iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Beautiful shot! I've seen a lot of your work and this show really does stand out. Something about the will of life to push through the hardest of cracks in spite of all else. Glad you got it to share <3

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Contemplating the headlines in AI today from tech execs boasting about pulling off the biggest theft of human labor in history, while also thinking about the "all in on AI" academics who complain about not being paid for the time they spend reviewing papers & grant apps.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

There is value in the honor policy when implemented with compassion. We all have to learn to live with our decisions even when we make suboptimal ones, even if there's no real punishment. Promising to do something & sticking to that word is itself a learning exercise.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Yes, some students will use AI for purposes beyond revision, but give the other students some credit. There are budding scholars out there who do care about learning, who will honor the policy, and who will benefit from the exercise. Why shape the curriculum for those that don't care?

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

A common refrain is that students only need to learn how to catch the errors in AI writing. If we don't push students to learn how to write well, for an array of contexts and audiences, why should we expect them to have the expertise to be editors?

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

There is undeniable benefit to writing assignments. It's an important exercise in organizing ideas and developing communication skills--something our society desperately needs. Removing the assignment deprives students of the opportunity to develop this skill.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Hot take on AI and academic writing: don't drop the writing assignment just because you can't tell if it was written by AI or not, and don't get jaded just because you think everyone is using AI. Give students the benefit of the doubt and let the honor policy ride. Here's why:

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I'm sorry for your employee & am sympathetic to the issue in NYC, but it's not just bikers ignoring the rules. When you look beyond edge cases like NYC, the negative externalities of motorists breaking the law far exceed anything cyclists are doing. Car culture just loves to hate on bikes.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I'll say it as someone who was hit head and ended up in the hospital for five days because of a motorist who was going across traffic.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

To give some context, Longwood Medical Center (home to HMS) is one of the most congested areas I've ever seen where car commuters, shuttles, and buses regularly block ambulances and the bike lanes while refusing to yield to pedestrians in cross walks. But yeah, the cyclists are the problem.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Utterly disappointed in @harvard.edu Harvard Med School's decision to shame #bikecommuters rather than actually keep us safe at Longwood. Because ya know, my 20 lb bike going 15 mph is so much more dangerous than the 3k+ lb chunk of metal being operated by someone staring at their phone.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Using AI in research and education is a short cut. Differentiating between an efficient short cut from cutting corners takes ground truth and more than intellectual expertise. It's not exactly the type of thing educators should leave as an exercise to the student.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

The silence of academia embracing AI while data centers wreck harm on the environment and society is deafening. Almost as deafening as the noise coming from the data centers.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Lab equipment question: do you have a fav temp/humidity sensor for monitoring incubator conditions? I remember awhile ago @wormsense.bsky.social had one that recorded the readings and allowed for download via bluetooth I think? Looking for what's most reliable/cheapest right now.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Love having a great excuse to bike out to the commons when Boston weather is showing off.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Academics promoting or the use of or adopting AI in their research have an ethical obligation to openly discuss its environmental impacts and make efforts to minimize the harm the associated data centers are causing. I will die on this hill.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Many believe that AI models can have “experiences” and that they can have significantly more of these experiences in a shorter period of time than humans. To this point we need to remember that intellectual understanding does not equate experience, and that experience is requisite for expertise.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Unexpectedly inspired by Ronnie Chieng’s commencement address to Harvard, he hits the nail on the head. Using AI to do the work for you, in a capacity beyond a simple research tool, is skipping “the journey.” Skipping that journey as a student means robbing yourself of the opportunity for growth.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

I left X, hoping to rebuild SciTwitter. That never really happened (for me at least) and so I long wondered what BlueSky is actually good for. Turns out it’s a perfect place to connect with my fellow bibliophiles 🤩

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Yes! One book I’m reading right now has a translation that is attributed to a Tibetan Buddhist teacher who lived ~1000 yrs ago. I love thinking about all that had to go right for his words to reach my eyes after all this time.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Relevant: I recently bought a used book on Buddhism and the pages smell so strongly of incense. It’s truly wonderful. Every time I open it I get this fun aromatic experience

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Facts 👏 I do try to remind myself that it’s a privilege to still be able to get something from the physical form, and that at any moment I might have to lean more on the digital. Now that’s a good reminder to appreciate my time with them 🙏

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

My husband definitely agrees with you. I consider it a small sacrifice to show my devotion 😉

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Possibly my favorite thing about physical books over all other types? Their very presence is a reminder of their existence, a reminder to read them, and a reminder to revisit their pages. All in a way that doesn’t require looking at a screen or risk the myriad of distractions from digital life.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Spring weather finally hitting in Boston.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

It was really nice to use the time to listen to some teachings. I think it’s a good practice for shifting our perspective of the world (saying this to myself as motivation to walk more 😂). Walking through Boston listening to this is a whole vibe open.spotify.com/show/2275uzI...

open.spotify.com

The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Immediate (joking to self) response: I find it amazing that the lawyers got the ethics of this right before a lot of the neuroscience field.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

The thing I love about Boston is that it’s perfectly normal to walk more than 1.5 miles home from work. (Bike repair shuffle = trying something I usually only do during a blizzard)

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Do you know of a Northeastern student looking for a neuro co-op with a fun postdoc mentor on an exciting project in the Segal Lab? Please send them my way!

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Bless the people who send calendar invites 🙏

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

This whole time I’ve been wondering if there’s really a place fo ME in academia I’ve been missing the bigger question: is there a place for JOY in academia? I think there is. Even if we forget it sometimes.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

This is your reminder to go back up all of your data files and to double check that your working files are automatically backed up to a server from which they can easily be recovered in case they all of a sudden go missing. Ask me how I know 😳

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

Trying to rebuild some fitness, feeling completely worked, but love seeing the data. Absolutely better than last week’s attempt. (This is what a VO2 max workout on the bike looks like for me right now 💀)

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Having a hobby is a great way to regularly gain that perspective and connect with the world outside the bubble. Without that perspective sometimes we don’t know how great the bubble is, or that we would personally do better outside the bubble. I’m grateful for the perspective brought by the bike.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

After years of telling PhD students they need to keep a strong hobby, I think I’ve finally articulated to myself the essential “Why?” It’s about perspective. Life in academia is a bubble. We often have to have a narrow focus to achieve goals, but this often leads to a loss of perspective. (1/2)

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Even I can’t believe how tired I look after a very hard week in postdoc life, but I’m still smiling because I have amazing mentors who make me feel at home. Very proud to be a part of this interdisciplinary group. #NewLabSwagDay

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Mine: This is your chance to pitch your project. Help the audience understand why this work is so important and why you think your proposed method is ideally suited … but always keep an open mind & invite contributions!

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Fill in the blank: If I could go back and tell my younger scientist self one thing about how to give lab meeting it would be _______

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Just a random thought this morning inspired by a recent conversation on the power of names, remembering names, and being able to use them — especially when you move in a world with daunting power structures, like academia. 🫶

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

I was one such student. I felt very isolated in my PhD and at one point felt completely disconnected from any program or department. Then I was walking in a hall and a prof who I admired said “Hi Joy.” Such a small act made me feel so welcome & connected. It was exactly what I needed…

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Compassion challenge for professors today: see how many students you can say hello to by name as you’re passing them in the halls or wherever on campus. Not every student will care, but I think you’ll have a good chance of pulling on at least one heart string…

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

What if academia had an index to reflect the number of times someone had been thanked in a publication for sharing reagents?

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

It’s ok. Nobody’s perfect 😉 {in all seriousness I DO genuinely understand why some prefer both}

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

You’re damn right I do 😉 {I know your comment wasn’t about me but man do I love tubeless 1x life}

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

Just something pretty for your timeline. Nothing can ever really replace Furiosa, but new commuter also means new vibe. Introducing: Maitreya — the one who will help bring compassion, kindness, patience, and understanding to the streets.

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