昨天一天很忙没有太光顾科学网，晚间稍微注意到刘洋博主的，Publish or perish下教授之殇，也没有认真想。睡前发现谢力博主公开问讯我的看法，于是回头认真看了一遍刘洋的博文，给了谢力博主一些认真的回复。现在发现谢力博主隐藏了那篇博文，希望他能重新把我的评论贴出来。

总的来说，这篇博文只是一面之词，里面太多疑点，更重要的是，信中描述的情况根本不符合英国的和谐社会现实。

搜索到更多情况，全部英文贴在最下面，这里给出一点细节。

英国近年来受到世界科研风气的影响，明显有点追逐论文数量之嫌，但是还是很照顾质量的，简单的说：1。高引用指数的论文希望多发，2。高质量的重要重大突破工作依然鼓励（这样论文发表的期刊引用指数可能不够高），3。最看重从外面拿钱（基金）的实力。

实际上，几乎所有大学都有一些人混日子的，一辈子到退休都没有拿到过一个基金，这一点都不奇怪。

但是，很强的大学中很强的系/学院，强手如林，都有自己的小圈子文化，混日子很可能是不行的。

帝国理工应该不是一个容易混日子的大学，特别作为一个小领域的教授，可能没有椅子教授（chair professor）的名，但是要有椅子教授的实：你自己的课题组要做得好，还要带领小领域的团队，包括讲师到教授的一帮兄弟哥们的课题组，都要做得不错。如果只是一个个体户（单个的课题组）恐怕在帝国理工这样的环境中，多乎哉，不多也！

一位这样的教授，通常把好几个组组织起来联合申请一个课题（科研团队托拉斯），这样更容易拿到，并且是大船，有了大风大浪也比较平稳。有了这样的结构，系/学院领导也很难去动其中一个小课题组，也不会那样做。因为这个集体中总会有弱的，但是总体很强，这足够了。

我本人不知道Stefan Grimm教授的课题组是怎样的，他那里是不是有大船我也不清楚，如果他是一个个体户，被人抓到小辫子整一把，也是可以理解的。但是要知道，50岁的年龄是黄金时期（具体这里不说了，超过55岁也有真正的危险），好几年拿不到基金，是不可想象的，特别是在帝国理工这样的环境。

关于开人，英国的开人过程绝对不是粗暴的，这点国内的绝大多数是根本不了解的，两国文化杂这里很冲突。

参考下面的英文资料和常识，大概过程这样：

1。好几年都没有达到要求，系里会注意到，可能开会或者群发邮件中会提醒所有人，请大家注意满足条件；

2。下一步，可能有专意的提醒。如果有正常反应让系里了解目前的情况，后面的步骤就没有了。

3。系里举行一个非正式的面对面召见，informal interview，讨论严峻情况，要求对策。如果反应正确，系里清楚了解并理解，后面的步骤就没有了。

4。3 中的过程没有效果，那就是一个formal interview，管理方很严肃告诉你，你达不到工作要求，需要考虑被开。这时候还有很多机会和时间抗辩，并采取行动改善工作，完全可能扳回来，参见5。

5。4过后一段时间，会看实际进展如何，可能继续走程序，也可能收回开人的意愿。

6。正式发出通知，你被开了，你的工资到什么时候结束，教授估计最少6个月。到了这个地步，就算有机会也没有人有心情扳回来了，树挪死人挪活。

看了下面的英文资料，得出的印象：

系里发现Stefan Grimm教授好几年没有外来资助，而Stefan Grimm教授也递交出去很多申请，但是都没有中。

帝国理工的这个系要求每位教授平均每年进帐基金20万镑，要求不算高，相信对该系讲师应该不是这样。就这样的学科这样的牛校，才要求平均每年进帐基金20万镑，有点偏低。

比如我所在的物理学科，一项国家基金一般略微超过30万镑三年，平均就是10万镑每年。如果一个像样大学的教授就靠这样的收入，不算丢人，但是真的没有足够的脸面在大家面前晃。50岁左右的教授一般能得到一个项目大于50万镑三年期（平均就17万镑），同时还有小项目。

再举个例子，中国科学院的北京物理所，大概60个课题组（每个课题组最少一个研究员一个副研博后学生若干），如果某一年某个课题组没有重点项目和重大项目在研，只有几个面上项目，很明显，该课题组长真的没有足够的脸面在大家面前晃，还是等人少的时候低头快速走路，少让大家看见。如果连续几年都这样，所长或者学术委员会的头头就会找你喝茶了，嘿嘿，意思大家都知道。如果谈话过后，某位50岁的课题组长就像帝国理工Stefan Grimm教授这样整点事情，结果也是这样。

希望现在大家明白些了吧？

下面英文的信息，两条很重要，就是系主任说，Stefan Grimm教授打算跳槽，他会尽力支持。

“You have previously initiated discussions in our meetings regarding opportunities outside of Imperial College and I know you have been exploring opportunities elsewhere,” he adds. “Should this be the direction you wish to pursue, then I will do what I can to help you succeed.”

这里说，系主任准备组织同事帮助他，通过内部评审，合作或者写推荐信等方式帮助他的项目申请，这些大家都应该很熟悉了。

As part of the informal review process, “Martin Wilkins met with [Professor Grimm] on a number of occasions to see how the college could help him to develop competitive grant applications, for example, through internal peer-review, collaborations and letters of support,” the spokesman said.

以下英文原文：

Imperial College professor Stefan Grimm ‘was given grant income target’

Emails with manager reveal details of review placed on academic found dead in September

A researcher at Imperial College London who was found dead in September had been told he was “struggling to fulfil the metrics” of a professorial post at the institution.

An email sent in March to Stefan Grimm, formerly professor of toxicology in the Faculty of Medicine at the university, who died on 25 September, outlines the details of his “informal review process”, which include bringing in an “attributable share” of ￡200,000 per year in research funding and being awarded at least one programme grant as principal investigator in the following 12 months.

Professor Grimm was found dead in Northwood, Middlesex, in September, and an inquest was opened and adjourned at the West London District Coroner’s Court on 8 October.

The email, sent by Martin Wilkins, professor of clinical pharmacology and head of the division of experimental medicine at Imperial (published in full below), states that any “significant funding” attributable to Professor Grimm had ended, and that although applications for “many grants” had been submitted, Professor Grimm had “been unsuccessful in persuading peer-review panels that you have a competitive application”.

“Your dedication to seek funding is not in doubt but as time goes by, this can risk becoming a difficult situation from which to extricate oneself,” Professor Wilkins writes. “In other words, grant committees can become fatigued from seeing a series of unsuccessful applications from the same applicant.”

It continues: “I am of the opinion that you are struggling to fulfil the metrics of a Professorial post at Imperial College which include maintaining established funding in a programme of research with an attributable share of research spend of ￡200k [per annum] and must now start to give serious consideration as to whether you are performing at the expected level of a Professor at Imperial College.”

Professor Wilkins says that he is “committed to doing what I can to help you succeed and will meet with you monthly to discuss your progression and success in achieving the objective outlined”.

“You have previously initiated discussions in our meetings regarding opportunities outside of Imperial College and I know you have been exploring opportunities elsewhere,” he adds. “Should this be the direction you wish to pursue, then I will do what I can to help you succeed.”

The email constitutes the “start of informal action in relation to your performance”, Professor Wilkins states, and adds that should Professor Grimm “fail to meet the objective outlined, I will need to consider your performance in accordance with the formal College procedure for managing issues of poor performance”.

Professor Wilkins’ email - shared with Times Higher Education by Imperial - was distributed to a number of associates of Professor Grimm, and was sent from an email account in Stefan Grimm’s name. The email also contained what appear to be the final thoughts of Professor Grimm ahead of his death. The text of this section of the email has already been published in a blog by David Colquhoun, emeritus professor of pharmacology at University College London.

The message was sent on 21 October, several weeks after the death. But a spokesman for Imperial College said he had no reason to believe that the email, in Professor Grimm’s name, was not genuine.

It claims that Professor Grimm had been told he was to be dismissed by Imperial, and gives more detail about the terms of his informal performance review (the email is published in full below).

It also suggests that a PhD student that Professor Grimm had been planning to take on was to be told there was no longer a place available. “He waited so long to work in our group and I will never be able to tell him that this should now not happen,” the email says. “What these guys don’t know is that they destroy lives. Well, they certainly destroyed mine.”

A spokesman for Imperial said that, contrary to assertions elsewhere, Professor Grimm was not under formal review nor had he been given any notice of dismissal.

“It is standard practice in higher education institutions to conduct both informal and formal performance management. In this tragic case, the process was at the informal stage,” he said.

He added that all recipients of the message ostensibly sent by Professor Grimm had been contacted within 24 hours of receipt, and that the email had been shared with the authorities.

As part of the informal review process, “Martin Wilkins met with [Professor Grimm] on a number of occasions to see how the college could help him to develop competitive grant applications, for example, through internal peer-review, collaborations and letters of support,” the spokesman said.

“Discussions included talking about the best place for him to do his science, both inside Imperial and outside, and it is a fact that, with Professor Grimm’s permission, Martin made enquiries about opportunities on his behalf. During this period, at Professor Grimm’s request, members of the Faculty of Medicine provided extra help with grant applications and other support.”

He added that, as previously stated, “Imperial’s provost has asked the director of HR and one of the college’s senior elected academic representatives to review the relevant college policies and procedures.”

The report will be “considered by a senior group led by the provost and the college will move swiftly to implement any recommendations” he said.

chris.parr@tesglobal.com

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/imperial-college-professor-stefan-grimm-was-given-grant-income-target/2017369.article