A Message for Prospective Students
Thank you for taking the time to look at my web pages. I appreciate your interest in my research and in the activities of our group. Due to increasing internet connectivity and a large interest in my research area, I receive an overwhelming number of e-mail messages from prospective students who wish to be involved with my research group. Unfortunately, there are too many messages for me to give a response to each one. I regret that I cannot reply to messages that are so important to the people who send them. Thus, this web page is designed to provide you with some useful information about the process and potential for joining my research group. Best wishes for your future research career!
Yours,
Allison Okamura
(Thanks to Steven LaValle for allowing me to use much of his text on this subject.)
[Graduate] [Undergraduate] [High School/K-12] [Postdoctoral]
Prospective Graduate Students
Advising philosophy: I am very excited about the possibility of working with exceptional M.S./Ph.D. students. My aim as an advisor is to give strong personal guidance that will maximize a student's chances of building a rewarding and enjoyable career in research and development or academia. This is accomplished through: (1) the identification of fundamental research problems by developing a thorough understanding of current literature; (2) the development of a strong technical background that enables the proposal of independent and innovative solutions to challenging problems; (3) the presentation and publication of research in the most prestigious conferences and journals; (4) the development of personal communication and presentation skills that are needed to maximize visibility in the research community, and increase chances of future success. If you find this emphasis and my research area appealing, I believe our group could provide you with a vibrant and exciting educational experience.
Joining my research group: I am currently only accepting research students who have the Ph.D. as their ultimate goal. Students interested in obtaining the M.S. degree alone should consider the course-only M.S. program in Mechanical Engineering, which does not involve joining a research group. Admissions to the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University are based on merit, and fellowships are sometimes awarded to admitted students by the Department or the School of Engineering. US citizens should apply for outside fellowships such as NSF, NDSEG, DHS, etc. This is one of the best ways to come to graduate school, since it allows you to receive full funding while spending time trying to find the right research group. In order to be a good mentor, I want to spend a significant amount of time with each of my graduate students. Unfortunately, this means that I cannot agree to advise every qualified student who wishes to join my group. At present, my research group is about as large as I would like; but since students are always graduating, I am typically able to advise about one new graduate student each fall. The easiest path into my group for an applying student is to come highly recommended from a faculty member I know and trust in the field of robotics or haptics. GPA is given much more consideration than GRE scores. Research experience (especially with publications) in robotics or haptics is appreciated. Good communication skills (speaking, writing) and a proactive attitude are also very important. Before contacting me about joining my research group, please read the following responses to frequently asked questions (FAQs).
Frequency Asked Questions:
- What are your current research projects?
To see the types of research activities currently active in my laboratory, please consult the Haptics Laboratory research and publications web pages. Also, please see the related FAQ below. Each M.S. and Ph.D. student in my group has his or her "own" thesis project, which is developed in collaboration with me, so the current projects do not necessarily reflect potential thesis topics.
- Do you have any openings in your lab?
Many prospective students seem to send resume-style information in hopes that my research group has "openings" to fill in the sense of a typical job. This might be true for some research groups; however, I do not usually operate this way. I look for top students who I think will be successful, and do my best to bring them to JHU. Often, it is most appropriate for students to first spend some time at JHU taking courses and/or working on mini-projects with me before officially joining my group (meaning that I become a thesis advisor). After a semester or two, they can refine their interests and determine whether my research area would be most exciting to them. This gives us the opportunity to determine whether we are a suitable match in terms of technical background, motivation, personality, etc.
- Do you have funding (research assistantship or teaching assistantship)?
For research assistantships, the answer is generally yes -- for the right person at the right time. I am occasionally able to provide funded research assistantships that pay for stipend and tuition to applying students based on merit. However, I do not try to match specific "funded positions" on particular projects to specific students (see FAQ on "openings" above). Rather, I aim to take students who are the best overall match, and then projects are sorted out as appropriate for student interest, skill, and various research grant deliverables after the student arrives. The only way to know whether I have funding for you is to apply to the graduate program. Please note that it is very rare for M.S.-only students to receive funding commitments at the time of acceptance into the program. Teaching assistantships in the Department of Mechanical Engineering typically pay only a couple thousand dollars per semester, so that is not a comprehensive means of support.
- Will I be accepted into the graduate program / your lab?
I cannot answer this question based on information provided by email. I will not open unrequested attachments. The only way to know if you will be accepted is to submit a complete application, which is evaluated by the Graduate Admissions Committee and reviewed by faculty members interested in new research advisees. The application is available online. If you are interested in working with me, you should apply to the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and specify your desired research area as Robotics and Human-Machine Interaction. Please note on your application whether you have applied for outside fellowships.
- Can I visit or have a phone conversation with you?
I prefer to meet or talk with students who have already applied to the program. It is very helpful if you can submit a complete application before trying to arrange a visit or phone appointment with me. Students who will be admitted with a good chance of a funded research assistantship or outside fellowship for the fall semester will be invited to visit by the graduate admissions committee, typically in February. Students are accepted for admission in the spring semester in rare cases.
Prospective Undergraduate Researchers
Undergraduate research is an excellent opportunity to develop new skills while working closely with graduate students and faculty. Johns Hopkins has a strong philosophy of undergraduate involvement in research, and provides several types of opportunities to do so: (1) course credit, (2) "senior design" projects (for BME and ECE), and (3) Provost's Undergraduate Research Awards, which pay a minimal stipend. In addition, for students who have already proven themselves by working in my lab for at least a semester, there are occasionally paid undergraduate research assistantships during the summer. For JHU students, you should email me your resume and an unofficial transcript with grades to be considered for any of the above positions. For non-JHU students in the US, please apply to the Research Experience for Undergraduates program through the CISST ERC. Unfortunately, there are no funded opportunities for international undergraduate students.
The most important traits of undergraduate researchers are: sincere interest in learning, good work ethic, responsibility, communications skills, enthusiasm, and some technical skill. Useful technical skills include building/machining/electronics, programming in C/C++, using Matlab for simulation and plotting, and statistical analysis. Good grades are essential; research should augment, not replace, excellent academic work. Students should be committed to meeting goals and obtaining research results. Ideally, every undergraduate researcher in my lab will have made a sufficient contribution to have his or her name as a co-author on a published research paper. A handful of undergraduate researchers from my lab have even been sent to conferences (in Pisa, Barcelona, Los Angeles, etc.) to present their work.
I typically advise several undergraduate researchers each year, usually from ME, BME, CS, or EE/ECE departments. Sometimes these students are assigned to a graduate student mentor who will provide day-to-day guidance. February or earlier is the best time to contact me about a summer research position, to provide ample time for acquisition of student support. Unfortunately, I get far more requests for positions than I and my graduate students are able to effectively advise -- so please don't consider it a "rejection" if we are unable to offer you a position. Students also often ask me for recommendations of other possible undergraduate research advisors: please see the JHU Robotics website for other faculty in Robotics/Medical Robotics and the ME Department website for other faculty in Mechanical Engineering. I do not know who has positions available, so you'll need to contact them directly to find out.
Prospective High School Researchers
Each year, I get many requests from high school students who wish to perform some kind of internship in my laboratory. I usually agree to advise about one student in a given year. Such internships are never paid. Typically, the student will be mentored by a graduate student in my laboratory who has volunteered to do so. Experience in engineering or robotics is not required. The most important traits of high school researchers are: sincere interest in learning, good work ethic, responsibility, communications skills, and enthusiasm.
Interested students should send me their resume and the desired length/daily time commitment of the internship. If you don't receive a response within a few days, this means that I have already accepted a student for the year and will not be able to consider your application. I am more likely to take on a student who is from a group that is currently underrepresented in the engineering field (e.g. women, minorities).
Finally, if you are a K-12 student seeking information about robotics for a project or report, I regret that I will not be able to provide a personal response to general questions. I encourage you to look at my website and research papers for information; you can also see some media about our work.
Prospective Postdoctoral Fellows
Postdoctoral candidates in my laboratory are hired for specific positions. There are no postdoctoral positions available in my laboratory unless there is a current posting on my web page or the Haptics Lab website. Unfortunately, postdoctoral candidates sometimes come across old opportunities for my lab that have been posted on other websites; please check my website first to determine if the posting is current.
In addition to any particular technical expertise required for the specific project, I seek postdoctoral fellows with the following general qualities: the desire to perform research and publish at the highest level, independence, dependability, leadership skills, a willingness to mentor graduate and undergraduate students, and good communication skills. In turn, I hope to provide postdoctoral fellows with the guidance to become better researchers, publishers, presenters, teachers, and advisors (in short, excellent candidates for faculty positions).