Research

Whether or not it factored into your choice to attend Tech—or if you’re even aware of it—research is to Tech as moisture is to the Pacific: it just wouldn’t be the same without it. The CoC undoubtedly holds its own in this area too; hundreds of projects are taking place throughout the College at this moment, ranging from smart cars and houses to algorithms and cryptography. The best part? Undergrads are almost always a welcome addition to most research teams.

Students interested in doing research typically face five questions en route to a project: Why, when, who, how, and what? Or, more specifically: Why should I do research? When should I start? How do I do I get started? Who should I research with? And, finally, what will I be doing once I start? Dozens of Tech seminars, brochures, and programs have already made attempts at answering these questions, but last spring I had a chance to talk with Amy Bruckman, the chair of the Undergraduate Research Advisory Group and one of the designers of Tech’s Research Option, to see how students in the College of Computing should go about answering these for themselves.

The first question is, of course, why should you even be interested in doing research? Research is by no means a requirement for undergrads and is a major time commitment, so why bother?
There are, unquestionably, many pros to doing research, one of which being the attraction of working on the cutting edge of something, rather than just doing the standard grunt work of school. Bruckman says, “Research is about discovering something that no one understands… It’s not about, ‘How many people have written the same program before?’ or, ‘How many people have written the same paper before?’ but really is something new.”

There are, of course, other, more tangible benefits associated with doing research as well. Research can be done for either credit or pay, with the former being more common for first-time researchers. Research projects can also be done for a senior capstone project as well, though, again, this is typically only an option for students who have been working on a project for at least a semester.

Another plus that people often overlook when considering research is the fact that it lets you get to know faculty members on a much more personal basis, something that comes in handy when potential employers ask for letters of recommendation. Having a professor write a recommendation by pulling your name and grades from T-Square will work in a pinch, but the results will be exponentially better if he can describe you and your work in detail.

Bruckman emphasizes how this is can be an invaluable tool for forwarding your career. She says, “You could get the top score in my class, and I could write the nicest letter possible, and it will say things like, ‘John did great in my class, his assignments were excellent, he asked good questions, [and he] seemed like a nice guy.’ But what else can I say? I’m running out of material here.

“If you work in my lab, I can say, ‘He works hard, he had this original idea that turned into a publication, he takes initiative, he has good work habits, I think he’s particularly smart in the following dimensions.’ I could go on for pages and say much more, and that’s what makes the difference, whether you’re applying to grad school or a job.”

Now, having decided why you should do research, the next question is when to get started? There is a bit of a range when it comes to how much experience is required, and this should be taken into account. While some projects have positions that a freshman could easily fill, many others require at least some knowledge of the field prior to getting involved. According to Bruckman, a good rule of thumb is to look around for a research area that interests you, then take the introductory course in that area. Students interested in researching graphics, for example, would probably have better luck getting involved if they have already taken Introduction to Computer Graphics.

This occasionally requires a bit of creative scheduling. Bruckman states, “A lot of the time, people don’t take intro to graphics until their senior year, but if you get your sequence of prereqs right, you can take it earlier. What you want to do is, say, ‘I’m really interested in, say, robotics,’ and look at the sequence of prerequisites, so you can try and get that class in as early as possible.” In contrast, however, some areas are relatively simple to get involved in early, as their introductory courses have few or no prerequisites.

While helpful, keep in mind that this is only a rule of thumb. Dozens of students get involved almost immediately after arriving on campus and do very well. In fact, many professors like getting students as early as possible, as it means that by the time they graduate, they know as much about the field as some of the grad students.

Once you feel ready to get involved, and feel that you know enough about a field to hold your own, the next step is finding a professor that specializes in that field. One of Tech’s major perks is that students have the chance to take classes from world-class researchers, and those interested in doing research should be ready to take advantage of this resource. Bruckman says, “I think the easiest thing to do is to find a professor you took a class with that you really liked, and, before you approach them, read about their work on the web. Read some of their papers…Get to know what they do, what their method is, and if the more you read, the more you think this is cool, that might be the right person to approach.”

After deciding whose research interests you, the next step is approaching them, and, again, a little bit of prerequisite work goes a long way towards making a good impression. Be polite, send a well-formatted resume, and show that you really are interested in the subject (again, reading a few of the professors papers never hurts!), and professors are likely to be fairly responsive. In other words, do not email a half-dozen professors vague requests; pick one or two professors whose research really interests you, and show them that you’ve done your homework, and the results will typically be pretty favorable.

What you’ll be doing will, obviously, vary from project to project, but rarely will you start out in charge of anything major. As Bruckman states, “It’s like any job: you start off doing simple things, and move more and more towards the center of the activity as you gain in responsibilities.” What is often the case is that new undergraduate researchers will start out by helping a grad student with their research, then, as time goes on, having more and more research that is their own.

Students interested in learning more about undergraduate research in general should check out the UROC (Undergraduate Research Opportunities in Computing) website at www.cc.gatech.edu/research/undergraduate. For more specific information on individual projects, the CoC website is an excellent jumping-off point for finding links to professors’ and labs’ sites.