Capitalize on opportunities to turn your research ideas into reality.
Last summer, I went abroad on a fully-funded internship doing astrophysics research at Cardiff University, in Cardiff, Wales, UK. This experience not only solidified my career decision to pursue astrophysics research, but also gave me a unique immersion into Wales and Welsh culture as well as the broader United Kingdom. If you are curious about research abroad, read on!
Continue reading Doing Summer Research Abroad (Princeton IIP)
ReMatch+ is an incredible summer research program for first-year and second-year undergraduate students at Princeton. Launched in 2014, the program connects undergraduate students with dedicated, knowledgeable Princeton graduate students and postdoctoral fellows working across a diverse range of disciplines. Each year, ReMatch provides fellowship funding for joint summer research projects and mentorship between undergraduates and graduate students/postdoctoral fellows. Sign-ups for interested students and fall events are currently open; I encourage you to join the interest list to learn more about this incredible opportunity here. Here is a sample of some of the 2023 summer projects conducted by students with various interests and experiences to help you gain a sense of the breadth of opportunities provided by ReMatch.
Continue reading 2024 ReMatch+ ProgramLast year, I wrote an article on The Creation of TigerResearch, a platform created by three Princeton undergraduates (Vivek Kolli ‘24, Eric Ahn ‘24, and Alex Zhang ‘24) to help students to easily discover Princeton professors and learn more about their research focuses. Through my interview with Vivek, I was able to see how students at Princeton take their entrepreneurial ideas and bring them to life, creating new solutions that help other students become more engaged with research on campus.
TigerResearch homepage welcome message
This year, as I continue to explore my own research interests, I find myself returning to TigerResearch. I’m interested in learning more about my professors’ research backgrounds, particularly in what their latest and current work is on and how it relates to the discussions and material we cover in class. So, I wanted to take this opportunity to delve deeper into TigerResearch.
Continue reading A Look Inside TigerResearch: A Gateway to Princeton Professors’ Research Interests
My final senior thesis!
I’ve always loved reading through senior thesis titles and thinking “Wow, that’s clever,” “That’s genius,” “I wonder how they came up with that.” The senior thesis, which many seniors refer to as a full-blown novel, is supposed to be a senior’s finest work and proudest possession. It looks impressive in its black book with gold font. It is 115 pages. It has fancy acknowledgments. As a first-year/sophomore, and even as a high schooler on tour, I was in awe at how seniors could create such a perfect paper. It isn’t until now that I know the answer: hard work.
Continue reading Effortless Perfection at Princeton: The “Perfect” Thesis is Really Hard WorkFrom March 19 to 22, 2023, I was at the 13th U.S. National Combustion Meeting presenting a research poster. My work was titled, “Deep Learning Modeling of the Filtered Generalized Progress Variable Dissipation Rate in Turbulent Premixed Combustion”. In my junior year, as I was planning what to work on for my thesis and what goals I hoped to attain, I determined that I wanted to go the extra mile in my research, enough to be able to go to an academic conference. With some hard work, the patient guidance of my adviser Prof. Michael Mueller, the support from my labmates at the Computational Turbulent Reacting Flow Lab, and the funding from several sources (MAE, CST, OUR, and ACEE), I was able to attend this conference! This was my first research conference, and I cannot overstate how valuable this experience has been to my growth as a researcher.
As spring semester has arrived, the ever-expanding workload is not the only thing that students have on their minds. With application deadlines extending from now until late March or April, it is the time of year that we start thinking about where, and how, we will apply to summer internships, research opportunities, fellowships, and more. One perk of attending Princeton is that countless summer opportunities are made available to us and (bonus!) oftentimes many of the logistics (housing, payment, etc) are figured out by Princeton beforehand. But, this list can be daunting. Even figuring out which internships to apply to can be challenging, let alone how to best fill out their applications. We may feel like we just don’t have the time to think through our summer plans before we embark on them—but, trust me, some careful planning can make the difference between a life-changing internship and a bummer summer. So, I’ve compiled a short list of the best, time-efficient strategies for finding and applying to internships which are truly meaningful for you.
Continue reading Time-Efficient Strategies for Applying to Internships
Winter break is long and much-needed. It is a time to relax, rejuvenate, and reflect on the semester. In this post, I will give advice on how to make the most of the next few months, but I recognize that you know yourself best and should choose to spend your break in whatever way makes you happiest. Without further ado, here are my takeaways from the last 3 winter breaks:
Continue reading iFly and I Rest: Making the Most of Winter Break
Whether you’re trying to free up your summer to enjoy one of Princeton’s other fully-funded programs, or maybe pave the way for more advanced summer or independent research opportunities, it’s understandable why you might want to get a head start on research during the academic year. But, with jam-packed class schedules, multiple labs, essays to write, and hopefully squeezing in some time for yourself, it can feel impossible to do research on top of life at Princeton. So, how do students do it? Can you really spend 8-10 hours per week on research and still find work-life balance? In short, it depends. The number of classes you’re taking, extracurriculars, and your own unique circumstances all factor into whether research during the academic year is sustainable for your class schedule. For some, research can be a valuable addition to their academic schedules. But, like anything at Princeton, it requires careful planning, time management, and clarifying your own values. Here are three tips for striking balance with research during the academic year.
Continue reading Research During the Academic Year: Tips for Time Management & Pursuing your Passions
Vivek Kolli ’24 is Vice Chair of the Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy and Director of Marketing and Outreach for Scholars of Finance.
A few weeks ago, I interviewed Vivek Kolli ‘24, a junior in the Operations Research and Financial Engineering (ORFE) department. Vivek is one of the three developers for TigerResearch, a comprehensive platform that allows for students to easily navigate through their database of Princeton professors and their research areas. In our interview*, we discuss his vision for the platform, the importance of entrepreneurial ideas in driving the research process, and advice for students who would like to get involved with research at Princeton.
Continue reading The Creation of TigerResearch: An Interview with Vivek Kolli ’24If you’re someone who hasn’t yet done formal research in a university setting, one of the most intimidating parts of the process can be simply getting your foot in the door. Just like the way your options can seem very limited when applying for your first job, asking for a research position when you have no “experience” can seem discouraging — maybe even to the point of causing you to question whether you should apply in the first place. With that being said, there are some simple tips you can employ when applying for research positions to highlight the link between your existing interests and the work of the position for which you are applying.
