Place, Time, Instructor, Counselor
Weekly
ICS-90 Faculty Research Lectures
ICS H198 Honors Research and Final Honors Report
For Campuswide Honors
Program (CHP) Students
o 20Oct2015: For those of you unable to attend the ICS FACULTY PANEL ON IMPROVING YOUR GRAD SCHOOL APPLICATION, the link to the video is here.
o On Week 2, Wednesday, Oct. 7, meet in MRC-164 at the Ayala Science Library (to right as you face library from Aldrich Park). Julia Gelfand, the ICS librarian, will give you a lesson in the use of the library as a research tool. Please bring your research paper by an ICS faculty member (see Homework #1, Week 1, below).
o
On
Week 3,
the class meeting is rescheduled
to Thursday, Oct. 15, noon-1:50pm, in DBH-6011. Attend the ICS Faculty Panel on Improving your
Graduate School Applications [PPT announcement here; detailed text here]. Students with time
conflicts: Watch the video on the SAO website later (link will appear here
afterwards).
o
On
Week 4 and thereafter,
class will meet in ICS-213 Wednesdays, noon-12:50pm, as scheduled.
o
o Current
announcements will appear here, at top-level, for quick and easy inspection.
Place: ICS-213 (building 302 on the UCI
campus map)
Time: Wednesday 12:00noon-12:50pm
Two people primarily
oversee the ICS Honors Program. The Honors
Program Director, currently Rick Lathrop, is the faculty member in charge
of the ICS Honors Program. The Honors
Program Counselor, currently Jessica Shanahan, will help orient students
and track their progress. Feel free to ask us any questions about the Honors
Program.
Instructor/ICS Honors
Program Director: Richard Lathrop
Office hours: Wednesdays 2:00-3:00pm, or anytime by appointment, in DBH-4224
Email: rickl@uci.edu
(If you send email, please put “ICS-H197”
somewhere in the Subject line.)
ICS Honors Program
Counselor: Jessica Shanahan
Office hours: By appointment, in ICS-352
Email: shanahan@uci.edu
(If you send email, please put “ICS-H197”
somewhere in the Subject line.)
Faculty research lectures: Co-located with ICS-90, Wednesday 5:00-6:00pm, in BS3 1200 (building 519 on the UCI campus map); overflow room with streaming video in HSLH 100A (building 501 on the UCI campus map). Students who already have taken ICS-90 are excused from any lectures by a faculty member whom they already have heard in ICS-90.
[NOTE: Some ICS-90 meetings will not involve faculty research lectures, and can be skipped. See schedule as it develops (available at the bottom of this URL). The faculty research lectures are 5-5:30pm and 5:30-6pm, which you are obliged to attend if possible. The time slot 6-6:20pm is reserved for advice to freshmen, which you may skip. Please attend in the HSLH 100A room, which is for juniors and seniors (the BS3 1200 room is for freshmen and sophomores).]
ICS H197 provides an opportunity for undergraduate honors students in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences to learn about the research taking place in the School and to begin to get involved with this research. The major purpose of this course is to help you learn what sort of research is going on, which people do what, and how to get connected with a research project. The course will also provide a general introduction to the scientific and technical research enterprise, including the research literature, how to give a successful technical talk, the responsible conduct of research, research intellectual property, and research funding (grantsmanship and entrepreneurship). Various enrichment activities include a library-based introduction to searching the research literature, faculty panel on improving your graduate school applications, and the opportunity to practice and improve technical talk presentation skills in a live talk to the class.
One of your major goals in this course is to gain an understanding of what research is being pursued in the School and what areas might be of interest to you for your project. This goal is crucial, since it should help you complete your next goal, selection of your faculty advisor. Remember that the arrangement must be mutually acceptable, so there is no guarantee that the first faculty member you talk to will say yes; it may be, for example, that they have no suitable project in mind at the time you ask.
It is not imperative that you begin your research immediately next quarter if your schedule for graduation allows you enough time. However, there are some important advantages to starting fairly soon, and we encourage you to begin by next quarter. Starting early gives you more flexibility with regard to finishing the rest of your degree requirements, especially if you want to continue the research for more than two quarters. Also, students often find that those faculty members who have supervised their honors research project are good sources for letters of recommendation; they will be in the best position to comment on your ability if you are well into your research project.
This course is graded Pass/Not Pass, and the principal formal requirement is that you attend class weekly and participate in the enrichment exercises.
Additionally, to complete this course successfully you must:
· read (at least) one research paper by an ICS faculty member (Homework #1 below);
· attend (at least) one ICS research talk (see the ICS Calendar for schedule; send me the date, speaker, and title of the talk you attended); and
· attend (as many as possible of) the ICS-90 Weekly Faculty Research Lectures. Students who already have taken ICS-90 are excused from any lectures by a faculty member whom they already have heard in ICS-90.
Some of the class exercises may involve students giving feedback to fellow students, and your active participation is necessary for everyone to get the most benefit from this.
Occasional absences are inevitable given busy schedules, and will be excused on a case-by-case basis. Please make sure you sign the attendance sheet each class period you attend, and please let me know whenever you cannot attend class along with the reason.
To complete the Honors Program you also must:
· Do two quarters of independent, supervised work (ICS-H198) with your faculty advisor; and
· Write and submit an Honors Report (undergraduate thesis) on your honors work that is certified by your faculty advisor to be of Honors quality.
You must keep us posted of your progress in the ICS Honors Program by filing these forms with the Honors Program Counselor:
· File a Faculty Contact Report form each quarter until you find a faculty mentor.
· File an Initial Plan form when you find a faculty mentor and agree on a research project.
· File a Final Report form with your Final Honors Report (undergraduate thesis) to complete the program.
o Some sample theses have been provided to help you gain an understanding of what a typical thesis looks like.
Some substitutions are possible:
· Students majoring in ICS or CS can count completion of two ICS H198s as one project course.
· Students majoring in CSE can count CSE 181ABC as one of the ICS H198s required for the Honors Program.
· Students majoring in CSE can count Engr H199 as one of the ICS H198s required for the Honors Program.
In some cases, your advisor might ask you to take a graduate course to substitute for the first H-198 quarter, which is fine. In general, any arrangement that is acceptable to you and your faculty advisor also is acceptable to the ICS Honors Program.
Students in the CHP should keep in touch with counselors in that program about their requirements.
Two types of students take this course: students in the ICS Honors Program (ICSHP), and students in the Campuswide Honors Program (CHP). In many ways the requirements are the same for both types of students: you are to select a faculty advisor, do two or more quarters of research with that advisor, and produce a report which is considered to be of honors quality. Nevertheless, students in the Campuswide Honors Program should discuss their plans with counselors in the CHP, in order to make sure that they are meeting the requirements of that program.
William Strunk, Jr., and E. B. White, The Elements of Style, MacMillan, New York.
Robert A. Day (ed.), How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, Oryx Press, 1998.
Joseph M. Williams, Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace, Harper-Collins, 1989.
Dale Carnegie, The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking: Modern Techniques for Dynamic Communication, Pocket Books, New York, 1977.
Robert M. Woelfle (ed.), A New Guide for Better Technical Presentations, IEEE Press, 1992.
The following represents a preliminary syllabus. Some changes in the lecture sequence may occur due to earthquakes, fires, floods, wars, natural disasters, unnatural disasters, or the discretion of the instructor based on class progress.
Syllabus, Schedule, Lecture Slides, and Background Reading will be changed or revised as the class progresses at the discretion of the instructor.
Wed., 30 Sep. Summary and reminder of
schedule changes, next two weeks.
12:00-12:05
Special Guest: Jessica Shanahan,
ICS Honors Program Counselor. ICS
SAO Website.
12:05-12:30
Guest speaker: Alfred Kobsa,
Professor of Informatics. Kobsa Website.
12:30-12:45
Introduction to (1) the ICS Honors Program, and (2) ICS
Research Areas and resources.
Background material:
Literature overview. [PDF;
PPT]
Technical writing. [PDF]
12:45-12:50
Summary and reminder of schedule changes, next two weeks:
o On Week 2, Wednesday, Oct. 7, meet in MRC-164 at the Ayala Science Library (to right as you face library from Aldrich Park). Julia Gelfand, the ICS librarian, will give you a lesson in the use of the library as a research tool. Please bring your research paper by an ICS faculty member (see Homework #1, Week 1, below).
o
On
Week 3,
the class meeting is rescheduled to Thursday, Oct. 15, noon-1:50pm, in DBH-6011. Attend the ICS Faculty Panel on Improving your
Graduate School Applications [PPT announcement here; detailed text here]. Students with
time conflicts: Watch the video on the SAO website later (link will appear here
afterwards).
o
On
Week 4 and thereafter,
class will meet in ICS-213 Wednesdays, noon-12:50pm, as scheduled.
Homework #1, due Wed., 7
Oct.:
Find and read a research
paper by an ICS Faculty Member.
o
Make sure the paper
already will be indexed in the literature (published at least 6 months ago in a
major venue).
o
Bring your paper to MRC-164 at the Ayala Science Library
on Wed., 7 Oct.
o
If you already have a
research advisor and topic, this research paper must be from an entirely
different research area.
o
The intent is to broaden your exposure
to ICS research.
o
Email the title and authors
of your paper to Dr. Lathrop by Wed., 7 Oct.
Wed., 7 Oct., meet in MRC-164
at the Ayala Science Library (to right as you face library from Aldrich
Park).
Introduction to Searching the Research Literature, by Julia Gelfand, ICS and Engineering librarian.
Bring your ICS faculty research
paper to MRC-164.
o
Your challenge: Find your paper in the
literature databases using the online search tools.
·
Pretend you didn’t know it existed beforehand, but need to
find it --- Treasure Hunt!
Homework #2, due Wed., 14
Oct.:
Summary, Point, & Question about your paper. [Instructions; Guide]
o
Email your 1-page Summary
to Dr. Lathrop by Wed., 14 Oct.
Thu., 15 Oct., meet noon-1pm in
DBH-6011. NOTE DIFFERENT DAY --- THURSDAY --- DUE TO CONFLICT WITH FACULTY MEETINGS.
ICS
Faculty Panel on Improving your Graduate School
Applications [PPT announcement here; detailed text here].
o
Students with time
conflicts: Watch the video here.
o
View the US Bureau of
Labor Statistics chart of education, income, and unemployment (click here).
Homework #3, due Wed., 21
Oct.:
Identify
five grad schools to which you might
apply. For each school, identify
one professor there with whom you might work, and add a sentence to explain why
you would be a good fit.
o
Email your
list to Dr. Lathrop by Wed., 21 Oct.
o
The reason for this requirement is so that when you write your
Statement of Purpose for each school, you will be able to mention at least one
professor *from that school* who
interests you, and explain why. In your explanation, try to cite one or more specific
reasons why you would be a good fit; simply saying “The CS program there
is famous.” does not make you stand out from the other applicants.
o
This exercise will be more helpful if you first reflect and
introspect to focus on a single area that really interests you, instead of
picking five very different areas all of which might interest you. The reason
for this is that when you apply to grad school you will have to focus anyway,
and so it is helpful to focus before you start to pick your schools.
o
Some professors will do a global string search for their name
through all of the applicant's Statements of Purpose, and then preferentially
read those applications that mention their name.
o
Thus, if you want to improve the chances that your application
actually will be read seriously, it is helpful to you to mention names of
professors at that school who interest you. Of course, if you mention a long list of
names it will be obvious spam, so mention no more than one to three. Also,
briefly mention something personal that attracts your interest about each,
again to indicate that it isn’t just impersonal spam.
o
Be *CAREFUL*. I have read email
letters and/or Statements of Purpose that state, “I greatly look forward
to doing research with Prof. Lathrop at the Univ. of Texas, Austen.” Do
not make such a careless mistake, or the reader will infer that you are prone
to careless mistakes. Please proof-read and double-check everything very
carefully, three or more times at least.
o
These remarks apply mainly to Ph.D. applications. M.S. applications usually do not receive
as much carefully individual scrutiny as do Ph.D. applications, though the
letters may make a difference in borderline cases.
o
Even if you currently do not
intend to apply to graduate school, you still must attend the Panel and do the
homework. If you ever change your mind later in
your career, after you know more about the field than you do now, you will want
to be well prepared.
Wed.,
21 Oct., meet in ICS-213
rest of quarter.
12:00-12:25
Guest speaker: David Kay, UCI UTeach
Faculty Director, Dept. of Informatics. Talk Abstract.
UTeach Website. Kay
Website.
12:25-12:50
Guest Speaker: Ardalan Sani, Professor of Computer Science. Talk Abstract and Short Bio. Sani Website.
Homework
#4, Due Wed., 28 Oct.:
Identify three interesting ICS
research areas, and three interesting professors in each area.
[Instructions]
o
Email your
1-page Summary to Dr. Lathrop by Wed., 28 Oct. The point to this
exercise is to show you that you have very broad interests, and that you can
find many ICS professors who might sponsor interesting research.
o
If you already have a
research advisor and topic, all three research areas must be entirely
different. The intent is to broaden your exposure
to ICS research in general.
Wed., 28 Oct., How to Give a Successful
Technical Talk.
12:00-12:25
Guest speaker: Wayne Hayes, Professor of Computer
Science. Talk Abstract. Hayes
Website.
12:25-12:50
How to Give a Successful Technical Talk.
How to Give a Successful
Technical Talk.
Background material:
Example
talk: Intelligent Systems and Molecular
Biology. [Short
version for ICS-90]
Example archived student talks by previous ICS
Honors Students.
Homework
#5, Due Wed., 4 Nov.:
Identify
one interesting ICS professor with whom you might work.
[Instructions]
o
Email your
1-page Summary to Dr. Lathrop by Wed., 7 Nov.
o
The point to this exercise is to show you how to learn more about
an ICS professor before you approach them for research.
o
If you already have a
research advisor and topic, this ICS professor must be from an entirely
different area. The intent is to broaden
your exposure to ICS research in general.
Wed., 4 Nov., Responsible Conduct of
Research.
12:00-12:25
Guest Speaker: Hernando Ombao, Professor of Statistics, Vice Chair for Graduate
Studies. Space Time Group at UCI. Ombao Website.
12:25-12:50
Responsible Conduct of Research.
On Being a Scientist Video. Authors: Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine
Responsible Conduct of Research. Presentation Material Credit: On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research, Third Edition, The National Academies; Michael Kalichman, Director, UC San Diego Research Ethics Program; Said Shokair, Director, UCI UROP; ICS Honors Program by Rick Lathrop, Director, ICS Honors Program.
You learned the basics in
kindergarten: Don’t lie,
don’t cheat, don’t steal.
*
Don’t lie: Don’t make
up false data or otherwise falsify results.
*
Don’t cheat: Don’t
misrepresent your data as something it is not or as better than it is.
*
Don’t steal: Don’t use
the words or data of others without proper credit and citation; don’t
plagiarize.
More complicated cases may require you to
consult for advice and disclose conflicts of interest so they can be managed.
When in doubt, seek advice and disclose conflicts.
Background
Material:
“Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research,” Nicholas H. Steneck with David Zinn, Office of Research Integrity (ORI), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“UC Conflict of Interest Policy,” UC Business and Finance Bulletin G-39, UC Executive Vice President – Business Operations.
“Integrity In Research,” UCI Office of Research Administration.
“UC Office of Ethics, Compliance & Audit Services.”
No more homework! Work hard in your other courses!
Wed.,
11 Nov., Veteran’s Day Holiday.
Thank you, Vets! Freedom is not free.
Wed., 18 Nov., Research Funding --- Grantsmanship
and Entrepreneurship
12:00-12:25
Guest Speaker: Ramesh Jain,
Professor of Computer Science. Jain Website.
12:25-12:50
Research Funding ---
Grantsmanship and Entrepreneurship
Background
Material:
Research Intellectual Property --- Patents,
Copyrights, Trade Marks, and Trade Secrets
UC
Patent Policy, and Patent Acknowledgment.
Wed., 25 Nov., Student Practice Technical Talks.
12:00-12:25
Student talk TBA
12:25-12:50
Student talk TBA
Wed., 2 Dec., Final
questions and comments. Feedback to improve future
ICS-H197 offerings.
12:00-12:25 Guest Speaker: Said Shokair, Director of UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP). UROP Website.
12:25-12:50 Final questions and comments. Feedback
to improve future ICS-H197 offerings.
