New and Improved Goal List

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I will be moving to Boulder, Colorado this upcoming summer, and along with the change of scenery, I have designed a shiny new goal list.

1. Get tenure.
This one is pretty obvious.  The tenure system at CU-Boulder runs on a seven year clock, so this is one of the long-term goals on my list.  In the meantime, I hope to submit at least five journal papers and three grant proposals this upcoming year.  (Yeah, I really don't see much sleep in my immediate future.)

2. Become a first-time home buyer.
I was originally planning to wait to buy a home, but interest rates are ''historically low'' and there are signs that housing prices in Boulder will rise substantially in the coming year.  Besides, it would be really wonderful not to hear my next-door neighbor's every move late into the night.  With that in mind, Sarah and I might just have to move into the mountains.

3. Break 36:00 at the 2014 Bolder Boulder.
I really miss being fast or, at the very least, faster than I currently am.  So, when I officially decided to move to Boulder, I became increasingly excited at the possibility of getting back into shape and running the famous roads in Boulder and up and down mountains.  Next year, I am aiming to get down into the high 16:00's for the 5K and break 36:00 at the Bolder Boulder 10K, but in the future, I also hope to start doing some trail races/marathons.

4. Climb all of Colorado's Fourteeners.
There are 55 lofty peaks in Colorado that top 14,000 feet, and I want to conquer all of them.

5. Get serious about homebrew.
Sure, I have been having a whole lot of fun with the homebrewing experience.  I concocted a tasty sweet stout out of chestnuts and crafted a cider that will kick you in the pants.  However, I have only begun to scratch the surface.  In the coming years, I hope to up my game by taking various measures, including the following: (i) putting together an all-grain setup, (ii) kegging, (iii) purchasing a genuine cider-press, and (iv) building my own house bar.

6. Build a BBQ smoker.
I love BBQ and everybody knows it.  Unfortunately, I have tasted some of the 'cue in Colorado, and it just isn't up to snuff.  This has inspired me to build my very own BBQ smoker in the hopes that I might someday rival the likes of Aaron Franklin and John Mueller (okay, that might be a stretch).  In all seriousness, my uncle has actually managed to produce some quality BBQ on his own smoker in Denver, so I have some reassurance this isn't too misguided of a goal.

Exciting News Update

I have received a tenure-track offer from the University of Colorado Boulder to join the Aerospace Engineering Sciences faculty, and I am very excited to report that I have officially accepted said offer.  I will be moving to Boulder in July and need to quickly accomplish everything on my Austin Bucket List before then.  I am very much looking forward to working with all the faculty at CU-Boulder, and mountains of course are a huge bonus.  Exciting times ahead.

Goals Update #5: Homebrewing

Finally, I come to the end of my "Goals Update" series with a post discussing my fifth goal from a year ago:

Successfully brew a halfway-decent gluten-free beer.

So, you ask, how did things go on the homebrewing front?  Well, to put it shortly, good and bad.  My friends Chris and Zohaib and I began our homebrewing mission by producing "gluten-reduced" beer.  Namely, we used Clarity Ferm, a clearing agent, to "denature" some of the gluten proteins found in a standard barley beer.  The result was a fantastically delicious blonde ale which unfortunately made me quite sick.  It was a worth a try, but I unfortunately had to try a different approach.  I then brewed up a gluten-free pale ale recipe from Austin Homebrew Supply that called for a sorghum base and a generous supply of hops.  The result?  I didn't get sick, but the sorghum made for an off-putting, metal-like flavor.  I was quite disheartened at this stage in the game, but I then read about chestnut beers on HomeBrewTalk.com.  I quickly went to work, and after a failed initial recipe, I successfully brewed a delicious Chestnut Sweet Stout from chestnuts, oats, brown rice syrup, molasses, milk sugar, and espresso.  For the recipe, check out my post on the HomeBrewTalk.com forums.

Lately, I have dived into a different arena - crafting homebrewed cider.  My first product, inspired by Edwort's Apfelwein, is almost complete, and it is a fantastic, dry cider at about 9% abv.  I oaked it using medium-toasted oak cubes which were soaked in whiskey, which I found rounds out the cider quite nicely.  I am quite excited to taste the cider upon completion (it is already quite nice at this stage), and I look forward to brewing up more ciders in the future.
 
Goal Status: Outstanding Success

Second Chance: A Gluten-Free Chestnut Sweet Stout

High Noon: A Gluten-Free Red Quinoa Pale Ale

Fruit of the Entwives: An Oak-Conditioned Extra Dry Cider

Goals Update #4: The Great Texas BBQ Adventure

I got sidetracked this last month by a collection of neverending tasks, but I finally have the time today to continue my "Goals Update" series.  So, without further adieu, let's discuss my fourth goal from a year ago:

Check out every BBQ joint on Texas Monthly's Top 50 list.

If you recall, I set this goal after I visited Franklin BBQ for the first time about fifteen months ago.  Before Franklin changed my worldview, I honestly did not care for smoked beef brisket.  It was always so tough, dry, and lacking in flavor.  Franklin changed all of that.  My first bite into a slice of Aaron Franklin's brisket was pure smoky nirvana.  I was hooked from the get-go, and I made it my goal to find the best BBQ joints throughout the great Texas countryside.

My journey started off fast and furious, and I explored small Texas town after small Texas town with a collection of friends.  Lockhart, Elgin, Luling, Lexington, La Grange.  Eventually, I discovered that I would have to travel obnoxious distances to continue my BBQ quest (Texas is an enormous state), and my great Texas BBQ adventure naturally slowed down.  Nonetheless, whenever I have a spare weekend and a few hours to kill, I try to knock off another BBQ joint or two on my expansive list.  I have no illusions that I will actually accomplish my initial goal of visiting all the Top 50 BBQ joints, but I am already quite happy with the progress I have made.

Here is a list of some of the BBQ joints I have checked out over the last year: (1) Franklin BBQ in Austin, (2) Cooper's in Llano, (3) Smitty's Market in Lockhart, (4) Kreuz Market in Lockhart, (5) Luling City Market in Luling, (6) Snow's BBQ in Lexington, (7) JMueller in Austin (now closed), (8) Opie's BBQ in Spicewood, (9) Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, (10) Stiles Switch BBQ and Brew in Austin, (11) The Salt Lick in Driftwood, (12) Southside Market in Elgin, (13) Opie's BBQ in Spicewood, (14) Prause Meat Market in Lagrange, (15) Zimmerhanzel's Bar B Que in Smithville, (16) Lambert's Downtown Barbecue in Austin, (17) Wilhite's Barbecue in Creedmoor, (18) Gonzales Food Market in Gonzales, (19) Cousin's BBQ in Fort Worth, (20) Black's Barbecue in Lockhart, and (21) Big Boy's Barbecue in Sweetwater.  Of all these joints, Franklin BBQ, Snow's BBQ, and Louie Mueller Barbecue are my undoubted favorites.  Stiles Switch has also become a bit of a favorite for me, if only for the convenience of location.  I can easily bike to Stiles Switch for a quick bite, and, if I like, I can stop by Black Star Co-Op afterwards for a gluten-free brew or two following the 'cue.  Good times to be had by all.

In the next few months, I would like to visit a few last places before I leave town.  Yes, it's true, I will be leaving town in July - blog update to follow.  In particular, I would like to hit up Fargo's Pit BBQ in Bryan, Pecan Lodge in Dallas, Heavy's BBQ and Gatlin's BBQ in Houston, City Market in Schulenberg, and Maywald's Sisterdale Smokehouse in Sisterdale.  We will see if I actually will be able to actually visit all of these places.  And yes, before you ask, I would love the company.

Goal Status: Satisfactory Progress

A Bittersweet End

I must admit, that loss last night stung.  The 'Cuse came so close to a glorious comeback against Michigan, but in the end, they come up short.  That being said, the Orange exceeded all expectations this tournament season, and I am glad to see they went as far as they did.  I wish both Louisville and Michigan the best of luck in the championship game.  Though Louisville crushed Syracuse in the second half of the Big East tourney finale, I must admit I will be pulling for Rick Pitino's squad.  It is only fitting that the Big East go out with a "bang".

Goals Update #3: "Un tocco di italiano"

The third goal I set a year ago was the following:

Learn Italian.

Well, I added Rosetta Stone Italian to my Amazon.com wish list.  That has to count for something.

Goal Status: No Progress

Goals Update #2: Marathon Training

Today, I continue my series of updates with the second goal I set a year ago:

Run sub-3:00 during the 2013 Austin Marathon.

When I set this goal a year ago, I figured it to be a bit conservative based on my previous racing experiences.  However, I just needed to get my feet out the door.  I started off on the right foot, bringing my mileage up to about 50 miles/week by the end of the summer.  I signed up for the Austin Distance Challenge, a series of races leading up to the big kahuna itself, and even purchased a copy of "Advanced Marathoning" by Pfitzinger and designed an extensive six month training plan.  Then, fate struck, and I tweaked my back during an easy eight mile run around the neighborhood.  As I hobbled back to my apartment, I thought it was just a minor tweak, but as the weeks went by and I still was not able to run, I came to grips with the reality that the 2013 Austin Marathon was not going to happen.

I finally got out the door for a run about two or three weeks ago, and during the run, I realized that my back was out of sorts even after all this time.  So, I decided to see a sports chiropractor to see what was going on.  I had my first appointment this morning, and it appears that I have a lumbar sprain/strain as well as lumbar joint dysfunction.  It will take a little time for me to get back to normal, but I honestly should have called someone months ago.  Stubbornness got the best of me, and I thought that time was the only medicine I needed.  During the last few weeks, I have also looked into various marathon options for next fall and/or spring.  I would like to visit somewhere I have not been before rather than run a marathon in my backyard.  This way, I would be able to see some new sights, and I would have substantial financial investment in the race between plane tickets, hotel reservations, and registration fees.  Hopefully such an investment will inspire me just a tad bit more.  Right now, I am leaning towards the Portland Marathon in October, but I am hesitant to make any commitments before my back heals up.   With any luck, that will be sooner rather than later.

Goal Status: Sidelined but Inspired

Goals Update #1: The Job Search

Just over a year ago, I set a list of five goals to keep the engine primed after successfully defending my Ph.D. and getting married.  I figure now is as good a time as any to look back at those goals, see where I am in terms of achieving them, and tweaking as necessary.

The first goal on the list was the following:

Successfully land a tenure-track faculty position for the 2013-2014 academic year.

When I went ahead and set this goal, I had no idea what kind of whirlwind adventure laid ahead for me.  The academic job market was in dire straits, and I had not applied for any kind of job in nearly a decade.  Nevertheless, I plugged ahead and applied for approximately twenty positions in both mathematics and mechanical/aerospace engineering departments.  I soon discovered the pain and suffering in trying to define your academic past, present, and future in two relatively short documents - the research and teaching statements.  In contrast with seemingly everyone else in science and engineering, I found the teaching statement easy to write.  I appreciate and enjoy teaching, have a fairly well-thought-out teaching philosophy, and know what I can teach and what I like to teach.  On the other hand, I found the research statement excruciatingly difficult to write.  I have conducted research in several topics and with many different people, and when I first sat down to write my research statement, I was at a loss for defining and specifying my "research persona".  That being said, I found the research statement an excellent exercise in self-reflection, and it allowed me to really pin down who I was from a research perspective, what I bring to the table, and how I can impact the field.

After reading several successful research statements, perusing through various advice columns, and talking to a collection of different faculty members, I found the most successful research statements (at least in science and engineering) address six questions: "Who?", "What?", "Why?", "How?", "Where?", and "When?".

• The "Who?" question concerns who exactly the applicant is and what they bring to the table, especially in regards to the advertised position.  The "Who?" question is a question of fit.
• The "What?" question concerns the applicant's research area.  What field/subfield does the applicant work in exactly?  Clarity and relevance are critical.
• The "Why?" question concerns why the applicant is pursuing his or her particular research topic(s).  The ideal statement should state the questions the applicant has answered in his or her current and past research and seeks to answer in future research, and the ideal statement should also emphasize the importance of the applicant's research.
• The "How?" question is the counterpart to the "Why?" question.  The "Why?" question deals with problems.  The "How?" question deals with answers.
• The "Where?" question consists of three parts.  The first part is purely physical - where was the applicant's past and present research conducted, and where will future research be conducted (lab requirements, internal/external collaborators, etc.)?  The second part of the "Where?" question is where exactly does the applicant fit in his or her field/subfield?  The third part of the question is where will the applicant look to for funding opportunities?
• The "When?" question concerns timeline.  The ideal statement should address past and present research, and it should provide a timeline for future research.  What are the most immediate research topics the applicant will pursue?  What are long-term research goals?

I also found the most successful research statements I read were logically ordered.  They began with an executive statement/summary that highlights research interests and goals.  This part of the statement is absolutely critical as many search committee members won't read past the first paragraph or two.  Then, the statements had a section on past and present research followed by a section on future research, and they finished by discussing potential funding sources and institution-specific research plans and collaborations.  I ultimately tried to emulate this structure in my research statements.

My own job search has been fairly successful, especially considering that this was my first year on the market.  I have had a couple of interviews, both in mathematics and in mechanical/aerospace engineering, and there is a decent chance I will ultimately achieve my goal of landing a tenure-track position for the upcoming academic year.  I discovered that departments associated with mathematics and mechanical/aerospace engineering operate very differently, and the job application process is also very different between the two fields.  Mathematics faculty searches look for talent across a wide range of disciplines, while engineering faculty searches tend to key in on specific focus areas.  There is even a huge jobs database for mathematics openings, while you have to search a bit harder for openings in engineering.  Consequently, applying to mathematics and engineering positions each have their own advantages and disadvantages.  As mathematics searches are often so open-ended, there are several hundred applicants for each available position, but there is also a larger pool of job openings to explore.  On the other hand, there tends to be fewer applicants for positions in engineering, but there are fewer opportunities available as engineering searches focus on specific areas.

In closing, I just wanted to emphasize the fact that the job application process allowed me to really pin-down who I am academically.  I have worked my entire academic career at the intersection of applied mathematics, computer science, and mechanical/aerospace engineering, and this initially created issues for me in the job application process.  I was not sure if I should apply both to mathematics and engineering departments or just one or the other, and I was not even sure I could classify myself as either an applied mathematician or as a mathematically-oriented engineer.  What I finally discovered is that classifications matter little in the long run - what really matters is doing good and relevant work.  The best people don't try to bog themselves down with questions of identity.  Rather, they have fruitful collaborations, conduct high-impact research, and cause a stir.  So, here's to hoping I stir things up in the coming years.

Update on May 5, 2013: I have received a tenure-track offer from the University of Colorado Boulder to join the Aerospace Engineering Sciences faculty, and I am very excited to report that I have officially accepted said offer.  I will be moving to Boulder in July and need to quickly accomplish everything on my Austin Bucket List before then =P.

Goal Status: Outstanding Success

Like a Phoenix?

My, oh how time has passed.  Let's just say life got a bit crazy - but in a good way.  A lot has happened over the last few months, but that's the past and I would rather not reflect on that.  Not when something so special is happening right now.  You know exactly what I am talking about.

'Cuse basketball.  There is not a thing in the world as precious to me as the Syracuse Orange (okay, Sarah comes first, but 'Cuse is a close second).  Like a Phoenix, the Orange have returned to form right on cue and made it to their first Final Four in a decade.  And while this might not be Jim Boeheim's most talented team, they are executing the 2-3 zone to perfection and, in my humble opinion, have a chance to bring back some of the magic 'Melo and crew provided back in 2003.  After all, CJ's block on Vander Blue's 3 point attempt in yesterday's game against Marquette was eerily similar to Hakim's block on Kansas' Lee 10 years ago.  The resemblance is truly uncanny - CJ and Hakim were even wearing the same orange head band.

 

 CJ's Block on Vander Blue

 

Hakim's Block on Michael Lee

In any event, I look forward to watching Syracuse in Atlanta and seeing if they can manage to reach the holy grail.  And if they happen to beat Louisville in the process, I will be one happy man.