r/GradSchool • u/nafaey_ • 5h ago
Another Group Working On The Same Problem As Me
Hello, for context I am a first year Engineering PhD Student. I have been working on building an experiment since March now. It is close to completion but not exactly complete yet.
I recently found out, another group at another university is building the exact same experiment as me. I mean the exact same. They will be studying the exact same phenomena as me. Their setup is complete and they will be running experiments really soon.
There is no way I will be able to submit anything for publication before them. Does this mean all of my effort now goes to waste?
I have seen other groups publish results for similar experiments before but the problem is ours is literally completely the same. The experiment components would be different but the problem and the approach is completely the same.
My advisor was aware of this other group’s efforts a few months ago and warned me about it and encouraged me to work harder to complete it before them. I think I am too late. Am I completely screwed?
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u/autocorrects 1h ago
5th year ECE PhD…
If you cant beat em, join em
Their PI is new? Perfect, email them or a PhD student in their lab to collaborate, and get published together. Focus on your nuance and your own experimental capabilities for your own publications, and hash out where to draw the line with your collaborators
this is best case scenario. I learned the hard way when I found out another lab was working on something very similar to me. Problem was I was a team of 1 versus a top 10 institution with 15 people, most of which were already PhD holders. They got to the publication first 🤷🏻♂️ it’s part of the process, but it should open up opportunities for you to speak up. In my case, they cited my previous work and also asked me to join their lab for contracted period
Idk how your advisor is, but if you play your cards right here it will show you’re mature and not just kicking shit around. That’s to be expected of a first year though if you’re a chronic student and dont have industry experience, so dont stress out too much and focus on the opportunities rather than the threats. Be persistent, but dont be annoying reaching out either (aka keep your messages as short as humanly possible and don’t create work for other people). Be strategic and try to get in front of them with a zoom meeting at the very least, and use your institution as leverage. This is also what conferences are perfect for. Find the group’s talks and hang around after and strike up a conversation. Not weird at all, go grab a drink and make some friends
If all else fails, be glad you hit your first pivot in year 1 lmao. This is also on the premise of “can’t beat em”… If you can, pedal to the metal and get to work! Let it light a fire under your ass and remember diamonds are made under pressure
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u/geo_walker 4h ago
I would talk to them and see what literature they’re using, hypothesis, etc to see how your experiments are similar and different. Based on that you can add something to make it a little different instead of scrapping everything you’ve worked on so far.
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u/nafaey_ 4h ago
Thing is the PI in that group is new. He’s only been an assistant prof since last year. A major chunk of my literature are just his papers from his phd and another study by another group whose work he reviewed during that study. The test section in both of our experiments are the same. I’m not sure about the exact geometry and the experimental parameters but they would be pretty similar too.
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u/geo_walker 3h ago
It sounds like there’s not a lot of previous information about what you’re researching and having more experiments and information related to it is better. At least you can compare the results from both experiments.
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u/SimpingForGrad 3h ago
In experimental physics having two complementary experiments studying the same phenomenon is healthy.