Graduate Student Checklist

I was thinking of all the knowledge and skills you should have to consider yourself a successful graduate student in my group, which led to this list. Certainly it will take time to acquire all this knowledge, but you should be working towards being an expert with this list. Some of the items you can learn from this wiki and some you may learn from other resources (books, websites, journal articles, etc). Just ask and I can point you in the right direction.

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Graduate Student Checklist

Knowledge

Explain/understand what the following mean

1. Quantum Mechanics/Computational Chemistry
   1. wavefunction, Schrodinger equation, ground-state energy
   2. molecular orbitals, eigenvalues
   3. basis set, Gaussians, plane waves
   4. geometry optimization, convergence criteria
   5. transition state, transition state algorithms
   6. molecular dynamics, algorithms, and ensembles
   7. density functional theory, exchange correlation functional
2. Materials Science
   1. crystal structure, unit cell, supercell
   2. defects
   3. reciprocal space, k-points
   4. density of states, band structure
   5. phonons
   6. metal, semiconductor, insulator
   7. common materials (e.g. metal oxides, metals, etc.)
3. Catalysis
   1. product, reactant, intermediate, and transition states
   2. reaction mechanism and elementary steps
   3. surface structure, surface index
   4. common experimental characterization techniques
   5. catalyst deactivation
   6. linear-scaling relationships
   7. volcano plot

Computational Skills

1. Use linux/unix to edit files, copy files between computers, run programs, etc.
2. Compile a code.
3. Make input file for VASP, CP2K, or the appropriate program.
4. Visualize and edit geometries of molecules.
5. Make a simulation box from experimental data (like a CIF).
6. Make a supercell from a unit cell for input to your program.
7. Make surface coordinates from bulk crystal data.
8. Calculate adsorption energies on a surface.
9. Calculate reaction energies for a given reaction.
10. Calculate vibrational frequencies.
11. Plot and understand density of states, including projected and localized density of states.

Research Skills

1. Read and understand new literature.
2. Be familiar with relevant theoretical and experimental tools of your research field.
3. Be able to perform a literature review on a topic.
4. Know the difference between a scholarly and non-scholarly resource.
5. Know the big challenges or problems in your research field.
6. Understand how a paper/topic fits in the big picture of the research field.
7. Know what makes good data and bad data.
8. Known what makes a good experiment/calculation and bad experiment/calculation.
9. Understand what makes a good scientific argument.
10. Recognize a bad argument/conclusion from data.

Presentation Skills

1. Be able to explain your research to someone in 30 seconds to 2 minutes and have them excited.
2. Make professional plots of your data using appropriate software.
3. Make high-quality images of your molecular systems.
4. Make slides that have exciting visuals and tell a story.
5. Learn the basics of graphic design (color theory, fonts, resolution) for figures and images.
6. Provide appropriate motivation/background for your talk to interest the audience.
7. Give a non-boring presentation of your research.
8. Write an outline of your research paper/topic.
9. Manage and find references using the appropriate software (like Endnote or Jabref).
10. Write a paper from your research.

Bonus

1. Be able to write scripts or simple programs with Python (or similar language).
2. Take ownership of your research and make it your own.