The Nature of the Beast

Field guide to computer scientists

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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• Full Professor

Non-tenure track• Lecturers• Adjunct Professor• Research Professor• Visiting Professor

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 . . .

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

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

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

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

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)

Life of a Tenure-Track Professor

Success Factors (at a research university)

1.RESEARCH2.RESEARCH3.RESEARCH4. Teaching5. Service

“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

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

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

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

When I Am Not In My Office…

Non-Tenure Track Faculty

Typically focus on teaching and service rather than research

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