What is your current year in school?
Senior.

What lab is your research position in? Who is the lead faculty member?
Fundamentals of Networking Laboratory (FuNLab) under Professor Sumit Roy (EE).

“This position has forced me to learn how to learn...”

When did you land this research position?
January '07.

How did you find this research position?
Applied to REU program, talked to Professor Roy, who was interested in having me join his lab.

What is the main research question the lab is trying to answer?
Our lab is dedicated to improving the performance and capability of wired and wireless networks by focusing the bottom three layers of the OSI Networking Model.

What are your day-to-day responsibilities?
My main responsibilities are split between reading research regarding advancements in wireless network and working with hardware to be used in our research.

Who are some of the people you work with?
I work alongside graduate student Rohit Gupta.

How much of your time is required each week?
I work 5 to 10 hours.

Is this a paid position? Are you receiving academic credit?
Paid position, no credits.

Why did you decide to do research?
I wanted to expand my knowledge of the EE field as well as gain experience working in a research setting.

How have you benefited from the research experience?
This position has forced me to learn how to learn, as my area of expertise in EE is embedded systems, which is quite far away from the wireless networking research I have been doing. As such, I've had to pick up on plenty of the basics about digital signal processing and wireless communication with only limited guidance. This has involved knowing where to look, filtering out information I don't need, and being able to answer my own questions.

What are your plans after graduation?
Enter the job market.

Do you have any advice for undergrads who want to do research?
Don't be afraid to work outside your area of expertise.

What is your current year in school?
Senior.

What lab is your research position in? Who is the lead faculty member?
I did some research in the photonics lab with Lih Lin (EE).

“I would like to go to grad school, and it’s an advantage to have done some research when applying.”

When did you land this research position?
Winter quarter 2007.

How did you find this research position?
I just decided to send her an email because I thought it was an interesting lab, and they found something I could work on.

What is the main research question the lab is trying to answer?
They are trying to create the foundation of optical electronics, called photonics, that will hopefully one day be able to replace electronic chips with faster optical chips. This will allow photons to be used instead of electrons and hopefully speed things up.

What are your day-to-day responsibilities?
My responsibilites were to help a grad student work on his project. Generally I would give him weekly or bi-weekly updates on my progress in making a program to simulate part of the quantum-dot laser he was working on.

Who are some of the people you work with?
For my research, I mainly worked with one grad student. However, if I started my own project, I would be working with the Professor and also have the other grad students in the photonics lab to collaborate with. There were about 10 - 15 different projects being worked on.

How much of your time is required each week?
I generally only worked on it during the weekends. I spent about 6 to 10 hours a week doing research.

Is this a paid position? are you receiving academic credit?
I did this for credit. it’s listed under EE499. You can sign up for 2 to 4 credits, depending on how much time you plan to spend doing research.

Why did you decide to do research?
I decided to do research for several reasons. First of all, I thought that it was an interesting lab, and wanted to find out more about photonics to see if I wanted to pursue this field in more detail. Second, I would like to go to grad school, and it’s an advantage to have done some research when applying. Also, it’s good to work with grad students so you can ask them questions. Third, there are many scholarships available to undergrad researchers.

How have you benefited from the research experience?
Mostly, it has given me some experience with graduate student projects and the field of photonics. I think it’s a real benefit to see the types of things other students are working on, so I can begin to think about a project I would like to work on. Also, it helps narrow down your interests to a particular field. It pays to do some research as an undergrad so if you decide to go to grad school, you won't suddenly decide that you are in the wrong field. It also looks good on your resume.

What are your plans after graduation?
I plan to go to grad school.

Do you have any advice for undergrads who want to do research?
If you are interested, just go to the EE (or whatever department you are in) web site and look at the list of research labs. Go to their web sites and see if you are interested in what they are doing. Also, go to some of the events where they showcase their work. If you are interested, just send the prof an email or schedule a time to meet and talk about anything they might have for you. Most will be very happy to hear from you. Undergrads aren't required to do research (unlike in the physics department), so they are always looking for people.

What is your current year in school?
I am currently a Junior.

What lab is your research position in? Who is the lead faculty member?
I worked under Gerald Pollack (BioE), PhD, in a lab in the bioengineering department.

“For one project, I worked with an x-ray crystallographer from the chemistry department — doing experiments with an apparatus built by our lab's machinist.”

When did you land this research position?
During fall quarter of 2007 I talked to Dr. Pollack and started working in the lab in winter quarter.

How did you find this research position?
The bioengineering department offers a one-credit seminar class (BIOEN 299) about bioengineering research. A different faculty member gives each lecture, and they talk about the projects they are working on. When I took this class, Dr. Pollack gave one of the lectures, and mentioned that his lab had space for students. When the talk ended I talked to him about it, and after some emails and an interview I started working in his lab.

What is the main research question the lab is trying to answer?
Most of the people in the lab are trying to figure out what causes the strange behavior of water near certain biological surfaces and polymer gels. The currently favored hypothesis is that the water forms a gel-like structure, sort of like a liquid ice. If this hypothesis is correct, it has profound implications for cellular biology (Dr. Pollack has written a book on the subject).

What were your day-to-day responsibilities?
Much of my time was spent designing and setting up experiments. Sometimes this was as simple as putting a drop of water on a microscope slide, but other times involved things like using a blow-torch to create glass "microtubules," or making a high-accuracy density measurement flask from tubing and plastic wrap scrounged up from around the lab.

Who are some of the people you work with?
I worked with grad students, post-docs, and other undergraduates. For one project, I worked with an x-ray crystallographer from the chemistry department — doing experiments with an apparatus built by our lab's machinist.

How much of your time is required each week?
Normally I spent 10 to 15 hours in the lab every week. But Dr. Pollack was flexible, and didn't mind if I spent less time working when I had an upcoming test or difficult homework assignment.

Is this a paid position? Are you receiving academic credit?
I started as a volunteer, but was able to earn some money during the summer. Although I could have earned credits, I chose not to because they would have cost money, and I already have plenty of credits.

Why did you decide to do research?
I plan to have a career doing research, and wanted to experience it while I'm at the UW. Also, I wanted to have experience in a lab before working on my senior capstone project.

How have you benefited from the research experience?
I now have a much deeper understanding of the scientific method, and learned a lot about experimental design. I also matured a lot — I am better at managing my time, better at collaborating with others, and better at evaluating my abilities. A concrete benefit is that a letter of recommendation from Dr. Pollack recently helped me land a paid research opportunity, and he will be a valuable reference when I apply for graduate school.

What are your plans after graduation?
I want to go to graduate school and earn a doctorate in bioengineering (or a closely related field). In the distant future I hope to become a professor, and both do research and teach classes.

Do you have any advice for undergrads who want to do research?
Talk to people! Out of the three different research experiences I have had, I found two of them by interacting with people. I found one by listening to Dr. Pollack's lecture, and the other by talking with my high school chemistry teacher. Ask your professors if they know of a lab you could work in, meet with departmental advisers (even if you aren't in the department), and talk with your classmates — or anyone else you can think of.

What is your current year in school?
Senior.

What lab is your research position in? Who is the lead faculty member?
Professor Dana Dabiri (AA) is the leading faculty. I mostly work in the undergraduate lab of the Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering Department.

“You can sit in the lab for days and cannot solve any mysteries, or come up with good solutions/approaches within an instant.”

When did you land this research position?
February 2006.

How did you find this research position?
Since the project is heavily related to Statistics that I am interested, my friend who majors in AA introduced me to this opportunity.

What is the main research question the lab is trying to answer?
The goal is to generate a universally applicable algorithm to detect and correct spurious velocity vectors on Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) data sets.

What are your day-to-day responsibilities?
My responsibilities are:

• Provide ground breaking solutions to the problem.
• Research, understand, and integrate any useful information.
• Make sure data are collected and organized in a way for easier interpretations.
• Programming.

Who are some of the people you work with?
Other than Professor Dabiri, Andree Susanto who majors in AA has been working with me for almost two years.

How much of your time is required each week?
A good research sometimes requires wild instincts that are more subtle than what you can do with your hands. You can sit in the lab for days and cannot solve any mysteries, or come up with good solutions/approaches within an instant. Therefore, I never counted my hours. I do my research whenever is needed.

Is this a paid position? Are you receiving academic credit?
Since Professor Dabiri is not being able to fund me or give me any credits that are applicable towards my undergraduate degree, I do not receive anything.

Why did you decide to do research?
I do it mostly for fun, also want to increase my chance of getting into a good graduate school. Lastly, I want to develop my intellectual capacity.

How have you benefited from the research experience?
Direct benefits include:

• Received the Mary Gates Research Scholarship.
• Attended and presented my research at the conference of the American Physical Society in Florida.
• Two journal publications by the end of this academic year.

Indirect and minor benefits include:

• Admitted into a good graduate school with a fellowship that can fully cover my tuition and living expenses.
• See cool stuff such as PIV applications on semi-transparent fishes to observe the fluid motion inside their organs.
• Meet fluid dynamists around the world.
• Study something that I can never learn from my conventional classes.
• Apply my crazy ideas to practical applications.

What are your plans after graduation?
I am going to the Northwestern University for my PhD studies.

Do you have any advice for undergrads who want to do research?
Researchers are better to be positive, outgoing, bold, passionate, creative, and lucky. They should never look down on their abilities, and should keep in mind that hard work, not even your IQ even if it is related, always is the key to solving problems.

What is your current year in school?
Sophomore.

What lab is your research position in? Who is the lead faculty member?
Industrial & Systems Engineering Department, Dr. Richard Lee Storch.

“Intel REU is an excellent program that helps you land a paid research position with a group/department of your choice.”

When did you land this research position?
Summer 2006.

How did you find this research position?
Intel REU (Research for Engineering Undergraduates) program set me up with it.

What is the main research question the lab is trying to answer?
Improving the process flow in the MRI room of the Radiology Department at the University of Washington Medical Center. Implementing Lean Healthcare, eliminating scheduling discrepancies, and increasing patient throughput.

What are your day-to-day responsibilities?
Time and motion study. Being in the MRI room, taking data, and observing the MRI technicians as they perform the scans. Giving data to the lead Graduate student and informing him of any observations which may be causing problems.

Who are some of the people you work with?
The director of the Industrial & Systems Engineering department, Dr. Storch, Graduate student Nic Graur, undergrads Jayson Valencia and David Mendez.

How much of your time is required each week?
It's really up to how much work you can do while still having time to study and go to class, usually about 10 hours or less per week.

Is this a paid position? Are you receiving academic credit?
Paid by Intel.

Why did you decide to do research?
I was interested in attending graduate school, but I wasn't sure what it entailed. I was curious to see what type of projects IE grads might work on how much work is actually required. I was interested in working in a team environment comprised of students and faculty.

How have you benefited from the research experience?
Most of all, the experience I have gained through research has been extremely valuable as far as my resume and interviews. Research exposes you to all types of situations and helps you develop skills such as time management, responsibility, team player, being reliable, communicating well, etc. These skills and experiences I have been exposed to through research give me an experience to share with recruiters during career fairs or job interviews.

What are your plans after graduation?
I want to work for The Boeing Company as well as working on my graduate degree part-time.

Do you have any advice for undergrads who want to do research?
Intel REU is an excellent program that helps you land a paid research position with a group/department of your choice... take advantage of these resources!