Undergraduate researchers: What to expect

Are you a potential undergraduate researcher who reached out and scheduled an initial meeting with me? Great – I look forward to meeting you!

This is an informal guide for topics and materials that might be useful to prepare for our initial meeting.

Please send the following in advance of our meeting:

An up-to-date CV
An internal transcript showing classes you have taken and grades
A work sample, such as a portfolio or writing sample. If you have not prepared one before, consider finding a project, presentation, report, or paper (from a course or other research experience) that you are proud of. The sample may or may not be related to our potential research topics.

Topics we might discuss:

A self-introduction: how long you have been at Northeastern, what made you interested in your chosen major, some of your interests and ambitions within Northeastern and after graduation, etc.
I might ask about something from your work sample, what you found challenging, and why you are proud of the work. I might be curious what your overall experience in the class or research experience etc. was like.
If you have an unusually low score in your transcript, especially for a course topic related to the potential research, I might ask about your experience in the class.
My research interests are broadly in the environmental impacts of building structures. Within this umbrella topic, are there any particular topics that are personally of interest to you? (It’s OK if not!)
What are your proficiency and comfort levels with spreadsheets (Excel or Google Sheets), Rhino, Grasshopper, and/or Adobe Illustrator? It’s OK if none – just good for me to know.
What are you hoping to get out of this research experience? Are there any particular skills you are hoping to develop, or are you just looking to get a taste of research?
What minimum period of time are you interested in doing research with me for? During the school year, or as a co-op? What course load would you be balancing with the research? Are you bringing any of your own funding (e.g. work-study, CAMD Dean’s Honors Fellow)?
Do you have any questions for me?

While I can work with each student to refine the process, if we choose to work together, here is what I would generally expect out of our mentorship model:

Regular, weekly meetings to discuss research progress. Mentee will provide progress updates, and I will provide actionable feedback and new resources to consult.
Research will entail reading papers that I have assigned, looking for more related papers, synthesizing information from the papers, and producing graphics or figures from the readings.
Timely communication from both of us within working hours, with some flexibility and understanding during busy and stressful periods. This might entail responding within 2-3 business days, but if you have life circumstances that make this difficult, let’s discuss this ahead of time and I’m happy to accommodate and adjust our expectations.
Reasonable and honest reporting of hours worked.
We should agree on a mutually beneficial deliverable for you to produce by the end of your research experience, which could be a report or slide deck.
Beyond the research tasks, I’m happy to mentor on larger career-related topics if of interest.