The advisor-advisee relationship represents a significant responsibility and commitment on both our parts. I attempt to hold myself to high standards with students, but I also have high expectations from students who work with me. We should all be responsive, respectful, honest, timely, and hard-working. When those things aren't happening, we should talk to figure out how we can get there. Note that the failure, or perceived failure, could also be due to my actions. I recognize that this is one of the most important and consequential relationships you will have; while I hope it will be at least as meaningful for me, it is less likely to be as consequential. As a result, I encourage you to let me know if something needs to be fixed.
I am your advisor, not your manager, supervisor, or teacher. I am not here to "boss you around" or to tell you what to do when, but I do provide suggestions, recommendations, and sometimes even decisions ("this paper is not good enough to submit for this deadline"), and I do expect to see various outcomes (and progress). But I try to stay away from prescribing the details. Instead, I will help you set your plans and goals and the best way to reach them. Of course, the power dynamics are somewhat tilted in my "favor," and I recognize that. I often fund your work, I sign your thesis, I report to the school on your progress, and more. Still, I welcome pushback from Ph.D. students (e.g., "I don't think we should run this simulation"), as well as healthy feedback and disagreement. A relationship where we never disagree is unlikely to be a fruitful one. If you are taking agency over your work, you will eventually feel that one of my suggestions could be better, and I encourage you to tell me.
I also am unlikely to directly teach you the specific skills you need for your research tasks. I will not teach you Fortran or C++ (or any other programming language). I will not teach you how to launch an SSH session onto one of the university supercomputers. I will help you get all these skills, though, by pointing you to the right resources when needed (e.g., courses, papers, tutorials, documentation, or knowledgeable others).
We all have our quirks and it is only fair to tell you mine as a fair warning. Some of these tendencies blend into what I consider professional behavior, but one could cast those as quirks. I take these rather seriously, so please read them. This list is surely incomplete, but it's what I've come up with for now.
- Punctuality: I have little patience for tardiness (of myself or others). Arrive at meetings on time. If you cannot arrive at meetings on time, tell me why ASAP, and we can try rescheduling them!
- (self-imposed) Deadlines: These are related to the above. If you say you will send me something on a certain date but then do not, I will be stressed and frustrated. Sometimes, the date you send me something is critical to our research group, and you will often be unaware if this is the case or not. Always communicate with me when you think you cannot meet a deadline, whether you self-imposed it or I did, and if needed in the future, give a more relaxed deadline for yourself: "I am not sure exactly how long this will take. I think I will have it for you by Tuesday, but it might take a few more days, so I am quite confident Friday is the worst-case situation." If you don't do this, and don't send me things when you say you will, we will both be stressed. Instead, let's communicate.
- "No-call no-show": Do not miss meetings without letting me know. I make time for you (in the same way you sometimes make time for me!), so I consider it respectful behavior to let me know if you cannot make it (sick, out-of-town, or whatever). Also, add a slide in your "updates" slides that says you are unavailable/out of town so I don't forget and wonder where you are.
- Unresponsiveness: If I ask you something on Slack (or occasionally email), I expect a response within a few work days. The response can just confirm receipt ("acknowledged"). Of course, I do not expect this during holidays, weekends, vacation time, etc., and you may have other situational circumstances (e.g., you're sick or away at a family event) that prevent this. That is fine! Though please give me a heads-up.
- Demeanor: I have a rather deadpan effect most of the time. This has followed me around for my whole life and seems unlikely to change much, unfortunately, despite some efforts on my part. So, don't be shocked if I don't jump out of my chair with a giant smile when you show impressive and exciting results. I really am excited. It just isn't as externally obvious. Please do not let my demeanor damage your sense of self-worth. You are part of the group for a reason, and if I weren't excited to have you be part of it, then we wouldn't be working together anymore.
- Jokes: I sometimes make sarcastic jokes about myself or others that shouldn't be taken seriously. I realize these aren't always appropriate, and discerning that I'm joking is not always trivial. These are usually meant to keep the mood light and fun, though I'm trying to avoid at least most of them.
- Writing and style: I take academic writing and presentation quality seriously. Please read the rest of this syllabus to bootstrap your way to high-quality dissemination of your work.
The university has strong hierarchical structures. Professors have power over students; unfortunately, students cannot always speak up when something isn't right. I welcome student input, especially if I or one of my colleagues has said or done something that makes a student feel uncomfortable. I realize it is a difficult proposition in many cases, especially if you feel I am the culprit. If you feel you suffered an injustice, I encourage you to speak to me or other trusted individuals.
I am a fan of co-advising Ph.D. students, and many of my students are, or have, been co-advised. As long as the "trio" dynamics are healthy, including the relationship between the two advisors, this is a good idea: it gives you another person to advise you and be invested in your future; it broadens the ideas and knowledge you are exposed to. There are potential drawbacks, some overhead for you (scheduling, more weekly and lab meetings), and potential friction when advisors disagree. But overall, if there are two faculty members whose work, vision, and interests align with yours, you should explore co-advising.
I prioritize my time to maximize availability to talk research with students. Still, there are sometimes other requirements on my time, often immutable and sometimes urgent. You should expect to be able to see me often or get fairly rapid responses, but do not expect to see me or be able to get my time and attention "on demand." You are always welcome to try, though!
Most importantly, we will have a 45-60-minute weekly one-on-one meeting slot to discuss your work and progress, brainstorm ideas, and discuss any matter you want. Please feel free to ask for my time at any other point, e.g., for a quick ad-hoc meeting, which I will be happy to do whenever possible.
Beyond the 1-1 meeting, you will be asked to attend the weekly group meeting where students share progress and other updates. You may also see me in project-specific meetings (the frequency of which depends on the project) when we collaborate with others.
Our group Slack workspace is the best way to find me if I'm not in my office. My calendar is always available to the public via this link. You can use it to strategize times you might want to stop by CODA if you think it would be useful to chat with me, though an empty time on my calendar does not guarantee that I will be in my office. Checking via Slack is more reliable.
Note: If you want me to be responsive to you, you should be responsive to me. However, I do not expect you to be responsive during non-standard working hours (unless we agreed to be working on a deadline).