Students are the backbone of the research that happens in my lab. I’m always looking for deeply motivated and enthusiastic students to work on research. That said, my resources and time are limited and so I have to be very picky about how I can allocate time and money.

<aside> 👀 To let me know you’ve done your homework enough to read this page, please include a 🦑 icon (or simply the word SQUID) in the subject of your email.

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Undergraduate Research

The Nova project is the primary way I’ve chosen to offer undergraduate research opportunities. There are projects across topics in hardware, firmware, software, and algorithms. Our autonomy stack is modular, so developer work is often either developing a new feature/capability or working to integrate existing modules. Developers research technical literature to find appropriate methods, evaluate and integrate community libraries, and develop code to implement new algorithms. Vehicle engineers maintain and extend our vehicles through repairs or mounting and integration of new sensors or new drive-by-wire actuators. Vehicle engineer work involves reading equipment specifications, selection of hardware, evaluating compatibility with the existing equipment, fabrication, and firmware development. There is also a lot of work to be done at the interface between the vehicle hardware and the software stack!

• We have Nova’s Open Door Policy for rolling evaluation of new members!
• Ultimately, no matter when you join you must complete the respective onramp task:
  • Developers (anyone who touches ROS2 code in our autonomy stack) need to complete the Nova Onramp Task.
  • Vehicle Engineers onramp is to to send a portfolio of at least one individual, non-coursework hobby project. This should be of sufficient depth to show you have done some tinkering before. If you haven’t done something like this before and would like help getting started, I am open to loaning some equipment and sharing ideas for a project that would qualify - just email me.
  • Once you get approval from me that you’ve completed the appropriate onramp, you are eligible to join Nova meetings and work on tasks!
• You can go as deep as you want with Nova - we have some members spending every moment of their free time on the project. The minimum expectation is that you will complete one major-ish feature/fix each semester. This roughly translates to spending at least about 5 hours per week. Take a look the other expectations we have for Nova members.
• While Nova team members are not paid, I do have funds for Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in my lab for summer research (sometimes for special assignments). You receive around $500 per week and (usually) focus on tasks for Nova.

UTD’s RIDE (Research, Inquiry, Design Experiences) Program:

UTD’s Engineering RIDE program gives undergraduate course credit for involvement in undergraduate research over several semesters. Nova’s technical members fit perfectly into this program! To register for the course, you will need to get my approval - so email me - but before you do read the rest of this section!

Just like any new Nova member, students under the RIDE program will need to complete the Nova onramp task (Developers) or send in a portfolio (Vehicle Engineers) their first semester with Nova. The onramp or portfolio must be completed and approved by me before you can register for the RIDE course. It may be helpful to get a jumpstart on the onramp task during the summer or winter break.

Steps to follow to enroll in ECS RIDE:

If you were enrolled in RIDE previously, send me an email to get approval to enroll again. If you have taken 1192 previously, accomplished something tangible for Nova previously (please describe in your email), and are interested in taking 2192, 3292, or 4392, we can discuss.

1. Read the section above for “Undergraduate Research” to get a sense of the kinds of things you could do as part of Nova. Make sure those sound fun. These lists are certainly not exhaustive, so lots of other things could be added.
2. Take a look at the commitment level (5 hours per week) and also view the rest of the expectations for members (including the weekly meeting time listed for the RIDE course). Make sure you can commit to that.
3. Email me either the completed developer onramp (a link to a video of the onramp working and a zip of your code) or the vehicle engineer portfolio (some form of media to demonstrate the project).
4. If your submission is approved, I will send you approval to enroll in ECS 1192. You will need to work with your academic advisor to get you registered using that email approval. I do ask everyone to first take ECS 1192 before taking the higher-level 2192, 3292, 4392. There is no cap on enrollment for ECS 1192, so you just need to make sure to finish the onramp before the add/drop deadline to take the RIDE class. If you miss that deadline, then you can always finish the onramp later and join Nova without the RIDE class.

MS Thesis Advising

Masters students currently attending UT Dallas have the opportunity to pursue a thesis as part of their degree program. I am open to advising MS thesis (1) if we can find a good topic at the intersection of our interests and (2) I have the bandwidth to take on the extra commitment. Email me to set up a time to chat.

PhD Advising