Resources

ASTROPHYSICS

Professor Alyssa Goodman, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
agoodman@cfa.harvard.edu

The CO ordinated M olecular P robe L ine E xtinction T hermal E mission Survey of Star Forming Regions (COMPLETE) will fully sample, with sub-arcminute resolution, the density and velocity structure of three 10-pc-scale star-forming regions. The molecular line, dust emission, and extinction data that comprise COMPLETE will allow for detailed analysis and understanding of the physics of star formation on scales from 500 A.U. to 10 pc. The regions to be observed, Ophiuchus, Perseus, and Serpens, have been selected to match three of the five included in the Spitzer Legacy "Cores to Disks" (c2d) program. For more information, please visit http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/COMPLETE/ .

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Professor John Huchra, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
huchra@cfa.harvard.edu

Professor Huchra and his group are noted for their work mapping the universe through relative distance measurements of the redshifts of bright galaxies in the northern sky. He recently started a redshift project to form a complete map of the local galaxy density field to a redshift of ~0.1. He is looking for a student with computer background to help on astronomy catalogs. For more information on Professor Huchra and his research, visit http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~huchra/ .

COMPUTER SCIENCE  

Professor Matt Welsh
mdw@eecs.harvard.edu

Matt Welsh's research interests encompass distributed systems, operating systems, and networking. Recent advances in networking, operating systems, and device technology have led to the emergence of a new class of complex, large-scale distributed systems composed of thousands or millions of individual nodes. These systems are characterized by massive scale, unreliable nodes and communication channels, and decentralized, self-organizing designs. Professor Welsh's research group focuses on two major areas of distributed computing: scalable Internet services and networked embedded systems.

We are actively seeking undergraduate research assistants with interests in distributed and embedded systems. Ideal candidates will have taken undergraduate courses in operating systems and networking, and have strong programming skills in C and Java. Potential research projects include developing novel sensor network applications, investigating secure wireless communication protocols, and integration of sensor networks with handheld and server-based systems. Students with interests in Internet service design and peer-to-peer systems are also sought for projects in archiving and querying geographically diverse sensor data.

Please visit http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~mdw/proj/ugrad/index.html for more specifics on the Welsh group's research.

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David Parkes
parkes@eecs.harvard.edu

The EconCS group is pursuing research, both theoretical and experimental, at the interface between computer science and economics. We draw on methodologies from AI, microeconomic theory, systems, and mathematical programming. In particular, we are interested both in the design of electronic auctions and markets and in the constructive use of economic methodologies and theory within computational systems. A central challenge is to resolve conflicts between game-theoretic and computational constraints. Current topics of interest include: the design of mechanism infrastructures for distributed and peer-to-peer systems; the preference elicitation properties and design of indirect mechanisms; online mechanism design for systems with dynamic agent arrivals; applications to e-commerce, including combinatorial exchanges and multi-attribute auctions.

Qualified undergraduates would help with EconCS's work on electronic market design, multiagent systems, game theory, trading agent design, and their competition in the "trading agent competition." See www.eecs.harvard.edu/econcs for more information.

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Prof. Todd Zickler, Electrical Engineering, Division of Engineering and Applied Science
Maxwell-Dworkin 341
617-495-4390
zickler@eecs.harvard.edu

Research area:

Computer Vision. Recovering the 3D shape of a scene from its images. Recovering and efficiently representing material properties (i.e., color and reflectance properties) from images. Applications such as face recognition and image synthesis.

I expect the position to involve setting up new PCs, installing software, creating a lab website, etc.  More interestingly, it will involve writing Matlab and C/C++ code for control of digital cameras and light sources, capturing image data for testing new 3D photography algorithms, and possibly developing new imaging methods and systems.

Applicant background:
Linear algebra is most important. Probability, and Signals & Systems are less so. Experience with programming in Matlab, C/C++.  Web design experience preferable.