If you are an undergraduate student interested in working with me, please read through the compact below.

There is no formal application process to join my group; just send me an email introducing yourself and expressing interest.

The broad goals of my research program

As part of my job as a professor, I am expected initiate research and make contributions to math and science, to the academic community, and to society. You will be helping me carry out this research. It is imperative that we carry out good scientific work and conduct ourselves in an ethical way. The ultimate goal of our research is dissemination of new knowledge, most often in the form of journal articles and conference presentations. Sharing the knowledge we gain by conducting research is critical to the advancement of our field.

What I expect from you

Another part of my job is teaching and mentoring students. As an undergraduate student, your primary goal is to graduate in a timely fashion. Your for-credit classes should be your priority.

To make substantial research progress, you will need to be able to devote at least three or four hours to working on your research project per week. In other words, working on a research project should be like a 3-credit class.

In general, I expect you to:

• Be honest, ethical, and enthusiastic
• Learn new mathematical theory and applications, beyond what is covered in your classes
• Learn how to plan, design, and conduct high-quality mathematical and scientific research
• Learn how to document and present your findings, and do so regularly
• Attend regular meetings: 3-4 lab meetings during the semester, and 1-on-1 meetings with your research mentor (most likely me) every week or two.
• Be engaged with the research group, by presenting and joining the discussion at lab meetings
• Treat your lab mates and lab funds with respect
• Take advantage of professional development opportunities (for example, when recent graduates return to campus to discuss their experiences, or when an outside speaker will be giving a lecture on a relevant topic)
• Work hard - don’t give up!
• Get the science done

What you can expect from me

You should expect me to be available for regular meetings (once a week or every other week). At these meetings we will talk about what you have done lately, or what you have read. I will do my best to answer questions that you have, and help you solve problems that you experience in your research. Research is not easy. There are many pitfalls and many failures. You will quickly learn that much of what you attempt will not work out, or will lead to results that are not interesting or hard to interpret. That is perfectly normal. It is my responsibility to be your cheer-leader and help keep you excited about your work. Only with perseverance will you generate high quality results.

You should expect me to help you learn to present your work.

You should expect me to be your advocate. If you have a problem, come and see me. I will do the best I can to help you solve it. I will also support you in your professional development activities.

How to do science

Making the most of meetings with your mentor(s)

Meetings are a chance to update your mentors on your progress and to work together through anything that has you stuck. Mentor meetings are the place to ask “dumb” questions. More often than not, you’ll find that these so-called “dumb” questions aren’t dumb at all. Discussing them with your mentor may even open the doors to novel and interesting research directions. In my lab, there is no space for judgment in mentor meetings. Your mentor will be focused on getting on the same page as you and may even have a few “dumb” questions of their own.

It’s useful to come to each meeting with an intention. What do you hope to get out of your meeting? What kinds of questions can your mentor help you address? What do you need your mentor to know?

At the end of each meeting, we will usually set goals that can be achieved by our next meeting. It’s good practice to take notes after meetings to remember what goals were set. At the start of the next meeting, we’ll make sure to check in on your progress. With respect to these goals, it’s really about the journey and not the destination. Think of them more as intention-setting to send you in the right direction.

Tips for literature searches/reviews

Review articles are a great place to start. When you’ve read a good one, make sure to look at the papers that were cited in it. Also, look for other papers that cited that review article. This will lead you to the most up-to-date papers on the subject.

As I read a paper I mark it up, and after I finish I try to reflect on a few key questions:

• What was the main takeaway message of the paper?
• What was the single most interesting thing to me in the paper?
• Which concepts or ideas did I not understand? Where can I learn more about them?

It is a great idea to save a paper that was useful to you in a reference manager like Zotero or Mendeley.

Some words of encouragement

Scientific research, by its nature, is about constantly confronting your own ignorance. You’re always trying to find out what you don’t know. Sometimes, no one in the world knows. That’s when you have a truly interesting scientific question that could lead to a big breakthrough for the field. Doing science will always make you feel like you’re dumb. Don’t let that discourage you. Learn to love your own ignorance and let it guide you to learn more and to find great discoveries.

My goal as a mentor is not to make you into an expert. My goal is to show you how to learn independently. It is unlikely that over the course of working together that you will feel a true sense of confidence and mastery of the field of research you’re working on - even I don’t have that! But you will learn how to learn and how to keep asking questions like the best researchers.

Professional Development

I expect you to put some thought to what you will do after graduation, and take advantage of opportunities to learn more about your options. This can include attending information/discussion sessions (for example, every spring, Creighton invites recent graduates to come talk about their experiences since graduating); applying for REUs, internships, and other such programs; applying to graduate school; and applying for jobs (this is not an exhaustive list).