Summer Research

The Art of Cartography: Creating Maps for your Research

Posted on March 24, 2025March 11, 2025 by Advik Eswaran

*A figure of national research stations in Antarctica, which I recently created for my research using the Python library Cartopy.*

Ever since I was a child, I’ve always loved maps—I was a major geography nerd growing up. Jumping forward to today, my like-minded roommates are just as obsessed as I am: the walls of our dorm are literally covered floor to ceiling with maps. These include (but are not limited to) a glaciological map of Antarctica, public transport maps of numerous cities (Toulouse, Christchurch, and New York are just some examples), and a road map of my home state of Washington!

Maps aren’t just a fun hobby: They’re also enormously important in numerous research fields (in addition, of course, to just being plain useful). Whether your research field of interest is history or meteorology or epidemiology, there’s a good chance that you’ll be reading—and making!—some maps. In my own field of glaciology, maps are of paramount importance, whether it’s a map of glacier melt contribution from southeast Alaska or a map of Antarctic ice core sites. I’ve written this guide to provide some helpful resources and tools for making maps for your research, so hopefully it will serve as a good starting point! I should note that this isn’t a tutorial, but plenty of great tutorials should exist on the Internet for all of these tools.

Computer Science Independent Research: A Conversation with Anna Calveri ‘26

Posted on February 26, 2025February 19, 2025 by Alexis Wu

Anna Calveri ’26 is a junior in the Computer Science department. On campus, she is a member of Princeton University Robotics Club, Sympoh Urban Arts Crew, and Colonial Club.

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.

Looking Ahead to Spring (And Summer)

Posted on February 21, 2025February 19, 2025 by Haya Elamir

This image is a picture of a pretty set of windows during the warmer months to hint towards the warming weather and provide some optimism to the stress that applying to internships can cause. — *Rocky Common Room Window, taken by Haya Elamir*

For Princeton students, it’s not premature to start thinking about summer. If anything, this post may be a little behind for some of those proactive students. Rest assured though, you are not behind if you have not started the search for summer internships (even though many students will say they’ve already applied). Opportunities are aplenty, and no, you are not behind if you didn’t start applying for research internships back in the womb.

Demystifying Big Data: An Introduction to Some Useful Data Operation Tools

Posted on February 10, 2025February 7, 2025 by Advik Eswaran

*A sample image of computer code that works with data*. *Photo credit: Markus Spiske.*

“Big data” and “data science” are some of the buzzwords of our era, perhaps second only to “machine learning” or “artificial intelligence.” In our globalized, Internet-ized society of plentiful information galore, data has become perhaps the most important commodity of all. Across all kinds of academic disciplines, working with large amounts of data has become a necessity: universities and corporations advertise positions for “data scientists,” and media outlets warn ominously of the privacy risks associated with the rise of “big data.”

This isn’t an article that discusses the broader, societal implications of “big data,” although I highly encourage all readers to learn more about this important topic. Instead, I’m here purely to provide you some (hopefully) broadly applicable tips to working with large amounts of data in any academic context.

In my own field of climate science, data is paramount: researchers work with gigantic databases and arrays containing millions of elements (e.g., how different climate variables, such as temperature or precipitation, change over both space and time). But data, and opportunities for working with data, are present in every field, from operations research to history. Below is an overview of some existing data operation tools that can hopefully assist you on your budding data science career!

A Guide to Poster-Making

Posted on February 7, 2025February 7, 2025 by Rebecca Cho

You’ve finished a research project and now you’re on to the final step: presenting your work! It’s time to share the incredible work you’ve done with the general public, and one of the best ways to do so is to create a poster conveying the significance and conclusions of your research. This will be an essential skill during your time at Princeton whether for a course or as a part of your junior and senior independent work. If this is your first time creating a poster presentation, check this blog out!

A student presenting her junior work as a poster presentation. — Sara Akiba ‘26 with her poster presentation on “Foraminifera-bound δ¹³C as a Paleo CO₂Proxy: Methods Testing” for the Geosciences Junior Poster Presentations! If you want a poster as great as hers, continue reading below for some advice.

The Skills for the Job

Posted on February 3, 2025December 12, 2024 by Stanley Stoutamire, Jr.

Image of East Pyne Courtyard facing the the arch that exits towards Cannon Green. Evening sunlight streams in through the archway. — *An evening in East Pyne Courtyard*

Research is always top of mind here. Princeton is a research university. Princeton faculty are engaged in research. Princeton students complete independent research to graduate. These are just some of the ways that we collectively understand what research is as Princeton. Yet, the images that can come to mind when thinking about “research” are quite limited. The idea of research conjures up images of bubbling chemicals and expensive technical equipment. That picture of grueling lab work is illustrative of some disciplines, but it’s largely immaterial to the work of many researchers. This can lead to a misunderstanding of what skills are necessary to succeed in research environments. Getting involved with research is daunting enough without confusion about the skill set required. This past summer, when I worked in public health research, I identified core skills that are critical, no matter what your research experience looks like.

Crafting Your Ideal Princeton Summer

Posted on January 31, 2025December 12, 2024 by Angel Toasakul

Yellow/orange fireworks against a black night sky on Princeton's campus in summer 2024. — *Fireworks on the 4th of July, taken at the closest firework show to campus this past summer*

As a Princeton student, the possibilities for summer are exciting but can also feel overwhelming. Between research opportunities, internships, volunteering, and even traveling, it’s easy to feel like everyone around you is planning something impressive. But the key to a fulfilling summer isn’t about packing in as much as possible—it’s about finding what fits your personal goals and needs, whether that’s academic growth or much-needed rest.

A Quick Guide to Writing a Funding Proposal

Posted on January 29, 2025December 12, 2024 by Rebecca Cho

A student typing on a computer. — *This could be you working passionately on your funding proposal using the tips in this guide! Photo credit: Glenn Carstens-Peters.*

After having discovered a potential funding opportunity, you might be reading the requirements for the application and find that you need to write a “research proposal” as a part of the application. This might be your first time writing a funding proposal. Here are a few tips to assist you in writing your funding proposal!

A Hidden iGem at Princeton

Posted on December 13, 2024December 6, 2024 by Stanley Stoutamire, Jr.

Dowon Seo '27 stands center frame holding a microphone, in front of a presentation screen describing quorum sensing. Besides him are members of the iGem team. — *Dowon Seo ’27 presenting Research in Paris, France.* *Photo courtesy of Dowon Seo.*

Princeton offers a wealth of opportunities to engage in undergraduate research. From smaller projects found in writing seminars to the ever-looming senior thesis, research is woven throughout our academic journeys. Still, outside of this mandatory exposure to research there are also unique opportunities to explore research as an undergraduate. One of the most interesting of these is the Princeton iGem team. I was able to sit down to speak with a member of this year’s team, Dowon Seo ‘27, after he returned from the annual iGem conference in Paris.

Harmonizing Research and A Cappella: How Music Fuels My Scientific Journey

Posted on November 18, 2024October 28, 2024 by Nathan Nguyen

Photo of the members of the Princeton Footnotes in the year 2024-2025, taken at Rocky courtyard — *Photo of the Footnotes, Princeton’s fresh low-voice a cappella group founded in 1959*

Imagine standing in front of a big audience, heart racing, ready to blend your voice with others and hit the notes of an intricate a cappella arrangement. Every beat, every breath, is crucial. Every time I stand on stage or under an arch with my a cappella group, the Princeton Footnotes, I think of how similar singing and music feels to what I do in the lab. You might be thinking that singing in an a cappella group and doing research are worlds apart. However, these two passions have formed a bond in ways that I never believed possible. In fact, the creativity, collaboration, and discipline I have channeled in being a part of the Footnotes have made me a better researcher—and vice versa.

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