This class will prepare you to perform great research in computer science, regardless of the area you ultimately choose to pursue for your Ph.D. Towards achieving this goal, this course will:
You will be expected to read some material on graduate school, research, etc., which will be assigned throughout the term.
There are no required textbooks for the course.
You must be a first-year Ph.D. student in the College of Computing.
This course will have a letter grade: A, B, or Fail. The components of the grade are as follows:
Papers will not be handed out in class.
Please print the readings
and read them before class.
Speaker schedule is tentative!
| Lecture | Date | Topics | Notes/Resources | Preparation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 08/18 | No Class |
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| The Ph.D. | ||||
| 1 | Wed 08/20 | Course Overview [pdf] [ppt] |
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| 2 | Mon 08/25 | Why Ph.D.? [ppt] |
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| 3 | Wed 08/27 | Industry vs. Academia [ppt] |
Mini-Assignment 1: Thought Questions |
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| Mon 09/01 | Labor Day |
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| 4 | Wed 09/03 | Recognizing and Critiquing Ideas [ppt] |
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| 5 | Mon 09/08 | Fellowships (Guest Lecture: Karen Adams) |
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| Great Ideas | ||||
| 6 | Wed 09/10 | A Case Study in Great Ideas [ppt] |
Baran Interview | |
| 7 | Mon 09/15 | On Great Ideas #1: Scientific Revolutions [ppt] |
Assignment 1: Recognizing Good Ideas |
Kuhn |
| 8 | Wed 09/17 | On Great Ideas #2: Great Researchers [ppt] |
Hamming | |
| 9 | Mon 09/22 | Generating Ideas #1: Research Patterns [ppt] |
Polya | |
| 10 | Wed 09/24 | Generating Ideas #2: Creativity [ppt] |
Adams | |
| 11 | Mon 09/29 | Generating Ideas #3: Cross-Disciplinary Thinking [ppt] |
Assignment 2: Creating an Idea |
Johansson Burke |
| 12 | Wed 10/01 | Communicating Ideas #1: Writing [ppt] |
Zobel Strunk | |
| Mon 10/06 | No Class |
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| 13 | Wed 10/08 | Communicating Ideas #2: Speaking [ppt] |
Mini-Assignment 2a: Project Interim Report |
Asher |
| Mon 10/13 | Recess |
Assignment 3: Critiquing Ideas Assignment 2 Due |
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| 14 | Wed 10/15 | Mock PC |
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| Grand Challenges | ||||
| 15 | Mon 10/20 | Networking, Security, Systems, Theory Databases, Software Engineering, Architecture Graphics, HCI, Robotics, Cognitive Science, LST Vision and Perception |
Project Interim Report Due | |
| 16 | Wed 10/22 | HPC and Simulation, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Numerical Methods |
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| Grad School Survival | ||||
| 17 | Mon 10/27 | Motivation and Time Management |
Griessman | |
| 18 | Wed 10/29 | Fun in Atlanta |
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| Fri 10/31 | |
Pseudo-Assignment: Costume Contest |
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| 19 | Mon 11/03 | Teaching and TAing |
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| 20 | Wed 11/05 | People Management |
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| 21 | Mon 11/10 | Student Panel: Survival |
Mini-Assignment 2: Time Log |
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| 22 | Wed 11/12 | Math and Programming Skills |
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| 23 | Mon 11/17 | Data and Human Skills |
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| Broader Impacts | ||||
| 24 | Wed 11/19 | Impact in Society and Industry |
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| 25 | Mon 11/24 | Ethics and Diversity in CS |
Mini-Assignment 3: Personal Web Page Mini-Assignment 4: Elevator Pitch |
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| Wed 11/26 | Turkey Cooking |
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| Mini-Conference | ||||
| 26 | Mon 12/01 | Mini-Conference |
Assignment 4: Talk Reviews | |
| 27 | Wed 12/03 | Mini-Conference |
Pseudo-Assignment: Social | |
| Mon 12/08 | |
Project Writeup Due | ||