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Condensed matter

Condensed matter

Blog Life: Nanoscale Views

29 Feb 2008
Doug Natelson

Blogger: Doug Natelson
URL: nanoscale.blogspot.com
First post: June 2005

Who is the blog written by?

Doug Natelson is a condensed-matter physicist at Rice University in the US. He is interested in understanding the physics of solid-state systems at the nanometre scale and has recently been investigating the problem of quantum decoherence using metal nanowires.

What topics does the blog cover?

The blog mainly looks at scientific developments in condensed-matter and nano-scale physics. Natelson gives simplified explanations of his own work, for instance, as well as regularly rounding up and describing other interesting condensed-matter research papers. The blog also covers science-related issues that crop up in his day-to-day work, such as writing research proposals, and Natelson sometimes draws attention to interesting or amusing physics-related articles in the media. Last November, for example, he highlighted an article in the UK’s Daily Telegraph newspaper that reported on a suggestion by physicist Lawrence Krauss of Case Western Reserve University in the US that our observations of dark energy may have shortened the universe’s life expectancy.

Who is it aimed at?

Unlike many other physics blogs, Nanoscale Views does not appear to be targeted primarily at the author’s colleagues. Natelson often goes to some length to explain scientific ideas at a level that is accessible to those not actively working in his area of physics; and when talking about the ins and outs of life as an academic, he seems well aware that many of his readers might come from different backgrounds. Judging by the comments, however, there are nonetheless plenty of condensed-matter researchers among his readership.

Why should I read it?

A good reason to read this blog is to learn more about cutting-edge condensed-matter research. It is a unique source of information because it explains the very latest results — most of which would not make it into the scientific news media — in a clear and relatively accessible way. Nanoscale Views also provides plenty of interesting insights into the behind-the-scenes life of an academic physicist for readers from outside this community. Recently, for example, Natelson has been helping sort abstracts for the American Physical Society’s March meeting, and his posts are extremely revealing about the amount of work that goes into organizing such a large scientific conference.

How often is it updated?

Usually once every five or six days, which is infrequent compared with many blogs, but Natelson’s posts are generally lengthy, and are usually written as standalone articles.

Can you give me a sample quote?

Writing equipment proposals these days feels like a complete throw of the dice. For those who don’t know, after your startup period, it can be challenging to get the resources needed to buy significant pieces of equipment (say $200K–$400K). You can’t just ask for that kind of equipment as part of a standard grant proposal, which is why they set up separate proposals just for gadgetry. I’m trying to get a piece of equipment that will be a major boost to all areas of my research program, and after the initial grant period I’m planning on adding it to Rice’s shared instrumentation pool so that it’s there to help the whole campus community. The big question is, with the current budget woes, what’s going to happen to this program? Is the proposal success rate going to be 10%? Lower?

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