REUs

Summer 2007 Undergraduate Research Opportunities

The ALADDIN Center for ALgorithm ADadptation Dissemination and INtegration plans to support as many as eight undergraduate students at Carnegie Mellon this summer through the NSF's Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. The ALADDIN Center is a National Science Foundation funded initiative for the study of algorithms and their applications. It is a collaboration among several departments at Carnegie Mellon, industrial partners, and Princeton University. The primary goal of the ALADDIN Center is to improve the process of incorporating powerful algorithms into application domains.

In a typical REU project, each undergraduate works in a team with a graduate student and an ALADDIN faculty on a specific research project that is initiated and led by the graduate student. The general format is to spend the first month exploring the literature and becoming familiar with the topic, then during the second and third months, the students formulate the main questions, embark on the research, and implement code, then write up and present the results. All participants meet weekly to discuss their research progress, problems, and successes. At the end of the summer, a mini-symposium is held in which each student presents their work in a moderated session and has their results published on the ALADDIN web site.

Students selected to participate in this program receive a stipend for the summer; each student is responsible for their own room and board as well as any travel expenses to and from Carnegie Mellon University.

Application Process

Candidates should be current undergraduates who have successfully completed an undergraduate Algorithms course or the equivalent. (Women and members of underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.)

You should apply as soon as possible if you are interested in being considered for one of these research positions. Apply by sending an email to Susan Hrishenko, Assistant Director of the ALADDIN Center. Please include your name, citizenship (U.S., permanent resident, or other), institution of study, major, anticipated graduation date, and a resume or cv. (If you do not have a current resume available, you should may send an email to indicate your interest with all the requested information except your resume, then forward your resume as soon as it is ready.) A recommendation letter from a faculty member or teaching assistant is optional; if you choose to obtain one, please include the recommender's name and contact information in your email, then have them send their recommendation letter directly to Susan Hrishenko. You may also indicate if there is a particular research area of interest and/or faculty person with whom you would like to work.