Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Post PhD Plans PhAQ

... or the phrequently asked questions about my life-to-be :).
[kindly excuse the allitration :)]

[Note: Scroll down to see the question I need your help on]

Over the past few days many of you have wished me, some after noticing my post-hooding snap on my facebook and orkut profiles and IM statuses, and some after seeing my post-PhD blog-post. Thanks very much to each of you!

To paraphrase the guy with the webs, with great wishes come a great many questions. So, I figured it would be best to summarize all of them.

Q. So, you are really done? Anything left?
A. Well, I have "successfully defended" my work in front of a committee of Professors, and they have okayed my work. However, I still need to update the text of my thesis -- the intro and related works sections.

Q. So, when do you get done?
A. Hopefully by the end of June.

Q. OK, what after that?
A. I'll be visiting my brother in Atlanta, and then off to INRIA Paris-Rocquencourt, to work as a postdoc with Dr. Valerie Issarny. I intend to live in Versailles, and visit Paris to chill out every once in a while :).

Q. Cool! How long is this going to be?
A. Hopefully 2 years.

Q. And what about your knowledge of French? Do you know la langue française?
A. Mais Oui! [of course!]. All thanks to the Faculty of French at BHU.

Q. Aha! Speaking of BHU, whatever happened to your plans of becoming a faculty member at ITBHU [see last line of this post]? Have you too given in to the lure of money and French wine?
A. Well, this is perhaps the most important question to be asked, since those who know me well know how much I wanted to teach at my alma mater. In all fairness, I applied late last year to be a faculty member there in the CSE department, but was told that there were no vacancies. The current plan is to finish my postdoc at INRIA, and then see where life takes me.

Q. And what about an India trip?
A. Well, the last time I was there was in Dec. 2005. The current plan is to visit again this December, after a productive half-year at INRIA.

Q. Well, enough of the dry academic and career details -- give us some dope now -- what about the personal life? Koi bandi wandi?
A. LOL. Nah. Still single. Still not looking [?]. If you know a well-educated, mature, world-visited, news-reading, geeky, activist type female who would not mind joining someone who wants to be in Indian academia, drop me a line ;).


Q. OK. What is the question you wanted help with?
A. Thanks for asking. You see, a whole bunch of people have asked me what I want as a graduation gift, and I have a tough time figuring it out. Can you please post a comment and suggest something I should ask for, given my tastes and the [near] future plans?

Q. Sure. But can we crash at your place when we visit?
A. Of course! Cya in France! [special treatment to those who post comments and help me with gift selection :D]

Thanks a ton!
-A

24 comments:

  1. hey bro.
    congrats and all the very best.

    all that history at versailles and the high fashion of la belle paris sounds very enticing. enjoy yourself.

    hindustan aao to mulaquat ki koshish karen.

    lots of love,
    didi

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  2. Congratulations, again! Good luck with your post-doc. France (and Paris, in particular) is a great place, and I'm sure you'll have a great time -- especially since you are going there with some facility with French. Have fun!


    Here's a gift idea: ask for a Lonely Planet guide for France!

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  3. Anonymous12:43 AM

    Dr. Pathak,

    Congratulations! Good luck with the future stuff and all :)

    Idea for gift: Ask for an air-ticket Paris-Delhi(?)-Paris ?

    Omkant

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  4. Anonymous1:16 AM

    Ask for a car wash....

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  5. Gift idea: How about a set of Comedy Central DVDs? :)
    http://www.bestprices.com/cgi-bin/vlink/097368890947?source=GBase

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  6. hey dr pathak..
    u r the only guy who i know who would need something like a PhAQ :)
    good to know u r going back to inria.. see more of europe. i can let u know my fav things if u want..
    a lonely planet on europe can be a good gift :)
    harpreet

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  7. Hey congrats Animesh Bhaiya on becoming a Doctor...... :) all d best for Paris.......

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  8. Anonymous2:09 PM

    A. i already got one of those bandi's! :D (pretty much the last one in my circles :P)

    B. and as for the graduation gift, try getting a good multimedia system, eg a apple tv with bose speakers! (that way, you will be able to listen to your fav music, in stlyle and see all of it too!)

    (dreaming, might as well dream a little bigger :)

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  9. Do you have an ipod? if not, you could ask for it. ( more chances your gift-givers will be able to gift this instead of the apple tv with bose speakers :)

    Ps: Liked the FAQ!

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  10. Many congrats Dr. Animesh Pathak.... Wish you good luck with your PostDoc position at INRIA...

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  11. hey sir congrats and very best of luck for your future
    rellly wants to talk you and discuss on some very intersting toipics

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  12. Badhai ho Dr sahab!! Kabhi kabhi purane dosto ko bhi yaad kar lijiya kariye!!

    Sameer.

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  13. Anonymous7:54 PM

    Hw abt a lengthy date wth one on ur fav. women' list?

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  14. Anonymous12:50 AM

    Hearty Congrats!

    Here's my suggestion for a gift (although asking for gift suggestions is a bit suggestive doncha think?)

    GPS/Navigator: so you know where you are.

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  15. Comprehensive list of questions Dr!! :)
    Congratulations and all the very best for Paris!
    Even I would vouch for a copy for lonely planet. Paris would be the best place to see most of Europe while your stint lasts.

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  16. Dr Animesh Pathak PhD - Phinally :)
    congratulations :)

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  17. Anonymous11:29 PM

    Nice!

    I would so love to have an opportunity to live somewhere in Europe for a year or so

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  18. Anonymous6:37 PM

    hi bhaiya
    its gud every time to hear from you about you
    would like to know about your future plans(after 5 years)

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  19. @Anonymous: Thanks for your comments, but I am not sure what info you want. Feel free to email me at animesh @ gmail.com if you have specific questions.

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  20. Hi Animesh Bhaiya,
    needless to say watever u ve written is very awe-inspiring, dreadful( :P)and at the same time very humorous.. i wonder how do you manage all this with such an ease..but then i realise u r a man made of steel(maybe not in actuality :P, i dont know exactly if u ve done some body building abroad).. and dont call urself a geek always... u r the only one who had the spirit of participating everywhere in everything..was gr8 to read ur blog..wish i can see more of them :)

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  21. @Manas: Thanks for the kind words. You can see more of my blog posts by browsing the "blog archives" on the right.

    Also, regarding the geek thing - I didn't call myself a nerd ;-). A geek is simply someone who is after knowing all there is about any topic, and that is me :-).

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  22. congratulations animesh bhaiyya. you're very talented & that's why you have achieved PostDoc position. by the way when are you visiting India? will you be visiting SMCS?

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  23. @Shruti: Thanks. I am researcher here now. Will think of coming to SMCS when I visit India next, but since my parents do not live in MKP anymore, the motivation is a bit less.

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  24. Anonymous8:46 PM

    Hi Animesh bhaiya its nice to see you on orkut after so many years.congrats.

    ReplyDelete