Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Profs’ Holidays a Marriage of Work and Play

While the students are away the professors will play — sort of. The winter break may have seen Georgetown students heading home for the holidays, flying everywhere from warm California and south Florida to snowy New Jersey. But for many professors, the off time did not allow for much time to lounge at the beach.

Several professors spent their time attending conferences and presenting research. One of them, Sona Vasudevan, an assistant professor of medical education, traveled to Chennai, India, for an international conference on bioinformatics.

“My vision is for India to become a leader in bioinformatics,” Vasudevan said. But the ivory tower was not Vasudevan’s only destination. Born and raised in India, she also had the opportunity to visit some of her family.

Another professor set out to reach some milestones, by getting married, moving cities and starting a brand new job. Manus Patten, a new professor shipped down from Harvard, has just started his work as an assistant professor in the biology department.

The last exam he needed to proctor in Cambridge was on Dec. 18, the same day he tied the knot down in D.C. Several other teaching assistants stepped up and handled the grading. Patten was able to make his own wedding, though he and his spouse skipped out on their own honeymoon.

“We headed up to romantic Chicago to see family a couple days early,” he said. “We called it our ‘funnymoon.'”

A formal honeymoon does not appear to be on the horizon; both Patten and his wife are worn out after starting brand new jobs, settling down in a new city and organizing a wedding.

“We’re sick of planning things,” he said. After setting up shop in his office and settling into his apartment, Patten has other priorities to take care of. “I’ve been trying to find a barber,” Patten said.

But science professors were not the only ones working hard over the holidays. Several professors in the finance department, including Reena Aggarwal, spent the first week in January on the lookout for potential new hires at the American Finance Association’s annual meeting in Denver.

“It is a major event for faculty recruiting,” Aggarwal said. It was not all intense sessions on the state of the economy and hedge-fund research, however, as Aggarwal and her associates took advantage of the perks that come along with conferences.

“These meetings are great actually,” Aggarwal said. “You get to be with people in your profession … and there are some great dinners and lunches.”

She admitted that like students, professors were ready for winter break, but said that she and most others were genuinely excited for the students to come back to campus.

Some professors acknowledge the designated time off, but still can’t quite break away. The paduano distinguished professor of biology Joseph Neale spent all but a week of his break working in his research lab and writing manuscripts. He did spend “a glorious six days” lounging poolside in Palm Springs, Calif., but his attention was on a hefty 700-page volume titled “Neuroscience” that he will be incorporating into his neurobiology course this semester.

For professors at Georgetown, winter “break” is a bit of a misnomer. Vasudevan’s students summed it up well.

“I told my students on the last day of class that I’m exhausted, and I’m going to take this break,” Vasudevan said. “But [my students] said, ‘you’re still going to work.'”

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