Emai etiquette

[greenmac]

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In emailing a POI, what's the best way to address the person?

Dr. Lastname?
Professor Lastname?
Firstname Lastname?

And if they reply and sign it with just their first name, is that the official greenlight to call them by their first name from that point on?

 

[myelin]

I always address professors by their credentials. I'd never use their first name unless they specifically told me to.

Always Dr. so-and-so.

 

[Ollie123]

I'd go with "Dr. so-and-so" until told otherwise, or seen how others address them. I wouldn't interpret an email sig as a greenlight to address them by their first name.

In my experiences, VERY few professors go by anything but their first name with grad students. I think there's a couple throughout the whole department here, there were just a couple at my last school (both are big departments so we're talking like 2-3 out of 20+ faculty). Many don't even go by Dr. with undergrads outside of a classroom. That said, its better to err on the side of caution since they won't get offended if you do call them Dr., but there is a chance they might if you don't call them Dr.