The senior thesis is a hallmark of the Princeton experience, giving students the opportunity to conduct original research under the mentorship of a faculty adviser. Every senior is required to write a thesis, with the exception of Computer Science majors in the Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S.E.) degree program. Instead, these students are required to undertake a substantial independent project, called independent work (IW), which can take the form of a traditional one-on-one project with an adviser, an IW seminar where a small group of students independently conduct projects tied to the seminar’s main theme, or an optional senior thesis.
In 2022, I interviewed Shannon Heh ’23 about her experience in an IW seminar, where she highlighted the structure and guidance the professor and course seminar. This year, I wanted to explore the perspective of a B.S.E. Computer Science student who pursued a different option: the one-on-one IW project.
Anna Calveri ’26 stood out as the perfect person to speak with, not just because of her exciting research at the Princeton Vision & Learning Lab led by Professor Jia Deng, but also because she began her project during the summer as a ReMatch+ intern and built on it during the fall semester. While many students only work on their IW within a single semester, Anna’s approach of extending her research across both the summer and fall gave her the chance to deepen her research and hit the ground running with impressive progress.
Alexis Wu (AW): What question or problem did you tackle through your IW project?
Anna Calveri (AC): The problem I tackled was a lack of detailed or realistic data in the field of robotics. One of the main challenges is that real-world data is hard to gather and annotate. Currently, researchers often process the datasets manually, which is both time-consuming and costly. The goal of my project was to build upon my lab’s main project and generate synthetic data, or artificial data generated from real-world data.
AW: What were the similarities and differences between your summer research and your project during the academic year?
AC: My research over the semester was a continuation of my work over the summer. One difference was that I was able to accomplish much more over the summer, since I was in the lab daily from the morning to the end of the day. Over the summer, there were also more opportunities to meet with my adviser and discuss with researchers in my lab. Though I initially expected to make as much progress over the semester as I did during the summer, given classes and other responsibilities, it was more difficult to balance my IW during the fall. I met with my adviser weekly during the semester, which helped keep me on track and keep an eye on project scope.
AW: What was something rewarding about your IW experience?
AC: Definitely the paper—it was a rewarding way to look back on my progress. We had a poster presentation at the end of the summer, but I didn’t present my work in a written, paper form. Final reports for one-semester IW projects are about twenty pages long, and it was my first time writing that much for a project. It was also my first time working on a research paper! It seemed daunting at the start, but it was much better after actually starting it.
AW: How has your IW experience impacted your academic and career interests?
AC: During the summer, I realized I really enjoyed my work, and that got me thinking about whether I would like to go to grad school. I really liked the field I worked in—computer graphics—so I pinpointed something I would want to dive deeper into in further studies. I’m also heavily considering doing a thesis my senior year, even if it isn’t required, for the opportunity to conduct a year-long research project. The fall semester is pretty short!
Career-wise, it had a positive impact. Even if my career interests aren’t specifically related to my IW project, I gained experience and practical skills. For example, I practiced working in a big codebase and understanding other people’s code, which is a useful skill even if I don’t work on computer graphics.
AW: What advice would you give to students who choose 1:1 IW projects?
AC: From what I’ve heard from people who completed an IW seminar, they have a perhaps more streamlined roadmap of milestones. This is one thing I wish I had done better. I prioritized my research for much of the semester, and only really focused on my deliverables—like the papers—at the end. My advice is: don’t wait to start the paper or presentation!
A lot of people also say this, but make sure you don’t put off meetings with your adviser. Even if you feel like you haven’t made a lot of progress for the week, it’s still an opportunity to discuss challenges and blockers.
Responses have been edited for clarity and length.
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One key takeaway from my conversation with Anna is the importance of balancing long-term projects and research with the structure of regular check-ins and progress milestones. I find this advice to be applicable not just to Independent Work, but also to the Senior Thesis I am working on now and many of the semester-long projects or assignments I have completed for other courses. As we enter the spring semester, I encourage all students to set clear, manageable goals and seek out regular feedback from professors or advisers. Staying proactive can make even the most ambitious projects feel more manageable and lead to greater success. If you are interested in learning more about senior theses and what they might entail, stay tuned for my future posts!
Wishing you the best with your own research endeavors!
— Alexis Wu, Engineering Correspondent
