Oliver Steinbock
@osteinbock.bsky.social
Chemistry professor studying chemical self-organization and far-from-equilibrium processes. Opinions are my own and not the views of FSU.
And Einstein's dissertation? Basically physical chemistry! 😊
“A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions” estimated molecular radii and Avogadro’s number from sugar diffusion and viscosity. From macroscopic measurements to molecular insight ... classic pchem move.
“A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions” estimated molecular radii and Avogadro’s number from sugar diffusion and viscosity. From macroscopic measurements to molecular insight ... classic pchem move.
September 14, 2025 at 7:30 PM
And Einstein's dissertation? Basically physical chemistry! 😊
“A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions” estimated molecular radii and Avogadro’s number from sugar diffusion and viscosity. From macroscopic measurements to molecular insight ... classic pchem move.
“A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions” estimated molecular radii and Avogadro’s number from sugar diffusion and viscosity. From macroscopic measurements to molecular insight ... classic pchem move.
I always enjoy GRCs. And if you criticize GRCs for being mainly in the US ... well, it's a US org and they do have several international sites (Italy, Switzerland, HK, Spain ... UK in the past). I think the science is awesome and, at ~$1300 for 5 days incl. fees, food, room, it's a great deal.
July 20, 2025 at 3:14 PM
I always enjoy GRCs. And if you criticize GRCs for being mainly in the US ... well, it's a US org and they do have several international sites (Italy, Switzerland, HK, Spain ... UK in the past). I think the science is awesome and, at ~$1300 for 5 days incl. fees, food, room, it's a great deal.
I agree it's complex and there are many layers to it. But then look at Nat Comm which published >10,000 papers last year, probably absorbing >$70m alone. Contrast this to the 2nd most cited paper ever that wasn't peer-reviewed at all ... The current system needs a fundamental overhaul, not tweaking
July 13, 2025 at 3:54 PM
I agree it's complex and there are many layers to it. But then look at Nat Comm which published >10,000 papers last year, probably absorbing >$70m alone. Contrast this to the 2nd most cited paper ever that wasn't peer-reviewed at all ... The current system needs a fundamental overhaul, not tweaking
In 2024, Elsevier net profits alone were $4 billion. For reference, the NSF budget (with staff salaries and everything) was $9 billion that year.
PS: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... gives a 17-paper average. Yes, multiple PIs contribute, but unis also subsidize from overhead etc.
PS: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... gives a 17-paper average. Yes, multiple PIs contribute, but unis also subsidize from overhead etc.
July 13, 2025 at 3:20 PM
In 2024, Elsevier net profits alone were $4 billion. For reference, the NSF budget (with staff salaries and everything) was $9 billion that year.
PS: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... gives a 17-paper average. Yes, multiple PIs contribute, but unis also subsidize from overhead etc.
PS: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... gives a 17-paper average. Yes, multiple PIs contribute, but unis also subsidize from overhead etc.
Or look at it from the other side ... wouldn't science be better off if the enormous profits of Nature, Elsevier et al. were spent on students, postdocs, and actual research? If a PI or university wants to buy "prestige", the money should come from other sources
July 13, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Or look at it from the other side ... wouldn't science be better off if the enormous profits of Nature, Elsevier et al. were spent on students, postdocs, and actual research? If a PI or university wants to buy "prestige", the money should come from other sources
Published data indicate 10-20 papers/R01. Also, with the same argument, you can justify many other poor 1-5% decisions, burning through a lot of precious research money. I suspect that w/o this attitude, lab equipment would be cheaper, conference fees and overhead lower, OA/APCs <= $500 ...
July 13, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Published data indicate 10-20 papers/R01. Also, with the same argument, you can justify many other poor 1-5% decisions, burning through a lot of precious research money. I suspect that w/o this attitude, lab equipment would be cheaper, conference fees and overhead lower, OA/APCs <= $500 ...
I disagree. First of all, this is a matter of principle. Second, if you publish 10 papers on a grant that's $100k, and with overhead $150k. Even $75k is way too much. If you have big grants that allow you to not pinch every penny, congrats, but it does not apply to the majority of scientists.
July 12, 2025 at 10:13 PM
I disagree. First of all, this is a matter of principle. Second, if you publish 10 papers on a grant that's $100k, and with overhead $150k. Even $75k is way too much. If you have big grants that allow you to not pinch every penny, congrats, but it does not apply to the majority of scientists.
Well, it did in this case :) See my other post
July 7, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Well, it did in this case :) See my other post
o3 also wrote: "I have published on chemical information processing and DNA strand-displacement kinetics." << who knows, might be true 😅
July 6, 2025 at 6:12 PM
o3 also wrote: "I have published on chemical information processing and DNA strand-displacement kinetics." << who knows, might be true 😅
Is this what you meant? My prompt was "write a fair and honest referee report for the following paper" + a recent paper from my group (tex) with inserted "secret white instructions". It wrote an okayish report (I'd say no impact of insertion), and when prompted again about ethical issues ...
July 6, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Is this what you meant? My prompt was "write a fair and honest referee report for the following paper" + a recent paper from my group (tex) with inserted "secret white instructions". It wrote an okayish report (I'd say no impact of insertion), and when prompted again about ethical issues ...
why would a lazy referee use API?
July 6, 2025 at 5:36 PM
why would a lazy referee use API?