watching how senior graduate students
operate helps new students move up
the learning curve quickly.
The research retreats and open
space also build esprit de corps, as
we play together one afternoon at retreats—for example, skiing, paint ball,
and river rafting—and in the lab we
collectively watch presidential debates,
movies, and big sports events.
The challenge of our open space is
then to preserve concentration while
enhancing communication, 1 for otherwise people will still stay home. Distractions are reduced with large displays,
headphones, and relying on cellphones
instead of landline phones; the custom
is to make and take calls outside the
open space. We also included many
small meeting rooms in which to hold
vigorous conversations. The result is an
open space about as quiet as a library or
coffee shop, which is good enough for
most to concentrate while encouraging
spontaneous communication.
actual advising
Clearly, the students who always do
well are a joy to meet. I do wonder how
much advising you are really doing for
them. For those students who need
more help, the only thing I can say with
confidence after 32 years is that every
student is different, and its unlikely
there is a single path that works for all.
Moreover, there are limits to how much
you can change, since students have
had at least 20 years of people shaping
their personalities before they even
meet you. You can tell new students
that being a successful researcher
is different from being a successful
undergraduate student, as they generally have no opinions on the topic
when they arrive. For example, it’s often a surprise that grades are less important than research, and that they
need to learn how to work on their
own rather than just follow orders.
They also need to find the right balance between learning the literature
and starting to build. Clearly, advice
changes over time. New students may
need a “starter” project, and you give
them larger tasks as students mature:
reviewing, mentoring, and even helping write proposals.
Here are a half-dozen other topics
for advisors, including bolstering confidence, helping with speaking, spend-
ing time together, giving quick feedback, counseling them, and acting like
a role model.
Bolster confidence. Self-confidence
can be a problem for students, especially early in their careers and for
some belonging to underrepresented
groups, so look for chances for them
to succeed. Perhaps it’s suggesting
a paper they can be lead author on,
taking a summer internship at a company that is a good match for their
talents, or even having success as a
teaching assistant. I have seen even
very senior students blossom late in
their careers when they have some
wins under their belts that everyone
recognizes.
Make sure that you praise such students when they do have real success;
all of us love praise for a job well done,
but some of us need it more than others do. Students learn from criticism as
well as praise, just be careful it doesn’t
deflate potentially fragile egos. I try to
remember to phrase critiques as questions—“What do you think about…?”—
both orally and in my written comments
on papers. I try to include something to
praise in all the red ink that I put on a
student’s paper, but keep in mind that
false praise for a mediocre job may hurt
more than help. 3
Practice public speaking. Good work
is often lost due to poor presentation,
yet giving good talks is a problem for
many students. Our culture is that
practice talks are good for everyone, so
we all do them, including me. We practice answering difficult questions as
well as delivering smooth talks to avoid
a “deer-in-headlights” incident during
advising is simpler
if you foster an
environment that
helps students
learn how to
become successful
researchers.
the actual talk.
Spend the time. Weekly meetings
gives students a chance to talk about
what they’re working on and forces
them to think in advance about how to
utilize their time with you. I tell Ph.D.
students in their last six months that
they have highest priority on my schedule and can meet as often as they want,
which helps reduce their anxiety.
Give feedback, quickly and often. I
try to review a student paper within a
day or two and give my comments for
them to read before we meet, which
means I am not the bottleneck. Making
students write the paper and the guiding them through the revision process
teaches them how to write.
Be a trusted counselor. Students may
ask for personal advice, perhaps even
for serious problems. As they are often
far from family and friends, you must
be there for them.
You’re a role model; act like one. I am
struck from parenting two now-grown
sons that it’s not what you say but what
you do that has lasting impact. I bet
this lesson applies as well to your academic progeny. Hence, I am conscious
that students are always watching what
I do, and try to act in ways that I’d like
them to emulate later.
For example, my joy of being a professor is obvious to everyone I interact
with, whereas I hear that some colleagues at competing universities often complain to their students about
how hectic their lives are. Perhaps differing advisor behavior explains why
many Berkeley systems students try
academia?
tricks of the trade
Surely the most traumatic matter for
the students is picking the thesis topic,
as they believe it determines their careers. Gerald Estrin, who had worked
with John von Neumann, was one of
my advisors in graduate school. I still
remember him telling me: “Every CS
Ph.D. student I have seen, including
myself, had a least one period when
they are convinced that their dissertation topic is utterly worthless.” Just
retelling this story can help students
cope, but look for opportunities to get
others to praise their work. Projects
and retreats help: there are others to
talk to and they get regular feedback on
their chosen topic from the outsiders,