Information for Students

Prospective graduate students

I'm always looking for good graduate students who eventually become research assistants in my group. While I may not have immediate funding awailable for new research assistants, I am always writing new research proposals that budget such positions; if the proposals get funded, new positions become available. In the past, all graduate students who joined our research group with the right background and worked hard, eventually obtained funding in this way. Initially, they may have been self-supported, or they obtained funding through a fellowship, teaching assistantship or job outside the Electrical and Computer Engineering department.

What is the right background: The right background matters. I have observed that students do well who have true interest in our projects and who have programming skills. To gauge true interest, please look at the research page and read some of the relevant papers. When you contact me (which you are welcome to) please indicate the specific projects and/or papers that are closest to your current interest. In terms of programming skills, as a rough rule of thumb, I have found that students who had written less than 10,000 lines of code before they began their thesis research had difficulties advancing their projects, most of which are software intensive. Also, with a few exceptions, our research is not highly mathematical, but we may need to read, and understand, related papers that are. Having taken a compiler course and knowing the basics about parallel computer architectures greatly helps you get up to speed on your research. However, these are skills that you can acquire once you are at UD, if you are willing to put in the time.

Research Opportunities for Undergraduate Students

I'm interested in undergraduate students who want to get some research experiences by participating in our projects. This is probably the best way of finding out if you like graduate school. Besides, funding may be available.

Occasionally I will post a "student challenge" - with awards waiting for the winner. Please check back here.

Current UD Graduate Students

For our own team members: Over the years I have compiled a "Grad Student Survival Guide" - a collection of observations I have made about what makes students succeed in their thesis projects. Please ask me for it - and be sure to give me feedback on what you found especially useful and what you disagree with.

For other UD graduate students: I'm interested in learning what others in related projects are doing. You are welcome to stop by when you see my office door open - Evans 202.