So, I worked on my master's thesis (10 months of work), handed in everything and was finished. I left the lab afterwards because I want to change my research direction.
I was told that a colleague would continue my work, and that is fine. I gave her all my data and told her everything I know.
Now I got an email from my P.I. with an abstract submission e-mail attached. It is my data (nothing new added) except with my colleague on first spot (meaning she got to go to the conference if its accepted). I was mentioned as second author.
My P.I. wrote that she decided to let my colleague go because I am not in the lab anymore and that she wrote the abstract and would continue the work on the project.
Now I am not sure whether to be mad or not. It is my data, all of it, don't I deserve to smell some of that academic air at a conference presenting my work? Or did she choose correctly?
I had my thesis defense 2 weeks ago, so its nothing really old...
Hubski, what do you think?
Edit: I am more pissed about the fact that I was not asked if I wanted to go to the conference... I wouldn't have a problem with my colleague going, not at all. But now I see an abstract, with my name on second place, with my data (and my data only, I started the project) presented at a major conference in my field by somebody who had nothing to do with the project a month ago :(
Edit2: I also posted the same question to reddit -> AskAcademia. Surpsiringly, I got totally different answers. Summarized, they are telling me that what my P.I. did was okay.
Have you contacted your colleague yet to get her perspective on what happened and what she thinks about it? Have you tried to identify exactly what it is that makes you more pissed about not being asked if you wanted to go to the conference? You mention that this happened recently, but have you thought about what might be done in the present or future to "set things" right for you?I am more pissed about the fact that I was not asked if I wanted to go to the conference...
I contacted my colleague. She is a kind person, she felt bad about what happened (and I truly believe her). She said that she suggested to put me as first author and if I didn't have time to go instead for me. But my P.I. did it the way she did it. What I am most pissed about that I am being overthrown (?). She just took my data (which is my mental property, I generated it, I invested time and thoughts in it) and just used it to send somebody else to the conference without EVEN asking me if it was okay. Thats like robbery, somehow... I think my P.I. should ask me if I wanted to go, then I would tell her that I am not going and tell her to send my colleague instead. But as the abstract is already submitted I can't change anything. I feel like if I am going to whine about it, it would harm my future. She might not write a good letter of recommendation for me or something similar... It feels like I am actually making a decision that could impact my future in a (possibly) negative way. That is why I am going to back off and let things be. One day when I am a prof. I will not do the same mistakes my P.I. did. Treat people (and their data) with respect!
Hang on a second. It doesn't seem to me like you are whining. It seems like you put real time and real effort into something and want recognition for that fact. I think you're absolutely right in wanting that recognition and to be worried about how your actions might result in some kind of retribution. Obviously, I don't know you or your P.I., but do you get the feeling that she did this intentionally? In your original post, you do mention that you wanted to change your research direction. Is it possible that she is unaware of how her actions have affected you? Is this something that fits a pattern of behavior that has negatively impacted others? I don't think that bringing up your concerns constitutes whining about it. I also don't think that to get recognition for this that you have to be confrontational. It may be that your P.I. acted in an unprofessional manner and that's something that should be addressed. If your institution has any sort of dispute/conflict resolution specialists or mediators, you might be well served by voicing your concerns to them or some other neutral third party with an interest in seeing both of you preserve the relationship and continue to work within the institution. I don't know where you are, though I did see that you mentioned Europe, but in the US many universities and colleges (and increasingly hospitals and private companies) have these kinds of people, of whom other people within the organization might not be aware of.It feels like I am actually making a decision that could impact my future in a (possibly) negative way. That is why I am going to back off and let things be.
Depends where the conference is. I recently got asked to present someone else's work (a project on which I was more or less a consultant) at a conference that the main author couldn't attend due to scheduling conflict. I declined. Because it was in New Haven, CT. If it were in the Caribbean, or maybe even CA or FL, I would've gone in a heartbeat. But New Haven? Fuck that all to hell.
I don't really have an opinion of it. I wasn't specifically trashing New Haven; just sayin' that if I'm going anywhere in March, it better damn well be a place I can have a cocktail on the patio. I live in Detroit, and it's been cold as balls here since about mid-December. Kinda over it by now.
The director of our department often co-opts our ideas and has more investigators pursue them. The guy I share an office with was recently awarded a $1.8M grant for work that mk and I started. Honestly, it doesn't bother me that much, because we kind of have a communist system in out department. We all see some benefit, and the director knows what's what. That said, I would love a whopper of a grant like that for my own CV.
Isn't it considered part of teaching? It is not like I have 30 conferences a year and its just one of them. It would be my second conference ever. And I have the feeling that I can present my own work much better than my colleague, and answer the questions that might come up much better...
Communication is undervalued, perhaps you ought to communicate your feelings to the appropriate person in a constructive way.
Look at it from your PI's perspective - she's gotta deal with your colleague. She doesn't have to deal with you. Also, it's research that you handed off - not research that are continuing to work on. If one person can go, it should probably be the person who has the most recent exposure to the subject. Yeah, you can be cranky about it but it's not like the decision is surprising. Look at the bright side - my mother's PI took her thesis and presented it as his own. Got grants that kept his lab going for a year because of it. My mom couldn't do jack shit about it because she'd been committed with bipolar disorder. He faced no consequences whatsoever and my mother fled to the community colleges.
I am more pissed about the fact that I was not asked if I wanted to go to the conference... I wouldn't have a problem with my colleague going, not at all. But now I see an abstract, with my name on second place, with my data (and my data only, I started the project) presented at a major conference in my field by somebody who had nothing to do with the project a month ago :(