (very poorly phrased) compliment.

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  3. Anonymous, I do not know how it will work out in the long term, (in fact it is not clear, partly because of the very good issues you raise), but I did want to make sure that readers would know that I would not completely disappear from Brown. Even as I shift the bulk of my attention to Paris, I will continue to have a presence at Brown, somehow. I have too many collaborators there!

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    1. It is good to know that Claire is still going to be present at Brown!

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  4. Good luck, Claire! Brown will miss you!

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