I’m in NYC today at the Theory of Cryptography Conference (TCC 2008). A great thing about HES is that it provides you access to really top notch faculty who are experts in their field. For example, one of the professors who taught a class I signed up for is presenting a paper. Since I asked him to help me pick a topic for a senior thesis, it also turns out to be a good time for me to meet up with him and discuss it. I’m planning on doing my paper within the field of cryptography, so going to academic conferences is a good way to get a feel for what other people are working on.
Writing a senior thesis is no picnic. You need to pick a topic that is easy enough to do within a single semester and deep enough that it isn’t just a rehash of stuff everyone already knows. According to my unofficial advisor, this usually means a synthesis of work done by others. In an email to me on the subject he writes:
For theoretical CS theses (or math theses) in the College, producing
original new research results is often not a reasonable expectation, and
thus the originality often comes in the form of synthesis and exposition.
Since I plan on attending graduate school immediately following graduation from HES, I’m looking at this thesis as a first step towards a graduate program. Publication is a key aspect of graduate work and it never hurts to get a feel for how much work is really required. As Ian and others write, it’s often a lot more work than people imagine to do any kind of thesis and deadlines don’t make the process any easier. Many never finish at all. That’s why it’s important to pick a topic that you find interesting and don’t mind spending the time on.
If you are having trouble thinking of a research idea, it never hurts to register and attend a conference in your field. For one thing, you get an idea of what other people find interesting. For another, you get a feel for where the boundaries of knowledge are in your specific discipline. Finally, you get to meet professors and luminaries from other universities. If a topic is presented that interests you, you’ve got an idea of where you can look at graduate programs.
I’ll be at the conference for another day. It promises to be an interesting session.