M. S. AtKisson

@igrrrl

Grant writing and research leadership. Highly specialized wetware hacker. Mom of a trans son and a Marine. Mostly live on a 40ft Hallberg-Rassy. She/her/Dr.

1.096 Folgt968 Follower853 Posts

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M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· 23d

Woot! finalized 3rd edition is going to the printer. If you pre-ordered, they should ship soon!

Cover of a book titled Handbook for Planning and Writing Successful Grant Proposals, 3rd edition by M. S. (Peg) AtKisson, Ph. D. The graphic is a partial view of an idealized diamond with marks similar to a jeweler's cutting diagram.

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Jul 13

We can’t use our fireplace and I also had bags of rocks. The kids collected over the years just sitting in the way, so I finally put this together yesterday.

Picture of a fireplace flanked with antique bellows and a bed warming pan. Rocks are between two brass firedogs with a few LED candles.

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Jul 13

Rock day! This is my rock that is shaped like a seal. But I am a biologist and do not know the type of rock

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Jun 24

#APLU Council on Research meeting was so good! Happy to be part of this community, not just a vendor. Thanks to #CUBoulder for being great hosts and to the COR community for making us feel welcome!

Two smiling women, me and Amanda Welch, in front of a statue of cowboys leading a buffalo in the University of Colorado- Boulder Camions Plaza

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Jun 23

The view from the venue doesn't capture what those mountains actually look like and how far they extend. I'm at the #APLU #CouncilOnResearch COR summer meeting, and it's been fascinating! AND... People are talking about the need for cooperation.

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Jun 9

I'm getting a 403 Forbidden for NIAID.

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· May 28

Given that @drugmonkey.bsky.social's latest blog closed with exactly this question about scores. (linked below).

What if the NIH stopped telling applicants what their score was for their proposal?

We would have no grounds to complain or to go tell Congress what terrible things were happening. We couldn’t verify the degree to which new political priorities were altering previous scientific priorities.

Keep your eyes peeled, folks. And start thinking about what we should do if this comes to pass.

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Apr 25

Suitcase loaded into the dinghy, heading out for the #ResearchDevelopment conference #NORDP

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Apr 16

I'm raking through the 3rd edition of the Handbook again, sad to be removing references to the Institute for Education Science, changing "DOD" to "military". So I'm going to indulge in Throwback Thursday, BoneDance, my band from the late 90s, early 2000s.

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Apr 11

I could have a worse work environment to make myself update the biosketch chapter book

A woman in a black visor and a black pudding sitting in the cockpit of a sailboat motoring down the intracoastal water, laptop, open, writing

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Mar 30

Ran across this while updating the Handbook, checking the references to make sure the URLs still worked. Thanks, @pracheeac.bsky.social

Twitter post from Prachee Avasthi from November 21, 2021. She quote posts a picture of text painted on a building reading< "You are personally responsible for becoming more ethical than the society you grew up in." She adds, "This but for scientists."

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Mar 6

Well, this is my weekend.

Banner reading Pioneers of Punk, Trouble with a capital T. There is a drawing of a skinny shirtless punk with a mohawk, side view, bending over holding a bass with an anarchy A taped on it.

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Feb 7

The ethos of my entire professional career

A mug with the following quote printed on it
IT'S AMAZING WHAT YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH IF YOU DO NOT CARE WHO GETS THE CREDIT...
Harry S. Truman

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Feb 7

Found this paragraph in an article in the Atlantic. I once joked that I went through 27th grade, but now I realize that moving up the ranks in academia really is just that. The model of how to succeed in school doesn't change. This is why it's so hard to teach/support Team Science.

But school is not like the rest of life. Success in school is about jumping through the hoops that adults put in front of you; success in life can involve charting your own course. In school, a lot of success is individual: How do I stand out? In life, most success is team-based: How can we work together? Grades reveal who is persistent, self disciplined, and compliant--but they don't reveal much about emotional intelligence, relationship skills, passion, leadership ability, creativity, or courage.

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Jan 10

"Illigitimi non carburundom" is dog Latin. It's been used by people I don't agree with in other contexts. I'm claiming it for me (and anyone else) for 2026. I'm up for creating new things, for cooperation, for making space for joy. I'm coming out of the shell I retreated to for 2025.

One of my favorite sculptures from the gallery in the ATL walkway between terminals T and A. It's full of Zimbabwean artists and it is glorious. If you have a long enough layover, you should go see it.

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Jan 10

What's happening is real. Giving a grant writing training in Portland after the shootings by federal agents felt a little surreal. And yet... and yet... The grief is real. I will not let it paralyze me. The anger is real. I will not let it grind me down.

A yellow Tshirt with a green graphic of a frog walking in a swamp carrying a stick with a hobo bag and doffing his hat. The caption is, "I don't know where I'm going but I'm gay." I choose to be gay instead of grim.

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Jan 10

An infinite game is one you play to keep the game going. Smokey says, "Only you can prevent forest fires." But it takes the actions of a lot of "you"s, choosing to behave in ways that advance the common good, to keep the game going. Or to change the game.

Picture of iGrrrl with Somkey the Bear taken in Georgetown, SC at a Park Service display.

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Jan 10

Several of my colleagues in the consultant space seemed to jump quickly into giving advice and reassurances in the new (rapidly changing) environment. I didn't feel like I had anything tremendously insightful to add. I didn't know. The changes needed to play out. And they're still changing.

A navigation instrument showing that the apparent wind is ahead of us, but the true wind is behind us. This basically makes it look like the wind is coming from two different directions. The true wind speed is only 2.6 kts; the boat speed is 5.7. The true wind angle to the boat is 175 degrees. The true wind direction is northeast (079 on the compass). She's a sailboat, but in these conditions, we were motoring. There's a metaphor here somewhere.

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Jan 10

I know it's dog Latin, but it's apparently my phrase for 2026: Illegitimi non carborundum. To be honest, I spent most of 2025 dealing with grief and anger. My job is to help faculty members get funding and spend it more effectively. Get grants. Learn leadership and project management.

picture of a shoreline with the outline of palm trees and liveoaks against a dramatic sky of clouds and light.

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Jan 9

I just caught myself from signing off a call with a colleague by saying, "Love you." But I do, genuinely, love them. Next time I'll tell them. We need more love in the world. Pic for attention from Dungeonesse on Cumberland Island Ga.

Unroofed but raftered long stone outdoor garden folly? maybe? woman wearing red in the distance, arms outstretched.

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Dec 10

On the current stack of improving reading. Others include Justinian’s Flea, Bronowski’s Science and Human Values (highly recommend), and a re-read of Carse’s Finite and Infinite Games.

A hand holding a copy of Donell’s Meadows book, Thinking in Systems, A Primer. In the background are two black paperbacks and the collection of stuffed animals that live on our bunk to remind us of our children. L to R, Bill the Goat, Naval Academy mascot; a Sperm whale; a turquoise shark (made by older son because spouse loves sharks and we courted shark fishing); a seal pup; a little guy (made by older son)

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Dec 9

NSF has updated the PAPPG, including this bit on misconduct. If your LLM use results in "fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism", it's on you.

16. Research Misconduct

Chapter XII.C is revised to incorporate the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based tools. The underlined text has been added:

RESEARCH MISCONDUCT means fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism, whether committed by an individual directly or through the use or assistance of other persons, entities, or tools, including artificial intelligence (AI)-based tools, in proposing or performing research funded by NSF, reviewing research proposals submitted to NSF, or in reporting research results funded by NSF.

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Nov 29

Waiting for Patty Smith.

Photo of a stage with a set up for a rock band. Minimal, drums keys and amps, but no decoration. The burrito either the side of the proscenium are just lights

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Nov 27

My first ever uncracked cheesecake! The VRBO hosts actually bought the pan and mixer for me. Exploring how to do Thanksgiving in a relatively minimal kitchen

A smiling woman in glasses holding a cheesecake in a round pan

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Nov 26

Left “the house” on a dock in Savannah to go to DC for the holiday

Picture of a sail boat on a dock, sloop, whit hulled with a blue stripe, which my son calls “the house”. She is a Halberg-Rassey 40, 20 years old, and we love her

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Nov 26

Anybody remember the Cell parody? Found this as I looked through stuff in storage.

COOL, the cover of a Cell parody from the 1980s

inatructions for Authors
Cool only publishes articles it deems to be
astonishingly cool beyond belief. Any dorky shit submitted
will be returned Immediately to the
authors postage due; there is just too much cool shit submitted (mosty by Cool Dudes) to waste
our precious thick glossy sexy stock on lt. So,
forget it, all you hose heads out there.
Editorlal Officoa
We have no phone number, no real address, only
an unlisted Fax number which can be cotained
trom a Cool Duda if appropriately sucked up to.
Time of Publication
None of your lucking business
Submission of Manuscripts
Try to find sameone else who hes written
exactly the same paper (no overlapping authorship, preferably) and submit together. If this is not possible, call up a cool dude and he, or she will probably submit an essentially identical paper.

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Nov 21

Good morning, Tucson. The ATG team is here for a day of team science training.

Sunrise with mountains in the background and palm trees in the center for ground

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Nov 18

Wait for it. This doesn't capture how fast we were going. They were swimming at at least 8.5 kts.

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Nov 13

I'm having all kinds of feelings about finding this in a Slido open response. The session was on rethinking your research agenda in the current climate.

What is one takeaway you would like to share from today's discussion?
Anonymous: I will have to sell my soul to the AI bro slop machine to get some funding.

M. S. AtKisson@igrrrl· Nov 5

Him: Come up and see the moonrise. Me: *grumble* /hyperfocusgrantediting/ Also me: Oh yeah 🌕