Student Research Opportunities
Students curious about doing research should contact me to see if there is mutual interest in investigating an area of computer science together.
My primary research interest is in the area of evolutionary computing, i.e., things like genetic algorithms and particle swarm optimization. However, I have listed some other subjects of interest to me, such as the use of social networking software (preferably free/open source) for humanitarian purposes (see the Ushahidi and HFOSS projects here). However, this is not a closed list, if you are curious about something else, talk to me, I am open to suggestions.
Potential Areas of Investigation
- Evolutionary Computing & Genetic Algorithms, Particle Swarm Optimization
- Assistive technology & Socially Relevant Computing
- Visualization of data
- Bioinformatics
- Parallel & distributed computing
- Computer Vision
- Robotics & Agents
- Simulation
- Ubiquitous computing & HCI
Generally this research will be conducted as a collaborative learning experience. We will decide what subject to investigate and create a reading list of the relevant literature to study. Once we have conducted our survey and gained some basic understanding of the current state of our topic, we will identify "good problems" to work on.
Our end product, minimally, will be a greater knowledge of the topic we investigated, a technical report, and presentation to our faculty/students in the department. Alternatively, we may produce a paper or poster for a conference or even be able to present our work/result(s) at a conference for others see and evaluate. This would be a great accomplishment to have when applying to graduate school or positions in industry and help you stand out from the vast majority of undergraduate students. Whatever the specific outcome, you will have gained some understanding of what is involved in doing research.
Speak with me if you are curious about research - you need not be a Computer Science student, I am quite interested in interdisciplinary work. You have nothing to loose (and only to gain experience and knowledge).