hmmmm does this mean we PhDs are not much inspired by anyone

Johny got in the PhD program. His burning inner desire to understand why tap water are important for modern civilizations was coming tomorrow. This tap water research is not just tap water research it is a tap that fills the knowledge tank of human knowledge.

Ah the contributions he is making. What a wonderful life.

And here comes 2012. Suddenly, there is dark reality looming over human kind. The world is going to end by Dec 31, 2012. It has been found out that some aliens have poisoned the water supplies of earth. Poison is of the sort that when a contaminated water comes in contact with metal used in potable water plumbing system it creates a strange chemical. Drinking this type of water converts a human being into a pig.

Johnny thinks is this his destiny, getting a phd in tap water and 2012 the world at the brink of disaster? what role destiny wants him to play? these thoughts are driving Jhony mad?

when the going is tough...you keep going. Do your best and keep applying.

Has anyone ever inspired you to do something great. We had this great scholar come to our university and he seemed to motivate everyone by his presence and his ideas. There was something about this individual that had such a positive influence on most of the people.

Did you have any similar experiences where someone motivated or inspired you to do something great. I would like to hear your thoughts on what was in that source that motivated you.

Sue and Joyce
Thank you
well, my department is very small, there are only three people in my field. one is retiring and is not interested in taking Phd student aboard, and two othres are A and B. i am stuck between devil and deep sea, i guess:p (i tried using vowels this time 8-)

I am a phd student in the US, and we have a slightly different model than UK. we dont come in the program with a mentor. So I am on the way to start my dissertation. They are two ppl in my department who can chair my dissertation. But i have some issues here.

Option A: is Assoc prof. She is somewhat well-known in her area, and publishes a lot. Her H-index is already 18 or smthng. When i came in the program, I was assigned to her as an RA. We are assigned as an RA for annual basis. and every year these assignments are revised if the need be. so after a year, i was assigned to somebody new in the department. He was an Asst prof who was recently hired. This reassignment made me think that she didnt want to continue working with me. Instead she selected another person M (my colleague) as her RA. i think she thinks M is much more brilliant. anyway, though i was disappointed, I didnt let it affect my morale.

in usa we are supposed to explore working with e one, and it is not necessary to restrict yrself to one faculty, so i tried to continue working with her as well as with the new faculty. During this time, she didnt show much interest in my projects. well maybe, she didnt see potential in them.

Option b: is a new hire. is an Asst prof. fresh out of PHD. he is from a good program. I hv been working with him for a yr. I like his style. he is v respectful , is organized, has a good network, and does not give u tough time.

I talked to few phd students and they r saying that i shld work with option B cause the chairs name matter when getting a job. also option b has no experience of charing a dissertation, some ppl are saying i shld treat him as a 6th yr phd student. he may delay my phd cz of lack of experience. howver, one of a v senior faculty in my department is encouraging me to work with option b.

what do you people suggest

option a: she has name, but she has shown no interest in me so far. i also feel that A is very particular abt who to support. Maybe i am biased, but i think she knows she is successful, therefore she thinks students shld prove to win her support and show potential. she will not give u time or support if she dznt see you as promising investment.
I asked her few months back if she will chair my dissertation, she said yes. But she dznt in general give me the same support as she gives to other student she likes. Maybe my she is not fond of my working style . For example, when i went to her for advice on committee members she said yea whoever i selected are fine. But later i found out, that she had told M to not have one of the faculty members that i also had on the committee. some students told me that she dznt generally recommend that faculty member to her studnets cz he gives lot of trouble in signing off dissertations. I was secretly disappointed that why didnt she guide me abt it. so there are several examples, where she does not guide me as an advisor shld. In my opinion, the reason is that she dznt see me as a promising