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The Nature of the Beast

The Nature of the Beast. Field guide to computer scientists. Computer Scientists. They come in two flavors Industrial Academic Many similarities Key differences: How they are evaluated. The Ecology of Academia. Two kinds of faculty Tenure track Assistant Professor Associate Professor

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The Nature of the Beast

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  1. The Nature of the Beast Field guide to computer scientists

  2. Computer Scientists • They come in two flavors • Industrial • Academic • Many similarities • Key differences: How they are evaluated

  3. The Ecology of Academia • Two kinds of faculty • Tenure track • Assistant Professor • Associate Professor • Full Professor • Non-tenure track • Lecturers • Adjunct Professor • Research Professor • Visiting Professor

  4. Tenure Track Faculty • How do you become one? • Get a PhD • Submit an application • Get an interview • Wow them on the interview • Congratulations! The tenure clock starts ticking . . .

  5. About Me (pre-PhD) • Grew up in a country that does not exist anymore • 1994: undergraduate degree in mathematics and computer science from the University of Washington • Prior to that, a few years at Moscow University • 2000: PhD in computer science from Stanford

  6. About Me (post-PhD) • 2000: Bell Labs Silicon Valley • Fired 3 months after joining (Lucent shut down the lab) • 2001-04: SRI International • Researcher at a “think tank” • Active in research, kept publishing • Since 2004: assistant prof. at UT Austin • Just received tenure • Promoted to associate prof. effective September

  7. How Did I Get a Faculty Position? • UTCS is a top-10 computer science department • Why did they hire me? • Must have done something right • Publication record • Important people said good things about me (more about this later) • Some amount of luck • Worked on interesting problems in the “right” area • Was in the right place at the right time

  8. What is Tenure? • A system with a long probationary period • Two outcomes: • Tenure: A job for life • No tenure: Good luck! Have a good life • The tenure decision: evaluation of teaching, research, and service

  9. Life of a Tenure-Track Professor • Teaching • Teach (and design) organized classes • Advise students (very time-consuming) • Research • Do research (usually with graduate students) • Write papers • Attend scientific meetings • Obtain grants to fund more research (10% hit rate at NSF)

  10. Success Factors (at a research university) • RESEARCH • RESEARCH • RESEARCH • Teaching • Service

  11. “Evaluation by Rumor” • External letters are extremely important in the tenure review process • The department asks prominent researchers in your field for their opinions about your research • Typically, senior faculty at leading universities in the field (MIT, Stanford, Berkeley …) • Your letter writers know you by your reputation • If they do not know you, you are in trouble! • Logical conclusion: the goal of a tenure-track faculty member is to acquire a stellar research reputation

  12. Acquiring Research Reputation • High-impact publications in top-notch venues • Impact = excitement of other researchers in the field • Did you solve a long-standing open problem? • Do other researchers cite your work and build on it? • Top-notch venues = where is the best work in your field typically published? • CS is unique: conferences (with brutal peer review) matter more than most journals

  13. But Wait, There’s More! • Service • To the department • Graduate admissions • Faculty recruiting • Undergraduate curriculum • Run honors program • Develop departmental policies • . . . • To the college and university • To the academic community

  14. External Service • Organize and run scientific meetings • Evaluate submitted research papers • Serve on editorial boards • Evaluate submitted journal papers • Make funding decisions • Evaluate submitted grant proposals • You affect people’s tenure cases and their lives

  15. When I Am Not In My Office…

  16. Non-Tenure Track Faculty • Typically focus on teaching and service rather than research

  17. Take Home Points • The faculty love their job • They have high expectations • They expect some of these traits in the students who they work with • Be somewhat prepared before you approach them

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