Professor Barry Rand stands at the frontier of sustainable electronics and energy solutions as a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University. His work in thin-film electronics and photovoltaic materials offers promising paths toward greener technologies, with real potential to reshape how we power our world.
As a student in his ENE 431: Solar Energy Conversion course, I’ve had the privilege of learning from Professor Rand this semester. This course has challenged how I think about energy and prompted me to look more closely at the systems that power the world. What stood out to me wasn’t just the technology, but the sense of possibility it held. I found myself thinking more seriously about what the future of energy could look like, and who’s shaping it. That curiosity led me to interview Professor Rand for Now & Next, where we discuss his research in thin-film electronics and where he sees the field heading.
A rainbow at the Fountain of Freedom (colloquially called the “SPIA Fountain”), taken during a break from working on my thesis
Independent research at Princeton offers an incredible opportunity for students to explore their academic interests and gain experience in the research world. This year, I’m working on my Senior Thesis with Professor Aleksandra Korolova, conducting an audit of Google ad delivery optimization algorithms. Specifically, I am studying whether aspects of advertisements—the image, text, links, and so on—impact the demographics of the audience to whom the advertisement is delivered.
In the fall, many people were curious about how my thesis was progressing. The truth was, for a few weeks, I hadn’t started running any experiments, since I first needed my research to be approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Through this experience, I both gained insight into the IRB process and found that many students had never even heard of the IRB. In this article, I share my experience and offer advice for students who are planning to conduct independent research.
Office hours signage. Photo Credit: Weingarten Center, University of Pennsylvania
If you’re like me, you’ve been here. Standing awkwardly outside your professor’s door, notes in hand, heart racing slightly as you rehearse your question for the tenth time. When I first got to Princeton, my professors felt larger than life – giants in their field, accomplished researchers and authors. As an undergraduate, I felt like an ant in comparison. I felt afraid to go to their office hours, because their time felt so much more valuable than mine.
Glass brain plots from the data analysis of the project I’m working on with my mentor, who spends a couple hours every week going through the fundamentals of coding in neuroscience with me. When I started working with him, I didn’t even know I could make plots like these. Our weekly meetings paid off.
When I first came to Princeton, already interested in neuroscience research, I kept hearing about all the incredible opportunities available to undergraduates. Professors conducting groundbreaking neuroscience studies, cutting-edge labs filled with brilliant minds—it all sounded amazing. But as a first-year student, I had no idea how to actually get involved. Everyone seemed to know what they were doing, while I was stuck wondering: Where do I even start? Will a professor really take time to mentor someone like me? If I cold-email them, will they even read it?
Each spring semester, it feels like many of us find ourselves scrambling to find unique, competitive, and exciting research experiences. In these intense weeks full of interviews, rejections, and offers, it is also important to think ahead about what comes next. Although staying connected with your research team after a program or internship ends can present a unique set of challenges, it can just as easily open up a number of new opportunities. This was a dynamic I had to adjust to at the end of my research internship last summer. Through that personal experience, I have found that consistent and clear communication are key after any research experience.
Hailing from Saipan and South Korea, Cevina Hwang is a junior in the Ecology & Evolutionary Biology department. With a longstanding interest in the field of dentistry, she chose to expand upon this passion through her junior work, where she will be exploring the evolution of the human jaw and teeth.
Join me below to read about Cevina’s journey in the junior work process.
Book Cover of The IMF and Economic Development by James Raymond Vreeland(Cambridge University Press)
James Raymond Vreeland, a Ph.D. graduate from New York University, holds the position of Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and the Department of Politics. His research focuses on international political economy, particularly in the realm of international institutions, and serves on the editorial board of International Organization. His publications span various scholarly journals, such as American Political Science Review, International Organization, and Journal of Politics, showcasing his extensive contributions to academia.
As a former student in POL 396: International Organizations, I was introduced to a wide range of research on international organizations, including works by academic scholars and Professor Vreeland himself. While continuing my Research Insights Series from last spring, a series of blog posts to provide glimpses into the current research landscape at Princeton, I knew I wanted to interview Professor Vreeland. As my first politics course at Princeton, it sparked my curiosity about political science research, and more broadly, research in the social sciences.
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.
The start of 2025 has been an interesting one to say the least when it comes to research. New breakthroughs in Artificial Intelligence models are rapidly advancing our understanding of everything from ancient texts to protein structures. At the same time, they have complicated the publishing process by introducing a flood of junk to scientific journals. Turning to the federal level, years of biomedical research has culminated in the FDA approval of a new non-opioid pain medication. Developments like this are happening while major national pillars of our research structure face confusing directives amidst a clear priority shift in budget allocation. The degree of uncertainty researchers at the undergraduate level face today can feel overwhelming, but uncertainty is intrinsic to research across all disciplines. Whether that uncertainty is caused by human participants or dated lab equipment, it’s an aspect of research across the board. The unique large-scale uncertainties confronting researchers today can be faced using the same ways uncertainty is addressed during the research process.
Detail from the façade of East Pyne, Princeton’s shield and motto. “Dei Sub Numine Viget” (Under God’s Power She Flourishes.) Photo Credit: John Jameson.
From philosophy, theology, history, and politics to taxonomy and medicine, Latin is doubtless one of the most important academic languages in history. Unfortunately, its status as a ‘dead language’ tends to repel many, and myths of its arcane and difficult nature often discourage learners. Another problem is that this mystique is perpetuated in many Latin language classrooms: the ‘dead language’ is truly treated as such, with little to no emphasis placed on speaking or pronunciation and all stress (in both senses of the word) lying on the rote memorization of grammar tables.
However, learning Latin need not be cumbersome, nor strike fear into our hearts. Rather, noli timere (be not afraid). The Classics Department offers excellent instruction and tutoring. Moreover, since course prerequisites can and often do interfere with language study during the semester, there are also great alternatives for self-study. Online and print resources abound for this timeless language and are tailored to a variety of learning styles.
