QUALITY EDUCATION FORQUALITY EDUCATION FORMINORITIES (QEM) NETWORKMINORITIES (QEM) NETWORK

MENTORING MENTORING WORKSHOP FOR UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITYWORKSHOP FOR UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITYUNDERGRADUATEUNDERGRADUATE

ENGINEERING STUDENTS AND FACULTY/STAFF ADVISORSENGINEERING STUDENTS AND FACULTY/STAFF ADVISORS

M. Brian Blake, PhD (QEM Consultant)M. Brian Blake, PhD (QEM Consultant)Professor of Computer ScienceProfessor of Computer Science

Associate Dean of Engineering for Strategic InitiativesAssociate Dean of Engineering for Strategic InitiativesUniversity of Notre DameUniversity of Notre Dame

Opportunities for STEM-focusedOpportunities for STEM-focused Undergraduate Research Undergraduate Research

– Applyyouralgorithmictrainingintoresearchthisyear• Engageinaresearchprojectduringtheschoolyear• Full‐6meresearchexperienceduringsophomore‐endsummer

– FundedResearchOpportuni7es• UROP/SROP(Undergraduate/StudentResearchOpportuni6es)• REU/REUSitefunding• NSFSGERprojects• CRA‐CREUFellowships• University‐Internalresearchgrant

Conducting a Literature SurveyConducting a Literature Survey

1. GoogleScholar,CiteSeer,WebofScience,orevenageneralGooglesearch• Theseapplica6onswillgetyoustartedbyloca6ngpaperswith

6tlessimilartoyoursearcharea

2. Followtheleads…• Lookforpapersthatreferencethispaper• Lookforpapersthatthispaperreferences• Somewebsiteswillrecommendsimilarpapers• Emailauthorsforhelp,givethemsamplepapersandaskifthe

cansuggestotherpapersorotherresearchprojects

3. Iterate!!!• Whenyoufindarelevantpaper/researcherrepeat(2)

Research Opportunities: Research Opportunities: A 4-Year PlanA 4-Year PlanFreshmanYear

StudentGuidance:• Thereisveryli+leresearchinyourfirst‐yearcourses• DOWELLINYOURFIRSTSCIENCECOURSES!!!• Gotothedepartment’scolloquiumtalksthatinterestyou• Introduceyourselftotheprofessorthathostedthetalkthatinterestsyou• Solicitpart‐6mefunded(ornon‐funded)opportuni6esinyour2ndsemester• Splityour6mebetweenhomeandshortresearchopportuni6esorconference

volunteerassignmentduringfirstsummer

1stYearDevelopmentalMilestone:• Explainexis6ngresearchproblemsanddetailhowtorunexis6ngstudies• Havegeneralbackgroundknowledgeofaresearchproblem• Haverequisiteskillstodevelopuserinterfaces,surveys,testprotocols,

documenta6on

Research Opportunities: Research Opportunities: A 4-Year PlanA 4-Year PlanSophomoreYear

– Applyyouralgorithmictrainingintoresearchthisyear• Engageinaresearchprojectduringtheschoolyear• Full‐6meresearchexperiencethissummer

– FundedResearchOpportuni7es• UROP/SROP(Undergraduate/StudentResearchOpportuni6es)• REU/REUSitefunding• NSFSGERprojects• CRA‐CREUFellowships• University‐Internalresearchgrant

– 2ndYearDevelopmentalMilestone:• Rundirectedcomplexexperiments• Writethemo6va6onforaresearchprojectandalsoprovidea

preliminarytechnicalexplana6onoftheexperimentalprocessandresults

Research Opportunities: Research Opportunities: A 4-Year PlanA 4-Year PlanJunior/SeniorYear

– Startformingaresearchopinion• EithercraWyourelec6vestobuildaspecializa6onortakejunioryearto

inves6gateadifferentareaatdept

• Internshipatacorpora6onduringsummeraWerjunioryear

• Doaseniorthesisorcapstoneprojectinyoursenioryear

– 3rdYearDevelopmentalMilestone:• Suggestsvaria6onsincomplexexperiments

• Writeatechnicalexplana6onoftheexperimentalprocess/resultsandco‐authorapaperorthree..

– 4thYearDevelopmentalMilestone:– Suggestnewstudies(independentthoughts…ahhhyes!!)– Leadtheauthorshipofaworkshop/conferencepaperandco‐author

ajournalar6cle

Graduate School PlanningAnd Other Topics

• Mentoring Younger Students (no slides)•Networking•Graduate School Planning

• Processes and Timelines•Creating Materials for Letter Writers•Writing a Strong Research Statement

•Portfolio and Personal Profile Development

(Friday 11am – Seniors)

Networking (potential letter writers)Networking (potential letter writers)• Dowellinyourcoursesrelatedtoyourdiscipline

– Askques6ons,askques6ons,askques6ons…– Suggestprojectsthatextendcourserequirements

• Scheduleamee6ngwithmul6plefacultywithinthetargetdepartment

• Volunteeratresearchconferences– Developyour“academicstalking”technique

• Visitfacultyatschoolsinyourhometownwhoareclosetoyourarea(easywaytoincreaseyournetwork)

• A^endmentoringworkshops(…likethisone)andspeaktoeveryone

Process and DeadlinesProcess and Deadlines• Startearly….

• Chooseyourtargetschoolsinthesummerbeforesenioryear,atthelatest

• Speaktoprofessorsaboutyourtargetschools

• Workonapplica6onsinthelateSummerorearlyFall– Thenvisitifyoucan,someprogramswillinvite

• FinancialSupport(drop‐dead)Deadlineistypicallymid‐February

• No6fica6onsaretypicallyMid‐March

Creating Materials for Letter-WritersCreating Materials for Letter-Writers• Meetwithyourle^erwriters

• Ifyoulikeacourse,gooverandabovethecallofduty,sothefacultymemberwillgettoknowyou

• Par6cipateinundergraduateresearch

• Doaseniorthesis

• A6erthele8er‐writeragrees,becourteousand..• Provideacareerplanforyourle^ertoputyourworkincontext• GivePLENTYof6me,le^erwriterscantargetspecificdepartments

Writing a Strong Research StatementWriting a Strong Research Statement• Avoidwri6ngaresumeintextform

• Yourapplica6onalreadyincludesaresume• Facultymembersul6matelyhavetoreadalotalready

• Writeapersuasiveessay• Whatdon’tyoulikeaboutworld?Howcanyoufix?• Whatdoyouthinkisunexpectedlyinteres6ngabouttheworld?

• Whendidyoucometoyourepiphany?

• Now,cheat!!• Sneakinyourautobiographicalbulletstosubstan6ateyourfindings

Profile of a Competitive Graduate CandidateProfile of a Competitive Graduate Candidate

– Compe77veGPAandGRE• Unfortunately,mostschoolsrelyheavily(perhapstoomuch)onthese

twomeasuresasanpredictorforsuccess

– ResearchorIndustryexperience(perhapsboth)• Undergraduateresearch,internships,orexternships

– Coursethatsupportambi7ons– ExtracurricularsthatsupportleadershipANDteamingability– Goodrapportwithfacultywhocanwritethemost

compellingleSers– Clearcommunica7onskills,confident,andenerge7c– Aresumeandstatementthatisclearandfreeoferrors

Profile and Personal ProfileManagement and Other Topics

•Portfolio and Personal Profile Development (no slides)• Global Research Opportunities (no slides)

•e.g., NSF’s Developing Global Scientists and Engineers(International Research Experiences for Students - IRES)

•Writing a Research Abstract

(Friday 4:15pm – Seniors)•Test-taking Strategies (no slides)• Writing a Research Plan (previous slide)• Making Effective Presentations at Meetings/Conferences (no slides)• Developing a Career Portfolio

(Saturday 10:45am – Seniors)

Writing a research abstractWriting a research abstract

– Consider5aspectsoftheabstract…• High‐levelchallengeinsocietyormo6va6onfortheresearch• Descrip6onofaproblemthatanyonecanunderstand• Iden6fyyourspecificproblem• Quickdescrip6onofyourapproachtosolvetheproblem• Descrip6onofwhatyouwillshowthatsuggeststhatyour

approachisbe^erthanotherexis6ngapproaches.

Yourresearchabstractismeanttoa8ractreaderstothepaper,sokeepitengaging!