Shankar BalachandranRISE Lab

Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Madras

shankar@cse.iitm.ac.in

What it means to be a Ph.D. researcher?

IIT Madras1st March 2012

DisclaimerThe views are mine

Not the department’sNot the institute’s

You may disagree with meTake things with a tub of saltThese opinions and views were developed

over time. I am unable to attribute any of these to any one person or event but I am sure several people and external factors shaped these views.

What is research?Dictionary Meaning:

diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover or revise facts, theories, applications, etc

Key thingsDiligentSystematicDiscover or reviseFacts, theories, applications

What does every Ph.D. student aspire for when they join?A theorem or law named after themHundreds of citationsEvery one recognizes you by your name

Even better, just by your faceWill be the smartest one in the planetAlmost a celebrity status

Identify these famous researchers

Charles Leiserson

Andrew Tanenbaum

Andrew Ng

David Patterson

Raj ReddyDjikstra

What Can HappenYour thesis definitely bears your nameSeveral other authors and co-authors

Stealing your limelightGoogle yourself with the hope that you turn

up in the first few linksKeep looking for “who is citing me”Your advisor may be the only person that

recognizes you

What happened in betweenMany a slip between the cup and the lip

Picked the wrong schoolPicked the wrong areaPicked the wrong problemPicked the wrong guide...

Frustration during both your Ph.D. days and later

Motivation Level of a Grad Student

Why Should One Do Ph.D.?Can be one of several reasons that you

may haveWant to understand things more deeplyWant to make an impact in the societyWant to become a professorWant to make money

Each one has their own reason

What does your guide (and others, including yourself) expect from your Ph.D.?

Original contribution

Leads to the question:Why should I innovate?A more deeper and philosophical questionCan’t we just consume and not produce?

Relative Emphasis that We Tend to Place

Diligent Systematic

Discover or Revise Facts

TheoriesApplications

Font sizes are proportional to relative emphasis that a typical student places on different things

Ph.D. is a Personal EndeavorYes,

You have a guideYou have a lab and lab matesThere is a community which consumes and

produces contents in your field of interestBut

You have a choice overWhat you do, how you do it and when you do itAnd also what you don’t do.

I see it as a great way to know your strengths as well as weaknesses

Research Can Be FrustratingNot all of us are born bright

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” Albert Einstein

Being smart is only part of the Ph.D.Remember the diligent and systematic part?

Superhuman effortsBe smartManage time wellAsk the right questionsRead, write and speak well

My Personal View of Ph.D. researchPh.D. student is similar to a child

InfantUnable to move around on your own. Too many new things – all equally fancy

ToddlerBeginning to walk on your ownWill fall a hundred times

Young childCan walk steadily but can’t run

Post adolescenceSprinter, marathoner ….

Where does your guide fit in?Your research guide is like a parentInfant

Carry aroundToddler

Hold hands to walkYoung child

If you fall, the parent lifts you up and dusts you

Post adolescenceDude, you are on your own

Guide/Student RelationshipBoth sides can be unreasonableNo parent can expect an infant to runNo adult should expect the parent to carry

them

Unfortunately, this mismatch in the expectations becomes a sore point

Marathoner vs SprinterMarathoner

Chug along slowly but steadilyThe horizon is distant

SprinterQuick burst of energyCan’t sustain for a long time

IdeallyPh.D. requires both sprinting and marathon

trainingAlways focus on the horizon

But don’t lose sight of the potholes that you are driving into

My approach to guiding studentsInfant

Learn from meChild

Learn with mePost-adolescence

Teach me

Research vs Ph.D.Can’t you do research without a Ph.D.?

YesCan you get a Ph.D. without research?

No and aptly soHistory of research

Long history, several discoveries and inventions in several fields

History of Ph.D.Relatively short

How is research awarded?Imagine what a researcher in the medieval

time was looking forMoney?Ph.D.?Most likely to be a personal, academic and

scientific endeavorSomewhere along the line, we have

productized researchPapersGrantsPh.D. degree

Research Culture in the WestResearch thrives on a communityProducers without consumers and consumers

without producers can be a problemThe west has adequate number of both

Not just production/consumptionPeer group to brainstorm and discussGet inspirations for problems

ValidationBuild systemsInteract with the industry

Learn to ask the right questions and learn to get your answers reviewed and checked

In IndiaAt most 50 Ph.D.s graduate from CSE

departments Across all IITs + IISc + NITs + Other universities

Serious researchersA small (but growing) number

In contrastUS has more than 10,000 Ph.Ds in computer

science and engineeringMany are still active in researchLarger community to plug in to

A fresh student starting out in the US already has a better start

Why Does It Matter?You are going to publish in conferences

where they are trying to publishCompetitive and trainedAlso have English as their mother tongue

which can be an advantage

Makes it quite tilted in their favor

Peter Norvig’s SuggestionTeach Yourself Programming in Ten

YearsAlso applies to research

You start out late but sustained effort can get you there

Imagine yourself where you are going to be ten years down the line

Prepare yourself for that

Key Things in a Ph.D. student’s careerCoursesQualifiersPicking the right research problem and

areasPublishingGiving talks and listening to talksThesis Writing

Courses and QualifiersCourses

Expand your breadthKeep you on toesTake sufficient math courses all throughout

You don’t know when they will come to bite your back

QualifiersNecessary evilVarious schools have various mechanismsI see it primarily as a mechanism to enable

early exit

Picking the Right Research Area + ProblemsEarly career decision

Has a profound impactAt that time, you can’t see the scope of the

area as a Ph.D. problemAlso, you cannot possibly imagine post ph.d.

relevanceIn some sense, students trust guides blindlyIf you are a new student

Read a lot and ask a lot of questionsNo pride to protect at this stage

Don’t hesitate to question established thoughtsLeads to new discoveries

PublishingRemember, publishing is the way of giving

back to the communityOne can question the relevance of

CountsVenuesGaming the system etc.

Bottom lineIf you have something interesting to say, say it You should say it – you owe it to the communitySay it well

Sometimes, it is also the means to marking your territory

TalksPrepares you for something larger than

your Ph.D. student lifeYou are expected to give talks throughout

your careerThe more you give talks, the better you get

atOrganizing thoughtsPresentationKeeping the audience interested

Thesis WritingThis is something that you call your ownYou should be proud about it laterRequires a lot of effort

Cannot be just the concatenation of papersTheses do not have page limitsTheses need not assume a lot of familiarity

from the reader’s sideIllustrated examples are okay

This is the stage where your collective wisdom over the years must show

Shortage of TimeAll this is expected to happen in 5 yearsWhat about the 10-year plan?Research does not stop with your Ph.D.

Your Ph.D. research should lay the foundation for your research career

Ph.D. is the path not the goal postThe scenery is as beautiful as the destination

Post Ph.D.Academic vs Industrial Research

Industrial Research vs. Academic ResearchAcademic research can do with hot-potato

approachIf it is too hot to handle, drop it

Industrial research always has limited funding

Industrial research can always get axed suddenly

Industrial research is typically more focused and the timelines are usually rigid

Some Useful Tips for Ph.D. studentsMaintain a research scrap book

Could be a notebook or a blogNote down all your thoughts, questions,

methodologies etc.Can come in quite handy to look at the evolution of

your thought processAlso makes it easy when you write papers/thesis

Keep on the look out for interesting problemsYou are going to be employed 5 years from the

start of your Ph.D.You should think about what is going to be relevant

five years down the line and acquire sufficient skills

Tips (contd.)In your third year or so

Start thinking about where you want to beAcademia

Start thinking about sending submissions to journals/top conferences

What kind of courses will you be asked to teachWhat area of research you want to work after Ph.D.How to write proposals / get grantsNational vs International prominence

IndustryWhat kind of position are you going to like?

Research vs Development

Taking up Post Doctoral PositionsVery common in sciences, humanities and

in engineering fields other than CSE and EEUsually done to

Stand on your own feetMove to a new areaPick up other skills that you may need to

sustain a research career

Importance of NetworkingWe all fit in to a communityStart networking with your community right from

your Ph.D. daysWith people from your research lab and the departmentWith researchers outside the institute

You could even think of doing independent research or work with people other than your guides

When you finish your programYou will have your own networkYour own set of research problemsYou don’t have to be under the shadow of your guide

Attend conferences, give talks, attend talks by people from other places

Some Useful ResourcesHow to be a Good Graduate Student by Marie

desJardinsA graduate school survival guide: So long,

and thanks for the Ph.D.by Ronald Azuma

Douglas Comer’s essays on Ph.D. in Computer Sciencehttp://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/dec/Measuring research

http://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/dec/essay.research.measure.html

You and your research by Richard Hamming

Thank You