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Welcome to the department! We know that in your decision process you will probably have many questions about all aspects of life in graduate school. We created a list, broken down by topic, of people who would be happy to share their experiences of the past several years.
Feel free to drop any of us a line! Email addresses are listed after each name, all addresses are @cs.utexas.edu. If you have any questions on issues that are not covered here, or that are too general for this list, please contact David Chen (dlcc), Brad Knox (bradknox), David Kitchin (dkitchin).
Research areas
Artificial Intelligence
Computational Neuroscience Manish Saggar (mishu), Austin Waters (austin)
Cognitive Science Mario Guajardo (guajardo), Manish Saggar (mishu), Austin Waters (austin)
Machine Perception Austin Waters (Vision and Hearing) (austin)
Knowledge Representation Yuliya Lierler (yuliya)
Logic and Reasoning Yuliya Lierler (yuliya)
Machine Learning Shimon Whiteson (shimon), Nick Jong (nkj), Austin Waters (austin), Rohit Kate (rjkate)
Natural Language Processing Yuliya Lierler (yuliya), Rohit Kate (rjkate)
Neural Networks and Genetic Algorithms Shimon Whiteson (shimon), Austin Waters (austin)
Robotics Brad Knox (bradknox)
Computational Biology
Systems
Compilers Adam Brown (abrown), Michael Bond (mikebond), Walter Chang (walter)
Operating Systems Walter Chang (walter)
Networking Mikie Han (Wireless and wired) (hanmi2)
Security Walter Chang (walter)
Theory
Complexity Theory Anup Rao (arao)
Automatic Theorem Proving John Erickson (jderick), Ian Wehrman (iwehrman)
Formal Methods John Erickson (jderick), Srinivas Nedunuri (nedunuri), Ian Wehrman (iwehrman), Serita Nelesen (serita)
Programming Languages Ian Wehrman (iwehrman)
General issues
Coming in the PhD program with a Master's degree Richard Chang (rchang)
Coming back to grad school after several years out of school Adam Brown (abrown), Srinivas Nedunuri (nedunuri)
Undergrad degree in a field other than CS Brad Knox (bradknox)
TA issues Shimon Whiteson (shimon), Yuliya Lierler (yuliya), Brad Knox (bradknox), Rohit Kate (rjkate)
Choosing an advisor Shimon Whiteson (shimon), Rohit Kate (rjkate)
Getting a Master's in a PhD program Mario Guajardo (guajardo), Yuliya Lierler (yuliya)
Special interest
Women's issues
Religious issues
Christian Mikie Han (finding Internation/American/Korean church or Christian group) (hanmi2), Mario Guajardo (Protestant) (guajardo), Serita Nelesen (serita)
Hindu Manish Saggar (mishu)
Married life
Going to grad school with children
Cross-Cultural issues
Indian Manish Saggar (mishu)
Korean Mikie Han (Where to get authentic Korean food!) (hanmi2)
Latin America Mario Guajardo (guajardo)
Living without a car
Mario Guajardo (guajardo), Manish Saggar (mishu), Brad Knox (But with a scooter) (bradknox), Walter Chang (walter)
Buying a house or a condo
Vegetarian/vegan
Fine Dining
Fine wines
Cultural life
Theater Walter Chang (walter)
Cinema Austin Waters (austin), Michael Bond (mikebond)
Live music Austin Waters (austin), Srinivas Nedunuri (Austin music, eg Continental, Hole in the Wall , Egos, Opal Divines, etc) (nedunuri), Brad Knox (Rock/indie/alternative) (bradknox), Walter Chang (classical) (walter)
Sports and outdoor recreation
Ballroom dancing Yuliya Lierler (yuliya)
General fitness and UT facilities Yuliya Lierler (yuliya), Michael Bond (mikebond)
Hiking and camping Brad Knox (bradknox)
Martial Arts Walter Chang (kendo/fencing) (walter)
Rock climbing Brad Knox (bradknox)
Ultimate frisbee Brad Knox (bradknox)
Running Nick Jong (nkj), Richard Chang (rchang), Michael Bond (mikebond)
Squash Anup Rao (arao), Mario Guajardo (guajardo)
Soccer John Erickson (jderick), Michael Bond (mikebond)
Racquetball Mario Guajardo (guajardo)
Tennis Rohit Kate (rjkate)