Shaun Canavan:Computer Science Research Assistant
Date Submitted: Oct. 2007
As a research assistant I am able to keep up with all things cutting edge in my field. Throughout a
typical project I will do heavy research on the topic that we are currently working on. By this I
mean I search all available media (papers, books, film, etc.) to find out what has been done in
this area as well as if the same theory has been proven or disproven before. After I have conducted
the media search if we have a viable topic I then map out how the experiments will go as well as
deadlines as to when each part of the experiment is to be finished by. This is very important as
sometimes the research can take a long time and these deadlines help to keep everything in order.
After the experiments are done, including writing code, running test cases (good and bad) and testing
the theory at hand, all of the results must be collected and examined. After the results have been
examined I will write our findings down as well as the steps to get there in conference paper format
to submit to one of the many conferences available. Life as an RA can be very rewarding as well as
frustrating. On one hand you may work for months, if not years, on a theory and find out in the
end that you were wrong and you may have very little to show for all of your efforts. However,
on the other hand when your theory works well and the rest of the community that you are working
in accepts your work and you get a publication out of all of your time and effort there really
is no better feeling.
... and that's what I do.
... and that's what I do.