August 2021 - Gradstudents - mailman.cs.vt.edu

[NCR] Innovation Campus Social Event
by clu＠vt.edu 25 Aug '21

25 Aug '21

From: Nvcfac <nvcfac-bounces(a)cs.vt.edu> On Behalf Of Joan Watson via Nvcfac Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2021 9:54 AM To: CS Faculty <faculty(a)cs.vt.edu> Subject: [Nvcfac] Innovation Campus Social Event Good morning! Please share this announcement about the Innovation Campus Drop In Social with your graduate students. Reach out to Robin Jones <mailto:robin.jones@vt.edu> , AVP for Student Services at the VT Innovation Campus, if you have any questions or if you would like more information. Best, Joan *************** Joan Monahan Watson, Ph.D. Director of Administrative Operations Department of Computer Science Virginia Tech 1180F Torgersen Hall (0106) 620 Drillfield Drive Blacksburg, VA 24061 <mailto:jmwatson@vt.edu> jmwatson(a)vt.edu (540) 231-8874

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Welcome Back Event at Career and Professional Development: Get the Scoop Event Flyer
by juliapc7＠cs.vt.edu 25 Aug '21

25 Aug '21

CS|SOURCE – EMPLOYER JOB POSTINGS AND EVENTS Schedule an appointment through Handshake!

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Research opportunity in the Math department
by Adrian Sandu 24 Aug '21

24 Aug '21

---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2021 09:52:57 -0400 From: Russell Hewett <rhewett(a)vt.edu> To: Adrian Sandu <sandu(a)cs.vt.edu> Cc: Adrian Sandu <asandu7(a)vt.edu> Subject: Re: GRA search I have an immediate opening for a PhD student in the Computational ML and Inverse Problems group, in the mathematics department, at the intersection of high-performance computing and deep learning. An ideal candidate has interest or background in any of the following areas: physical simulation, HPC, or mathematics of ML/DL. Experience with GPU programming and PyTorch or TensorFlow is ideal. This work is sponsored by the US Department of Energy. Please contact me at rhewett(a)vt.edu, and share a CV, if you are potentially interested. More information on group activities is available at www.rjh.io/research. Thanks, Russell

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Invitation for NCR CS graduate students
by Roxanne Paul 24 Aug '21

24 Aug '21

Dear NCR CS graduate students, Please see below and attached an invitation from Dr. Robin Jones, the Ass’t Vice President for Student Affairs in the NCR. *Robin D. Jones, Ed.D. (she/her/hers)* AVP for Student Services Virginia Tech Innovation Campus 3000 Potomac Ave. Suite 101 Alexandria, VA 22305 571-329-9374 robin.jones(a)vt.edu https://virginiatech.zoom.us/my/*rdjones1* <https://virginiatech.zoom.us/my/rdjones1> [image: Capture]

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CS|SOURCE - EMPLOYER JOB POSTINGS AND EVENTS
by juliapc7＠cs.vt.edu 24 Aug '21

24 Aug '21

CS|SOURCE - EMPLOYER JOB POSTINGS AND EVENTS View the following job opportunities and events. For other available positions, click <https://career.vt.edu/job-search/Handshake.html> Handshake. OPPORTUNITY 1 Mark your calendars - CS|Source Career Fair, Monday, September 13. Virtual 10am-3pm; In Person 2-7pm. Click <https://cs.vt.edu/cs-source/cs-source-events.html> CS|Source for schedule and career fair resources. More info coming this week. OPPORTUNITY 2 Bloomberg 2022 Software Engineer full-time openings: <https://careers.bloomberg.com/job/detail/92290> https://careers.bloomberg.com/job/detail/92290. OPPORTUNITY 3 Bloomberg 15-minute coffee chats on Tuesday, September 7, 1-5pm. Engineers will answer questions about Bloomberg and full time and internship positions. Sign up at: <https://tinyurl.com/ygp98zpt> https://tinyurl.com/ygp98zpt. OPPORTUNITY 4 Grad Students don't miss "KPMG Digital Lighthouse PhD Virtual Information Session". The link is posted on <https://app.joinhandshake.com/events/809235> Handshake. Flyer attached. OPPORTUNITY 5 The Department of Computer Science, Furman University, Greenville, SC, is accepting applications for two tenure-track faculty positions at: <https://furman.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Furman_Careers/job/Main-Campus/O pen-Rank-Tenure-Track-Professor-in-Computer-Science_R001166> https://furman.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Furman_Careers/job/Main-Campus/Op en-Rank-Tenure-Track-Professor-in-Computer-Science_R001166. OPPORTUNITY 6 Materials Science & Engineering is hiring a work study for a Database Developer. Apply through <https://career.vt.edu/job-search/Handshake.html> Handshake #5205111. Julia Costello Strategic Partnership Coordinator Virginia Tech | College of Engineering | Department of Computer Science 2202 Kraft Drive | Blacksburg, VA 24060 Email: <mailto:juliapc7@cs.vt.edu> juliapc7(a)cs.vt.edu Stay up-to-date on CS|Source job and event opportunities <https://cs.vt.edu/cs-source.html> CS|Source Website | <https://www.cs-source.cs.vt.edu/> CS|Source Portal | <https://twitter.com/vt_CS_Source> CS|Source on Twitter

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[MS/PhD] Finding an Advisor 101
by Cliff Shaffer 23 Aug '21

23 Aug '21

Welcome to all our new graduate students! And to our students in the accelerated UG/G program. This email is aimed at students who need to find a research advisor. It is the responsibility of each MS and PhD student to contact faculty and find a suitable match. I am happy to discuss the process with you individually. But I hope that this email will help you to get started. At least, it should point you to some resources that might be able to help you in your search. Picking the right research advisor for you is one of the most important decisions that you make as a graduate student, especially for PhD students. This is the person who you will work with for a substantial amount of time as you conduct your research and eventually complete your thesis or dissertation. Perhaps one third of new students come in with a pretty good idea of who they will be working with. About two thirds of new students are starting more-or-less from scratch. There are many different dimensions to consider when selecting an advisor. The two that strike students as most obvious are someone working in a research area that you are interested in, and someone who can fund you. But other important considerations include how well you can get along with the person, how well their management style works for you, how much time they have for you, and resources aside from direct funding that they can provide (lab space, lab mates, intellectual environment, equipment). The first step to finding an advisor for most people is to decide what research areas are of most interest to you. From there, you can hope to identify faculty who seem to be doing work that looks interesting. A resource that can help is the Research Areas pages (see https://cs.vt.edu/research.html). These list faculty associated with a given research area. But even the most interesting faculty member cannot help you if they are already so busy that they won't take you on. So another useful document is the spreadsheet of faculty status that shows how actively any given faculty member is looking for students (you can reach this from gpc.cs.vt.edu). For many students, finding an advisor involves sending emails or visiting faculty during their office hours. (For information on office hours, see the faculty office hours spreadsheet available at gpc.cs.vt.edu.) Keep in mind that the typical faculty member is contacted by many students (both students already in the department and ones who are considering whether to apply). The most important piece of advice regarding sending email to faculty is that it should clearly indicate that you are contacting that specific faculty member because you are interested in their specific research (and your email should prove that you know something about what they do). Sending an email that looks like it could have been sent to any professor, especially if it comes across as looking for funding instead of looking for an advisor, is likely to be ignored. So don't send form letters -- every contact email should be personalized or it's not worth sending at all. How soon do you need to find an advisor? In part, that depends on which program you are in. Finding an advisor sooner rather than later and getting started on a research project is always a good thing. But most people are fine if they can start working with someone by the end of their first semester. A PhD student who doesn't start working on research until their second year might do fine. But only if nothing goes wrong. Far better is to get started in the first year with someone, doing something, even if you are not sure that it will be a great fit. Then, if you switch in the second year, you will have some research experience and still be able to maintain a reasonable timeline. MS students should expect that completing a thesis will take about 12 months. Which means that a student starting this Fall semester cannot expect to return to school in August of their second year to start their thesis work and graduate the following May. An MS student who starts in Fall should expect to spend quality time working on their thesis project either in their first Spring or during the summer in order to reach the typical 12 months needed. BS/MS accelerated students need to keep firmly in mind the need to spend 12 months to complete a thesis. An accelerated student who hopes to graduate after one year in the graduate program will need to follow that same advice: Either they should be working on a project in their final undergraduate semester, or they should be working during the summer. Starting the thesis in August when they officially begin the graduate program will not likely lead to graduating the following May. -- Dr. Cliff Shaffer Professor and Associate Department Head for Graduate Studies Department of Computer Science Phone: (540) 231-4354 Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061 WWW: www.cs.vt.edu/~shaffer

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CS Council: Welcome Back!
by Myles Frantz 23 Aug '21

23 Aug '21

To all, I would like to welcome everyone to Virginia Tech and to the Semester! I have a few announcements about the council separated by section for your convenience. TLDR: Sign up for the following: <https://doodle.com/poll/sgpazhg5d3z2btgx> 1. Schedule our meetings (TBD) <https://doodle.com/poll/sgpazhg5d3z2btgx> 2. Welcome Back Picnic Sign Up form <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSee3H08VRBUagnLOkGf-_q2d1dmXzPbDG7…> 3. Become a Lab Representative <https://forms.gle/TAoSBQd59qu4bNjBA> 4. Become a Mentor or a Mentee <https://forms.gle/1AmKbBn8C7fToaoh8> 5. Mailing List <https://groups.google.com/a/vt.edu/forum/#!forum/csgc-g> 6. View the conference travel funding that has been raised <https://csgrad.cs.vt.edu/travel_funding/#Policy> 7. Follow the Website for our future events <https://csgrad.cs.vt.edu> Intro: The council represents the Computer Science Graduate Students and runs various events. The events we will run include running Jobs Panels (talk with professionals from various companies), picnics (soon!), hikes, and more. We are in the process of gathering mentors for our Mentor and Mentee program, which allows graduate students to communicate with other students for help. You can sign up to be a Mentor or a Mentee at this form here <https://forms.gle/1AmKbBn8C7fToaoh8>. We will be processing the sign-ups shortly and have to balance the number of mentors and their preferred number of mentees accordingly. You can also sign up to potentially be a Lab Representative for your lab here <https://forms.gle/TAoSBQd59qu4bNjBA>. The time commitment for this is extremely low and only involves: receiving occasional emails from the grad council and representing your lab’s concerns and requests to the grad council. Welcome Back Picnic: We are hosting a Welcome Back picnic this Friday (08/27) from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at the Blacksburg Municipal Park Shelter 1. This will be an event that will help start off the semester on a good note and provide the opportunity to meet other CS students! Please sign up here <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSee3H08VRBUagnLOkGf-_q2d1dmXzPbDG7…> to help us anticipate how many people will show up. We will provide free food, drinks, and games, but feel free to bring your own food and games! Travel Funding: Many of you know the travel funding was lowered per conference. Thankfully this has raised back to its pre-Covid amounts. These amounts can be found on our webpage here <https://csgrad.cs.vt.edu/travel_funding/#Policy>. Meetings: Our meetings are open to any CS Graduate student and if you would like to participate please fill out the Doodle link here <https://doodle.com/poll/sgpazhg5d3z2btgx> to help schedule time. The next meeting will be determined later and we will send an email update. You can see the update by joining the Google Group listed here <https://groups.google.com/a/vt.edu/forum/#!forum/csgc-g>. You can also find our website here: https://csgrad.cs.vt.edu. Cheers, *------------------------------------------* Miles Frantz (*PhD.CS*) Ph.D. Student President of VT CS Grad Student Council <https://csgrad.cs.vt.edu/> Timezone: EDT/EST (UTC - 4/AoE +8) Website <https://people.cs.vt.edu/~frantzme/> *|* Public Key <https://pgp.mit.edu/pks/lookup?search=0xC1081F9E88F1F00B> *|* Lab <https://yaogroup.cs.vt.edu/> *|* Email <frantzme(a)vt.edu> *CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:* The contents of this email message and any attachments are intended solely for the addressee(s) and may contain confidential and/or privileged information and may be legally protected from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient of this message or their agent, or if this message has been addressed to you in error, please immediately alert the sender by reply email and then delete this message and any attachments. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, copying, or storage of this message or its attachments is strictly prohibited.

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Correction about drop date with full tuition
by Roxanne Paul 23 Aug '21

23 Aug '21

Dear CS grad students: My bad! I’ve had quite a few questions and it appears the policy has changed this semester. Please take a look at this website and Refunds for Resignations and Reduced Course Load; Refund and Direct Deposit Information | Bursar's Office | Virginia Tech (vt.edu) <https://www.bursar.vt.edu/refunds1/refunds.html> It appears that if you drop *all * classes, today is the deadline for 100% tuition refund. If you reduce your course load below 9 credits, but still stay registered for at least one class, the deadline is Friday. Roxanne Nersesian Paul Administrative & Program Specialist Computer Science and Electrical & Computer Engineering Northern Virginia Center 7054 Haycock Road, Room 312A Falls Church, VA 22043 703-538-8370 roxpaul(a)vt.edu

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Reminders for today and this week about dropping and adding classes
by Roxanne Paul 23 Aug '21

23 Aug '21

Dear CS Graduate Students, We hope your first day of classes is going well. We wanted to remind you that today is the last day that you can drop a class and receive a full refund for the class. This applies mostly to self-paying students who are taking fewer than 9 credits per semester. (Tuition does not go up beyond the charge for 9 credits.) Also, this Friday, August 27 is the last day that you will be able to add a class yourself. After that, you would need the assistance of your Program Coordinator. So, please try to get your class schedule settled by the end of this week. Please bookmark this page so that you can keep current on important dates this semester and next: Academic Calendar: 2021-2022 | Office of the University Registrar | Virginia Tech (vt.edu) <https://www.registrar.vt.edu/dates-deadlines/academic-calendar/2021-2022.ht…> . You will be able to withdraw from classes until October 25. After that date, you must submit a Graduate Course Withdrawal form (see attached). If the class is your *only *class, you’ll need a Withdrawal/Resignation form. Please contact your Program Coordinator in this case. Please submit forms through the Computer Science Graduate Program Form Submission Portal (google.com) <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdLVKWnI1FbzKgY06Jlh_UHUFk0c4IwZIJ…> . We wish you all a successful semester and look forward to working with you! All MEng students, both campuses: Samantha Pipkin samanthap(a)vt.edu Blacksburg MS & PhD students: Sharon Kinder-Potter skpotter(a)vt.edu NCR MS & PhD students: Roxanne Paul roxpaul(a)vt.edu

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POS for Fall 2021 graduates
by Sara Hooshangi 23 Aug '21

23 Aug '21

If you are planning to graduate with your CSA degree this Fall 2021: · By now, you should have submitted your POS and received a GG approval from the Graduate School. You can check the status of your POS in HokieSpa under Degree Menu. If you have not, please contact your coordinator (not me!) immediately to submit one or to see where the form is in the process. This is the week where you need to make sure that your Plan of Study can actually lead to your degree completion at the end of the Fall term. Any changes must be done and approved this week. · If you have edits to your POS (you took or are taking courses different from your original approved POS), please contact your coordinator to submit a change of POS form.

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