As a family scientists, I’ve written for – and received, over 1.5 million dollars in federal funding to run theoretical or applied research. Some scientists reach the hundreds of millions by the time they retire. There are also, however, new scientists who are just starting their careers and dreaming of their first grant award…and that’s where I come in.
Standing in front of classrooms full of graduate students, I have painstakingly answered questions on what it takes to write a successful grant proposal. And, during the budgeting information, I ALWAYS tell them this: “Please…please for the love of all that you cherish, build in some breathing room. No matter how detailed and accurately you think your budget has been prepared, you will run into surprises. And, sometimes those surprises are costly.”
I had flashbacks to those classroom sessions when I opened our camera case this morning. In the case was everything I had ordered and paid for. One camera; some wires to connect to a computer; one battery. Wait. ONE battery? Oh, this can’t be good…
A few minutes go by while I order a package of back-up batteries and a car charger. We’re going to be miles from people and plug-ins. We need a car charger. I completed my order and went back to the camera case.
A tripod. I need a tripod. I KNEW I needed a tripod, but for some reason when I made my list of inventory and sat down to research prices and place all the orders, tripods just didn’t come up. Cripes. Continue reading EPOTM: Doorbells Ringing; Mailboxes Bursting →
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