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.
Jeremy Kiil is an alum from the Class of 2024 who majored in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He now works as a power engineer at Qualcomm in Raleigh, NC. While at Princeton, he was a member of Princeton Racing Electric, a worship leader in Princeton Christian Fellowship, and Vice President of Colonial Club.
At Princeton, I’ve formed close friendships with students across all years and departments, witnessing their challenges, hard work, and achievements, from difficult courses to their independent work and senior theses. When my friends often name-drop courses from their departments and share exciting insights from their day, I realize I haven’t taken many of those classes myself. This realization sparked a desire to generate deeper conversations about their academic interests, even if I don’t fully grasp all the technical details and concepts of their field.
One of these conversations was with Jeremy Kiil ‘24 about his experience in ‘Car Lab’ (formally, ECE 302: Robotics and Autonomous Systems Lab), a required course for all ECE juniors. To my surprise, our conversation wasn’t focused on the nitty-gritty details about hardware components. Instead, Jeremy shared insights applicable to all students. I found his advice on making consistent progress, staying resilient, and taking care of oneself as wonderful reminders for everyone. Inspired by our conversation, I wanted to document and share it with a broader audience.
Jake Snell is a DataX postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Computer Science at Princeton University, where he develops novel deep learning algorithms by drawing insights from probabilistic models. He is currently serving as a lecturer for SML 310: Research Projects in Data Science.
As I dive deeper into my computer science coursework, I’ve found myself engaging increasingly with statistics and machine learning (hereafter abbreviated as SML). Opportunities to conduct SML research are abound at Princeton: senior theses, junior independent work, research-based courses such as SML 310: Research Projects in Data Science, joining research labs, and much more. There is such a wide variety of research opportunities, and so many nuanced pathways that students can take while exploring SML research. So, for this seasonal series, I wanted to speak with professors and researchers who are more advanced in their research journeys to share their insight and advice to undergraduate students.
Eric Ahn ’24, from Suwanee, Georgia, is an Operations Research and Financial Engineering (ORFE) major at Princeton University. Ahn is the Class of 2024 Treasurer, as well as a member of Manna Christian Fellowship and Kindred Spirit. This coming summer, Ahn will work as a Trading Intern at IMC Trading before returning to Princeton in the fall to obtain a graduate degree in finance.
In the spirit of upcoming senior thesis deadlines, I wanted to interview a senior currently working on their thesis. As an underclassman that doesn’t have to worry about any form of independent work yet and a COS BSE major, one of the only majors exempt from the senior thesis requirement, I’ve always been curious about the thesis writing process and what a BSE senior thesis entails. As a part of our Seasonal Series, I am excited to present my interview with Eric, as he shares his ORFE senior thesis, his interest in finance, and his advice for rising seniors.
Michael J. Thate is a Research Scholar for Responsible Tech, Innovation, and Policy at Princeton University’s Faith & Work Initiative, and Lecturer at the Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education and the School of Engineering and Applied Science, with a background in law, design, ethical philosophy and religious studies, and GIS. Michael’s academic interests and focus are informed and complemented by his corporate experience where he advises across STEM industry sectors on matters of brand equity, communication strategy, institutional trust, ethics, and regulatory strategy.
I had come to grapple with the idea of ethics in the engineering world when I became fascinated with Department of Defense (DoD)-related technologies and applying my computer science background to space-related development. I was struggling with the ethics in relation to human ecology, especially in defense and technology militarization, and how to balance this struggle with my fascination for the technologies present in the industry. Michael and I first connected via email over aligned interests in professional codes of conduct in defense and security AI systems.
As I began this research insights series, I sought to interview Michael in order to get a sense of what his research might look like from a highly interdisciplinary perspective, and how ethics, something that is prevalent in any academic area, is present as a core focus of research. In this article, I’m excited to present my interview with Michael, focusing on human interactions with the natural world, and how to quantify “life” and its “value” within a vast ecological space.
Please note that one response discusses animal injury and death.
Last semester, I interviewed Albert Lee ‘24 to get a glimpse of what conducting qualitative research for sociology Junior Papers can look like at Princeton. (If you’re interested in reading that piece, click here!). Discussing qualitative research with Albert was exciting because his words of advice were quite applicable to the qualitative Computer Science research I was conducting in COS 436: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI).
An example user prompt and ChatGPT response.
Prior to taking COS 436, I had little idea of what qualitative research looked like in Computer Science, particularly because many of the CS courses I had taken were quantitative, involving systems, mathematical models, or theory. Taking the course opened my eyes to a whole side of research: interview-based qualitative research. For my semester-long research project, my team and I aimed to dive deeper into educators’ opinions on the use of ChatGPT in CS education.
Claire F. Gmachl stands at the forefront of groundbreaking research in mid-infrared photonics as the Eugene Higgins Professor of Electrical Engineering at Princeton University and the Head of Whitman College. She also serves as the Associate Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. With her expertise in semiconductor devices and photonics, Professor Gmachl delves into the realms of quantum-cascade lasers and beyond.
As a student surrounded by peers working on their junior papers or senior theses, as well as constantly hearing about groundbreaking faculty research, I came to seek a way to better engage with the research around me, and to synthesize current research and processes to bring insights to others. I decided to create a series of research insights, interviewing faculty and students, to learn more about their research topics, their personal research process and interests, as well as the potential implications from their findings.
In this article, I’m excited to have had the opportunity to interview Professor Claire Gmachl, who has also previously taught me inEGR 151: Foundations of Engineering: Mechanics, Energy, and Waves, the first physics course in the Engineering Sequence. In our interview, Professor Gmachl graciously shared insights into her research journey, shedding light on the multifaceted landscape of mid-infrared photonics and semiconductor devices.
Albert Lee ‘24 is the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Chair at Colonial Club, a member of the Students for Prison Education, Abolition, and Reform (SPEAR), and former Senior Writer for The Daily Princetonian.
As a junior, a hot topic for many of my friends lately has been their junior research and senior theses. In brainstorming ideas for this piece, I also thought about the incredible amount of learning that takes place in just a semester. That’s when I got the idea for this paper—to hear from seniors about their recent experiences conducting research for their Junior Papers. So, I reached out to Albert Lee ‘24, a senior majoring in Sociology and pursuing a certificate in Journalism.
Organic Chemistry TA, RCA, and graduating senior Tom Silldorff ’23 reminds us that life is not about the outcome, but the fun we had getting there.
In partnership with the Princeton Perspectives Project (PPP), we’re back for Part 2 of our interview with Organic Chemistry TA Tom Silldorff ’23. While organic chemistry, or “Orgo,” may have earned its notoriety for its exceeding complexity, demanding exams, and time-intensive study, this does not mean that students have to struggle the whole way through. In our first interview, we discussed how Tom found his passion for Orgo and some of his key takeaways from tutoring on how students can grow throughout the course. This time, we’re tackling some of the deepest challenges students face while taking Orgo: What actually gives Orgo its difficult reputation? What can prospective Orgo students do now to prepare for the course? How did Tom face his own struggles with the demand for effortless perfection? If you’ve ever wondered how you can maximize your growth from Orgo or even academics more generally, then read on for one final reflection on fear, failure, and the beauty of Organic Chemistry with graduating senior, Tom Silldorff.
I really enjoyed Alexis Wu’s introduction to our seasonal series with the Princeton Perspective Project (PPP) – if you haven’t read it already, you should definitely check it out. Alexis was kind enough to agree to an interview to answer some further questions about her experiences as a member of PPP. Read more below!
