Precarity and Uncertainty in Academic Research: Academic Publishing and Precarious Careers

Precarity and uncertainty are common themes in academic research. In fact, the aim of research projects is often to produce information to reduce uncertainty and tackle precarity across all areas of society. However, what happens if the academic process itself is tested by precarious conditions? In this event, we will explore the academic process and how academics navigate multiple roles to further both their research and their career. This will shine a light on the process of scientific publication and in what ways academic metrics can be gamed. Specifically, this talk will consider the impact of the publishing industry and to what extend more publications translate to more science and its impact.

Dr. Felix Wiesner is an expert in fire safety engineering, with a focus on the fire performance of timber buildings and infrastructure. He has extensive experience in large-scale compartment fire tests to assess the fire dynamics in engineered timber buildings and their structural response. His research interests also consider the role of fire safety within the context of durability and service life of wood products.

Stephanie Savage (MLIS, MA) is a Scholarly Communications and Copyright Services Librarian at the University of British Columbia. In her role she provides copyright education to the university community and helps researchers navigate the publication process while encouraging the adoption of open practices and dissemination strategies. She is a member of the Directory of Open Access Journals Council and Co-Chair of the Coalition Publica Library Users Group, working with these organizations to help build and maintain an open and equitable academic publishing ecosystem. Stephanie is also an advocate for user rights and has conducted research on libraries’ role in legislative reform and possible legislative solutions to further open access. Currently, she is also a Visiting Program Officer with the Canadian Association of Research Libraries, focusing on copyright and public policy as it pertains to advancing research and promoting sustainable knowledge creation and access.

Dr. Jaya Joshi is a synthetic biologist interested in the directed evolution of enzymes to transform inefficient designer biocatalysts into highly active enzymes. Jaya recently finished a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Andrew Hanson at the University of Florida and moved to Dr. Vincent Martin’s lab at the Centre for Structural and Functional Genomics, Montreal, to explore the enormous power of biofoundries in the field of synthetic biology. Her research walks through enzyme design space: exploring fitness landscapes for radical metabolic engineering design ideas, guided by the aim of successful implementation of carbon farming by 2050. Metabolic engineering of microbes with tailor-made catalysts that could convert biomass-derived feedstocks into fuels, valuable commodities, or pharmaceutical products will pave the way for sustainable chemistry.