Milkyway: PayPal and other options

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Hello All, Many of you have asked about paypal and other donation methods. To address these concerns, Professor Heidi Newberg asked me to post the following on her behalf: I would like to answer some of your posts. I am aware of the problem with not having a direct Paypal giving option. I prefer to use Paypal myself. Until the university wakes up to this as an important option, the only thing I can do is offer my personal Paypal account as an option. I will donate all of your donations back to MilkyWay@home. It will not be US tax deductible, but that is not a problem for donors who do not reside in the US. You can send to Heidi Newberg, paypal@quantconsulting.com and put your username/userID and T-shirt info in the notes section if applicable. So far five people have taken me up on this option. I know it is not ideal. Regarding Kickstarter and other online donation sites, I did research these right after I was told that my grant was not renewed. These sites take a fraction of the proceeds (5% or more), and do not provide much (though they can figure out paypal better). I decided it was better to use the infrastructure provided by BOINC and by my university. I am having some trouble understanding GRIDcoin/BitCoin donations. In understand that I could take donations in these currencies, and then convert them to the cash that I need to pay students, etc. However, doesn't that undermine the value of the currency itself? Why are people willing to exchange their BitCoins for GRIDcoins, and then their BitCoins for US dollars? Is there anything I can buy now with GRIDcoins (except BitCoins)? And thank you for all of your help on my research project. Best Wishes, Heidi Newberg

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[myshortpencil]

Alternatively, you could use my PayPal address. Send your T-shirt info to Heidi.

Exactly what are students being paid for, anyway? Are we the only chumps in this outfit?

[pinhodecarlos]

I think that research group is out of control and as I said previously they are simulating rubbish. They can't even get a US research grant!!! I really would like to know what is the classification of this research group within USA. Also Heidi Newberg has only 5 papers published, I have two (written in one year in 2008 while I was as a scholarship student) and my wife four, and we don't even lead any research group.

Carlos

[Maxwell]

I think that research group is out of control and as I said previously they are simulating rubbish. They can't even get a US research grant!!! I really would like to know what is the classification of this research group within USA. Also Heidi Newberg has only 5 papers published, I have two (written in one year in 2008 while I was as a scholarship student) and my wife four, and we don't even lead any research group.

Just a couple points of clarification - NSF grants are EXTREMELY difficult to get, with ~20% acceptance rate, and are not renewable indefinitely; even if excellent research is being published, other research projects may be deemed as necessary and funding may be allocated elsewhere. While is has a large budget, the NSF resources are not infinite.

Also, she has considerably more than 5 publications; if you check Google Scholar, or even her outdated-by-15-years bibliography, you'll see she has many dozens of publications.

All that said, the only point is whether you'll donate or not. Your choice. Me? I'm a cheap bastard, so I won't be donating.

[pinhodecarlos]

I was reading this link http://www.rpi.edu/dept/phys/faculty...s/newberg.html and in first place I didn't check it was a list of selected papers. Nevertheless someone who is in front of research group should have more than 50 journal papers published and conference papers too, not a mix as that lady. Look at my uncle's list of published papers in here http://paginas.fe.up.pt/~fpinho/research/menur.html. In 2014 he already has a few not listed there. Also he is editor of J. Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics (http://www.journals.elsevier.com/jou...uid-mechanics/). So I think Heidi Newberg group failed not because of the acceptance rate but because she has not an excellent group. As we usually say in the papers world, her group doesn't produce papers as it should be.

My donation to any kind of project is through the electricity spent or wasted...lol

Carlos