Glimmer Labs Research Application: Summer 2014

Note that there are two sides to this application.

Applications for summer research in Samuel A. Rebelsky's Glimmer Labs must include answers to some preliminary questions as well as a description of a project you wish to undertake. You must also submit the divisional application to the division office (in hardcopy or electronically, as appropriate). Applications are due Friday, 21 February 2014. I hope to select students (and make a waiting list) by Friday, 7 March 2014. If possible, you should make a decision by Friday, 14 March 2014. However, since many REU's and other off-campus opportunities do not make decisions until after that date, I will understand if students who initially accept positions with me later choose an off-campus opportunity. (At that point, I will make an offer to the next person on my waiting list.) My policy is not typical: Most faculty expect a firm commitment if you accept their summer position.

Please send your answers in the body of an email message, not as an attachment. (In part C, I ask for code. You should copy and paste that code into the body of your message.)

Note that there are two parts to the application: A preliminary list of questions and a set of longer essay questions.

The most significant factors in my decision about who to hire are my impressions from your interview, the quality of the project description, and the quality of your sample code. Other factors include your GPA in computer science courses, the number of programming languages you know, and other characteristics I deem to be important. Therefore, you improve you chances by writing a better description and by carefully indicating what makes you special on the questions that permit you to do so.

A. Preliminaries

  1. Name
  2. Major (or "Undeclared") and Year
  3. This research requires some preparatory work in spring, and some followup work in fall and spring, as described in this document. Will you, to the best of your ability, do this work, even though it includes uncompensated work in the spring and fall?
  4. What courses have you taken in computer science? Please indicate what grades you received in those courses. If you have not taken any courses in computer science, tell me your math GPA.
  5. What other courses have you taken that will contribute to your ability to do this project?
  6. What programming languages do you know, and how would you rate your ability to use each of these languages?
  7. Assess your writing skills.
  8. What other applicable skills or background do you bring to your project?
  9. Experience shows that group projects are more successful. Would you be willing to work with other students on your project?
  10. Are you prepared to do summer research under Grinnell's Mentored Advanced Project/499) (current second- and third-year students) or Mentored Introductory Project/299 (current first-year students) rubric? You can find more information on these rubrics in the College catalog under "Individual Study".
  11. Will you eat ethnic foods, such as Indian and Thai food?
  12. Will you be willing to have your work released under version 3.0 of the GNU Public License, version 3.0 of the Limited GNU Public License, the two-paragraph BSD license, or other open source language that I choose? Which would you prefer?
  13. Are there any free and open-source licenses you would not be willing to have your work released under?
  14. What sets you apart from other students? That is, for what reasons should I select you rather than the many other applicants I have?
  15. What else would you like me to know?

Narrative Questions

B. Project Description

For first-year students: Explain what you find interesting about my project. If you have ideas on how you might approach the project, please include them. (Since you're relatively new to CS, I don't expect you to have a particularly in-depth response, but your response will give me some sense as to how you might fit into the project group.)

For second- and third-year students: Write a few paragraphs describing what component of the project you find most interesting and how you would approach it. Make sure that you note how it relates to my overall research agenda. You should also discuss technologies you will rely on (languages, other programs, etc.) and some of your preliminary design ideas. You will strengthen your application by showing me that you've looked into related research and talked to students who have previously worked on the project. You will weaken your application by writing poorly.

C. Sample Code

Include in your application of piece of code of which you are particularly proud. In a paragraph or two, explain to me what is special about that code.

The code can be in Scheme, C, Java, or any other programming language. If you haven't taken enough CS yet, use another piece of work that you think will impress me (a proof, a particularly sharp piece of writing, etc.). If you use something other than code, explain why you made the choice. (You should still explain what is special.)

Note that by submitting your code, you are giving me permission to provide a public critique of your code.