Biophysical Society Bulletin | September 2020

Career Development

Reflections on Navigating the Remote Research Environment during a Pandemic

Back when the pandemic began, which now seems like a lifetime ago, many of us scrambled to move our teaching and research programs to work remotely. Remember when there were a slew of articles on how we should be digging out the unfinished projects and how our productivity would sky rocket because we were not going to be hindered by the burdens of commuting or ever leaving the house? We all quickly learned that social isolation and the need for face-to-face interaction was real, Zoom fatigue was indeed quite fatiguing, and the walks across campus were much needed breaks to refresh us during our day. Nearly five months into this new routine, I offer some personal reflections, with input from my group, on how we are doing and how we have adapted along the way. The first few weeks were insane for me because, just like that, I had to move two of my Spring courses to remote teaching. Figuring out the logistics of how to remotely teach two mathematics-heavy courses resulted in the collection and management of all manner of technical information (see example at https:/docs.google.com/document/d/1hRB- cWu9Y2oL1PBy49iO_t3HEdIBCxhbfTopLnZpV5H8/edit). Then came the challenges of figuring out how to hold exams in a remote format when the class was spread across multiple time zones and how to be fair and equitable, while upholding academic integrity. Somehow, with the help of my TAs, who are also my graduate students, we managed to navigate the landscape of remote learning and made it through the quar- ter. Simultaneously, my children were in ”Zoom school” and that was an experience unto itself — and not a nice one. Very quickly the expectations of increased research productivity from remote work went out of the window. Managing Zoom calendars and classroom activities for multiple members of my family suddenly became a full-time job. My group’s research is entirely theoretical and computational, so when the closures were announced we quickly moved our research enterprise to our homes. Group members estab- lished their home work environment, sorting out the various connectivity issues and other technical challenges along the way. By early April, we were essentially set-up. Then, we had to work out our day-to-day procedures. We had many conversations about time management and communica- tion. Specifically, we talked about using time blocks, taking intentional breaks, and setting goals that are achievable and specific. Slack was our steady companion as we tried our best to stay in touch with one another. My schedule changed from weekly one-on-one meetings to subgroup meetings based on research themes. We initiated peer mentoring sessions

where students could talk to each other about various topics including time management or other challenges about work- ing from home. Peer mentoring, if nothing else, was at the least a coffee gathering to bring us together. We had our first Zoom qualifying exam, thesis proposal, and thesis defense exams, which all went swimmingly well. I summarize some of the points we have learned as a group over the past few months below. These reflections are not offered as advice to anyone. Rather just insights into how we, as a group, have risen to the challenge of pursuing research in pandemic times. One thing that the pandemic has taught us is that everyone is in a unique situation and what works for one makes no sense to another. 1. Communication. Electronic communication lacks much of the social interaction that we have come to value as a society. • Communicate regularly and often with your team and with your collaborators. Slack is great for low energy, quick check-in type of interaction and emojis can be use- ful in communicating, well, emotions. • Do your best to be available during working hours on Slack (do not slack off on Slack) so that we can stay in touch and set your status to away while taking a break. • “Message me as often as you’d like to check-in. You do not have to worry about whether you are bothering me. I’ll respond when I can.” This is something I iterate to my group members all the time. After all, working with them is one of the biggest perks of my job. • Similarly, do not feel guilty for stepping away from your machine for breaks. • Emails are great for more in-depth conversations on matters that require attention and more thoughtful responses. • When in doubt, communicate. Leave it to the other per- son to decide their time of response. • Silence is not necessarily an indication that everything is okay. • Follow up after a reasonable time if no response is ob- tained.

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