Information for prospective students
If you're interested in working with me on research, please read this page before sending me email (elm®cs·ucsc·edu). If you're an undergrad looking for a summer internship, please read the last section on this page.
Research interests
My current research interests include
- Archival storage systems
- Secure and reliable file systems
- Metadata and search in file systems
- File systems for next-generation storage devices
- Scalable file systems using object-based storage
- Large-scale distributed systems
- Other topics in computer systems and security
- Information retrieval
If you're interested pursuring a Ph.D. or masters in any of the above topics, I'd like to hear from you.
Applying to UCSC
Students are admitted to graduate programs at UCSC in the fall. Applications are due in January for the following fall. For further details on the mechanics of applying to the Computer Science Department or other departments in the School of Engineering, please read the graduate admissions pages.
I can review your qualifications if you send your information in either plain ASCII text (preferred) or Adobe PDF. I'm unable to review MS Word, PostScript, or any other document format. Priority will be given to those prospective students who show that they've read my web pages, those of the Storage Systems Research Center, and the School of Engineering graduate admissions pages and have thought about why they want to get a Ph.D. Unfortunately, I don't have time to review information for all of the prospective students who send me email—the best way to get me to give you feedback is to tell me in the first paragraph or two of your plain-text email what you want to work on and why you'd like to work with me.
Funding
If your research goals match those of projects for which I have external support, I may be able to support you as a graduate student researcher (GSR). Preference for funding is given to Ph.D. students; students seeking only a masters degree rarely receive research funding from our group. Typically, our group does not support first-year students as GSRs; instead many first-year students are supported by departmental or external fellowships or as teaching assistants (Ph.D. students must be a teaching assistant for at least one quarter). Our group usually selects students who do well in their first year classes, particularly those involving systems (CMPS 221, CMPS 229, CMPS 232, etc.). Several of our students have external fellowships; those who don't are usually supported as GSRs starting in the summer following their first year. Continuing GSR support is contingent on good progress in both classes and research.
More information on grad school
You can find more general information on grad school at these links:
- How to Succeed in Graduate School
- How to Be a Good Grad Student
- Advice to a Beginning Grad Student
- Getting In: An Applicant's Guide to Graduate School Admissions
- What Every Grad Student Should Know
- Advice for Undergraduates Considering Graduate School
Summer internships
The Storage Systems Research Center welcomes undergraduates interested in summer internships. The summer at UC Santa Cruz runs from mid-June through mid-September because we're on the quarter system, not semesters. It may be possible to provide stipends for internships for strong domestic students (US citizens or permanent residents); however, we are typically unable to fund international students seeking internships, though we may be able to host foreign undergraduate interns who have other sources of funding.