CPS 300
Computer Science Research Seminar
Jeff Vitter
Department of Computer Science
Duke University
Durham, N. C. 27708-0129
Fall 2000
TTh 3:50pm-5:05pm
Office hours MTh 9:00am-9:45am
[This file is available on the web at
http://www.cs.duke.edu/~jsv/courses/cps300/.]
The goal of this course is to get you--as first-year graduate
students--oriented in the Department and ready to undertake
Research Requirement projects
(in the case of PhD students) and Master's
projects or theses (in the case of Master's students).
This orientation includes research overviews of the Department,
learning basic techniques in organization, and practice in how to
communicate effectively in speech and writing.
The graduate curriculum went through a major overhaul in 1993 and
has been evolving thereafter in order to emphasize
research and projects as the primary criteria for advancement. Tests of
breadth for PhD students are still an important part of the
requirements, but they were made much more flexible and well-defined so
as to reduce the stress and anxiety attached to them. For PhD students,
the Research Requirement project, which is begun with a short proposal
at the very beginning of the second academic year and completed
at the end of that academic year, is the
primary means of learning and demonstrating competence in the research
process, and it is the basis for continuation in the PhD program. Plus,
getting involved in research early is fun! For Master's students, the
project or thesis is the culmination of your studies, and we want to
help you more easily define and identify an area of concentration.
In either case, oral and written technical communications will
ultimately determine your academic program success. This course will
expose you to important communications resources and help you
identify an area of research concentration.
The very first part of the course consists of witnessing the
current second-year students present their research requirement
project proposals. The planning for the project begins in earnest
during the student's first year. Previously the presentation
itself was done at the end of the student's first year, and we
still encourage students to do the planning, conceptualization,
and initial work on the project during their first year.
The next part of the course deals with general information about the
Department, followed by faculty research panels in the different areas of
computer science. In each panel, a small group of faculty
will participate in a roundtable discussion of the various issues in
their subfield, followed by questions from the students and more
discussion.
You are encouraged (even urged!) to seek out faculty members in your
areas of interest. You should begin exposing yourself to research areas
that interest you, which ultimately will help you pick and define a
project for your Research Requirement project or Master's project/thesis.
You are especially encouraged to take part in any of the regular
seminar series going on in the Department, such as the SPIDER
series in systems & architecture, the algorithms seminar, the
scientific computing seminar, etc.
Another goal of this course is to help you organize yourself,
especially in speaking and writing. We will start with some basic
organizational principles and exercises. During the faculty talks, you
will be divided into small groups and asked to write ``journals'' and
responses to journals of your fellow group members that reflect on the
issues brought up during the faculty talks. This process will get you
accustomed to the thought process behind writing without the fear of
putting ideas on paper. We'll learn more about how to polish and
organize writing in mid-semester.
The last part of the course consists
of each student making a 15 minute presentation in front of the
class. We'll use small groups to help your develop your talks
before the presentation to the whole class. You should choose as a
topic some piece of research or article in computer science, preferably
gotten from one of the faculty members you contact during the beginning
of the semester. If you're a seminar participant, you're encouraged to
give a longer version of your CPS 300 talk as part of the seminar series.
I want your interest in the material and activities to drive your
participation. If you feel a bit intimidated or unsure of yourself,
keep in mind that it's to your benefit to participate in these
activities. The more you participate, the more you will gain from the
course. My goal is to help you enter the research process early and
successfully. If you have any questions during the semester, give me
a call or come by. If I'm busy, we'll arrange a time to talk.
Your final grade will be weighted as follows:
- One-third on journal/response writing during faculty lectures.
- One-third on your in-class presentation and preparation.
- One-third on attendance and assignments.
Anonymous feedback
may be provided to the instructor via the web.
The book for the course is Nicholas J. Higham,
Handbook of Writing for the Mathematical Sciences, SIAM
Press, second edition, 1998, available from the bookstore.
Other materials for the course will be handed out in class. Copies are
available from Susan Clear (sclear@cs.duke.edu).
Materials and schedules in electronic form can be found in the
handouts directory.
I'll keep a catalog of news postings about the course in the
announcements file.
The html templates for journal entries and responses are in the
journals directory.
CPS 300
Computer Science Research Seminar
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