uc davis math senior thesis

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Table of Contents

Writing a master's or ph.d. thesis, latex dissertation template, how to graduate: the paperwork, pandemic update (spring 2021).

Note: What appears below, with permission, began as a slightly edited version of unofficial advice from MGSA, the UC Berkeley Mathematics Graduate Student Associate, with Berkeley specific information removed. Over time this document has evolved to contain a great deal of UC Davis-specific information as well as current LaTeX templates.

(Thanks to Megumi Harada) Steps to your goal:

• Start early . Jot down notes when you talk to your advisor. Keep them somewhere that you'll be able to find them again. Often, you find that little notes you write can serve as a “seed” to start the writing process.
• Write a little each day. Obvious, and yet few people follow this advice. Even just one hour a day, divided into four 15-minute sessions, goes a long way if you keep at it for a month.
• Get your advisor to look at small parts of drafts and chapters early on.

All information is subject to change. Current information specific to filing a doctoral thesis at UC Davis can be found via the Grad Studies website .

There are several websites dedicated to Using LaTeX to Write a PhD Thesis . But since you're in the UC Davis math department, your best bet is to use a template that was specifically created for UC Davis math students.

Download: 2024 template (Overleaf compatible)

This template was created originally by Tyrell McAllister with later edits by Jeff Irion, John Challenor, Will Wright, and David Haley in order to keep the template current with formatting requirements. In 2024, Greg DePaul updated the template to be overleaf compatible.

Once you pass your Qual, download the dissertation template! Fill in some basic info (name, major, committee members' names, etc.), and add to your dissertation while you work on your research. After all, it's easier to write and cite as you go than to do it months/years later when that stuff isn't fresh in your mind.

This is an unofficial guide . Please see Preparing & Filing Your Thesis or Dissertation for the official set of instructions.

• Take note of the filing deadlines . They recommend completing your dissertation in time to give it to your committee for review at the beginning of the quarter in which you intend to graduate. In most cases, your committee probably won't need that much time, but you should check in with your committee members well in advance to make sure they'll be around when you need them.
• Once your committee members have signed your dissertation's title page, you can file your dissertation electronically (see the Grad Studies website linked above for the specific instructions). The Grad Studies office will review it to make sure that it is formatted correctly and let you know if any corrections need to be made. They will then inform you when your dissertation has been approved, after which time no further changes are allowed.
• The final step is to make an appointment with the Senior Academic Advisor for Mathematics and Applied Mathematics (as of Spring 2020, this is Brad Wolf ). This appointment can't take place until at least two business days after you file your dissertation online (and it must have been approved). The purpose of this appointment is to file the remaining paperwork and receive an official letter confirming your degree.

As of Spring 2021, the documents you will need to bring are as follows (see the official checklist here ).

• Your title page with the signatures of your committee members.
• One copy of your abstract.
• The dissertation embargo agreement (this requires your advisor's signature even if you aren't planning on an embargo on your dissertation).
• Two online surveys: The Survey of Earned Doctorates and the Graduate Studies Exit Survey. Each will give you a completion code which you will need to provide.
• The Graduate Program Exit Information form. As of Spring 2021, this requires a signature from either Tina or Vanessa.

The three documents with signatures obviously must be physical copies. The other item can be emailed to the Academic Advisor when you set up your appointment.

Given that we've all become hermits here in our underground bunkers, only occasionally opening Zoom to remind ourselves that other people exist in this world, a few changes have been made to the process. These may or may not be permanent changes going forward. Always consult the Graduate Studies page if you are unsure about current requirements.

• The title page must be a single form signed by all committee members, but those signatures can be electronic. It must still be ONE form. As having multiple persons sign a single PDF is not as easy as it sounds, I recommend to download the Word Template that is provided on the Graduate Studies page . It can easily be edited to contain your information, and adding signatures to a Word document is arguably simpler than teaching your committee members to add signatures to a PDF without accidentally closing it to future edits.
• The signed title page must be submitted by your committee chair, or else your program chair (the coordinator might also work – check me on this). Since your committee chair is also one of the people who will be signing your dissertation, it makes sense to have them sign last, and then they can send the form to the Senior Academic Advisor directly. You cannot submit the title page yourself – this is a measure implemented to help prevent fraud and forgery.
• All documents can be submitted digitally to the Senior Academic Advisor (and ideally, all in the same email, except the title page). You'll probably want to then schedule a Zoom appointment with the Advisor to go over your materials and make sure that they are complete.
• Remember that you must schedule an exit seminar before the Program Exit Information form can be signed.

Older Templates

The “ucdavisthesis” LaTeX package maintained by Ryan Scott has a number of convenient macros that can generate a dissertation. It is loosely based on an earlier version of the math department template. It is also available in most TeX distributions by default (including Overleaf), and so accessing it is also convenient. However, editing the package to keep up with changes to formatting requirements requires some thought. To that end, you might be interested in one of the following two documents which bring the template up to date with Spring 2021 requirements:

• ucdavisthesis.cls : Add this to the root directory of your Overleaf document
• ucdavisthesis.dtx : Use this version if you are the kind of person who likes to compile your own stuff

The 2020 version of the math department template can be found here . It differs from the 2021 version only in the way that the page numbers are written (it places hyphens on either side of roman numerals, but not on the other pages).

A previous template that complied with UCD's requirements as of 2012 was created by Sean Whalen and can be found on GitHub . It has not been maintained since 2012 and so is not up-to-date with the current formatting requirements.

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Dissertations & Preprints

Search for dissertations completed at the University of California, Davis and other institutions.

Preprints refer to papers that have not yet undergone peer review.

• Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) This link opens in a new window The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) is an international organization dedicated to promoting the adoption, creation, use, dissemination and preservation of electronic analogues to the traditional paper-based theses and dissertations. This website contains information about the initiative, how to set up Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) programmes, how to create and locate ETDs, and current research in digital libraries related to NDLTD and ETDs.
• Open Access Theses and Dissertations This link opens in a new window OATD.org aims to be the best possible resource for finding open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1000 colleges, universities, and research institutions. OATD currently indexes 2,311,795 theses and dissertations.
• EdArXiv This link opens in a new window A free, open source database developed by education researchers in collaboration with the Center for Open Science. Includes articles under review (preprints), working papers and unpublished work.
• Social Sciences Research Network / Economic Research Network (SSRN/ERN) This link opens in a new window See EduRN . The Education Research Network on SSRN is an open access preprint server. SSRN provides the opportunity to share different outputs of research such as preliminary or exploratory investigations, book chapters, PhD dissertations, course and teaching materials, presentations, and posters among others.
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Research Support

• Last Updated: Sep 16, 2024 5:29 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.ucdavis.edu/education

Applied Mathematics

Graduate Studies

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Master of Arts

The Applied Mathematics Graduate Group is an interdisciplinary group of over 90 faculty and is recognized for the mathematical rigor of its programs and its dynamic research atmosphere. The program is targeted for students who are attracted to mathematics, but who also wish to apply mathematical ideas to advance our understanding of science and engineering. Students gain advanced knowledge of differential geometry; topology; differential equations; solid and fluid dynamics; biology; atmospheric sciences; mechanics; optimization and control; theoretical chemistry; computer and engineering sciences; mathematical physics; signal and image processing; harmonic analysis, numerical analysis and nonlinear partial differential equations; and applied mathematical analysis. Students graduate with the qualitative and quantitative skills necessary for professional research and teaching in applied mathematics.

Graduate Program Requirements

Contact information.

Quick Links +

Applied ph.d. program requirements (fall 2024).

This plan requires a total of 60 units. Students will enroll for 12 units per quarter including research, academic, and seminar units. Before advancing to Candidacy for a doctoral degree, a student must have satisfied all requirements set by the graduate program, maintained a minimum GPA of 3.0 in all course work undertaken (except those courses graded S or U), passed the PhD Preliminary Examination, and passed the Qualifying Examination. A dissertation and an exit seminar are required.

Course Requirements

• Area A (12 units in one of the series) : (i) Analysis Series MAT 201AB/MAT 201C/MAT 205/MAT206 (Analysis) or (ii) Methods of Applied Mathematics MAT 207ABC.  
• Area B (8 units in one of the series): (i) Data Science series: Numerical Optimization (MAT 258A), Discrete and Mixed-Integer Optimization (MAT258B), Mathematics of Data Science (MAT 270); or (ii) Numerical Methods series: Numerical Methods: Fundamentals (MAT 226A), Numerical Methods: Large-Scale Matrix Computations (MAT 226B), Numerical Methods: Ordinary Differential Equations (MAT226C), Numerical Solutions of Differential Equations A, B and C (MAT 228ABC); or (iii) Probability series: Probability Theory A and B (MAT235AB), Mathematical Statistics III (STA231C); or (iv) Theoretical Computer Science series: Theoretical Computer Science (ECS220), Design and Analysis of Algorithms (ECS222).  
• Graduate Advanced Mathematics: 12 units of 200-level Mathematics courses whose course numbers are 279 or less. These include courses from areas A or B not selected as core courses. One mathematics-oriented graduate course outside of Mathematics, could be substituted but only with prior approval by GGAM Chair.  
• Field of Specialization (FOS): Minimum of 15 units in a field of specialization, such as, any courses in Area A or B not taken to satisfy the core requirements, optimization, and control, differential equations, probability and statistics, discrete mathematics, mathematical physics, mathematical biology, harmonic analysis and signal processing, etc. Out of this minimum of 15 units, at least one course of 3 or more units must be outside of Mathematics. Courses outside of the mathematics department have to be approved by the Chair of the graduate group. For a list of preapproved courses, see the GGAM webpage and consult with the potential thesis advisor. An updated list of courses can be found in https://appliedmath.ucdavis.edu/graduate/sample-depth-courses  
• Advanced Mathematics: Maximum of 12 units, in three 100 level (i.e.upper division) math courses.  
• GGAM miniconference: Attendance at the annual GGAM mini-conference, which takes place during winter quarter graduate welcome and consists of faculty talks and a student poster session showcasing the research being done at GGAM, is required in the first or second year, for which 1 unit of 290 will be given in order to document compliance.  
• MAT 290 seminars  
• MAT 390 and Teaching: Each student who accepts a TAship in the Department of Mathematics is required to complete MAT390, which is taught every Fall quarter. Most students take this in their first year, even if they are supported by a fellowship. MAT 390 does not count toward degree units (but does count for the 12-unit minimum required for registration each quarter). All PhD students are required to be teaching assistants for at least one quarter. Exceptions require approval of the GGAMEXEC. Students beyond their first year are encouraged to apply for positions as Associate-Instructors to develop and improve their lecturing skills.  
• Research Units: Students can register for research units but these units cannot substitute course requirements unless previously reviewed and approved by the chair of the graduate group.

Ph.D. Preliminary Examination

The Ph.D. Preliminary Examination is a written examination covering materials from the student’s chosen tracks Area A (MAT 201AB or MAT 207ABC) and Area B: Data Science: (MAT 168, MAT170); Numerical Methods (MAT128ABC); Probability (MAT 135AB); and Theoretical Computer Science (ECS220, ECS222). The exam is offered in June and September every year. PhD students are required to pass this examination before the end of their second year.  They may take the examination multiple times; what matters is when they pass, not how many attempts.

Qualifying Examination

Students must complete the course requirements before taking their Qualifying Examination (QE). The QE will consist of a written research proposal, a syllabus of materials relevant to the research proposal covered in the chosen tracks in Areas A and B, and oral examination. Approximately six weeks before the date of the proposed QE, the research proposal, along with the QE Application, is submitted to GGAMEXEC for approval. Once approved and required signatures obtained, the QE Application will be forwarded to the Office of Graduate Studies for final approval. The QE should be taken by the sixth quarter and no later than the end of the ninth quarter after admission to the Ph.D. program. Passing the QE makes the student eligible for advancement to candidacy.

Dissertation

The doctoral dissertation is an essential part of the Ph.D. program. A topic will be selected by the student, under the guidance of the Dissertation Advisor. Students are encouraged to begin their research activity as early as possible. The dissertation must contain an original contribution of publishable quality to the knowledge of applied mathematics. Acceptance of the dissertation by the dissertation committee must follow Graduate Studies guidelines (Plan B). The program does not have any program-specific requirements, such as length or presentation format. Instructions on preparation of the dissertation and a schedule of dates for filing the thesis in final form are available from Graduate Studies; the dates are also printed in the UC Davis General Catalog.

Exit Seminar

Ph.D. students are required to give a 60-minute seminar presentation, open to the public, on their dissertation subject.

Optional Final Oral Examination (at the discretion of the Dissertation Committee)

After the exit seminar, the student’s dissertation committee may meet privately with the student to discuss the contents of the dissertation and ask additional questions. Satisfaction of this requirement must be verified by the Dissertation Committee Chair.

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Craig Tracy Research Prize

To honor Professor Emeritus Craig A. Tracy, the Department of Mathematics of the University of California, Davis announces the creation of the Craig A. Tracy Research Prize to be awarded annually for research by one of its postdoctoral researchers or Krener Assistant Professors.

Click here to learn more, or to donate.

Principles of Community

The Mathematics Department is committed to the Principles of Community .

UC Davis Graduate Studies

Meet your advisors, uc davis graduate studies academic services.

The Graduate Studies Senior Academic Advisors (SAAs)  provide experienced student services and culturally competent, holistic guidance to graduate students, staff and faculty. We advise graduate students on degree and graduation requirements, academic standing and progress, mentorship, policies and procedures, campus resources and issues escalated beyond the program level. We are leaders in the development of student-focused policies, procedures and programming. We train and support graduate staff to promote equitable and effective advising throughout the graduate community.

Visit our Virtual Front Desk Fridays 10am-12pm! (or make an appointment below)

Visit Our Virtual Front Desk

Who Should Reach Out to the SAAs and Why?

Graduate students.

For questions about program degree requirements, courses, advisors, research, funding, taking a leave and many other general topics, the best people to contact first are your program Graduate Coordinator and Graduate Advisor(s) . Their contact information is located on each Program Page .   You or your Coordinator and Advisor are always welcome to include the SAAs in the conversation for additional insight and support.

Graduate Studies SAAs are available as a resource and advocate for students in any situation, but most often when:

• You are filed to graduate and need assistance verifying your degree .
• You are not sure who to contact and need direction or resources.
• You are managing a complex situation or conflict.
• You would feel more comfortable talking to someone outside your grad program.
• You need in-depth answers about graduate policy, procedure and resources, or navigating the university system.
• You are experiencing a conflict with a faculty mentor.
• You are considering changing majors/objectives , and need help planning or connecting with program contacts.
• You are on academic probation, struggling with progress or beyond normative time to degree, and want to discuss next steps.
• You have not passed/failed a milestone exam (QE, Comprehensive, Final), or you are being recommended for or appealing a  disqualification .
• You have questions about processes related to graduate academic forms .

Graduate Program Staff and Faculty

SAAs work day-to-day with program staff and faculty, and are available to provide feedback and advice about graduate academic or student issues, assisting students' concerns, navigating policies and processes (including exception requests), identifying resources, and connecting with the Graduate Studies Associate Deans.  

Contact the Academic Services Team

Every graduate program has a specific SAA assigned to them. Please refer to your program page for your assigned SAA.

Schedule an Appointment

Want to meet with a Senior Academic Advisor? Start by scheduling an appointment through the Appointment System . Select a day/time that fits your schedule.  We encourage you to make an appointment with your assigned SAA!

Select "Graduate Studies" in the Offices drop-down, select any of the advisor's schedules and select an available time that works for you. Please include a brief description about what you'd like to discuss when you schedule.  

Both in-person and remote appointments are available.

SAA Appointment Calendar 

Brittney Dinelli

Senior academic advisor  .

Brittney is a Senior Academic Advisor responsible for advising graduate students on degree milestones, Graduate Council and campus policies, graduation requirements, and mentorship issues. Brittney has worked at UC Davis since 2023. Prior to arriving at Graduate Studies, Brittney worked at UC Santa Barbara as the graduate staff advisor in the Ecology, Evolution and Marine Science departments before moving to work more broadly with all academic personnel. Brittney is a product of UC Davis, having completed her Bachelor’s in English at Davis in 2015. She then earned a Master’s of Counseling with a specialization in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Saint Mary’s College of California.

Samantha Duesdieker

Senior academic advisor - student parent liaison.

Samantha is a Senior Academic Advisor responsible for advising graduate students on degree milestones, Graduate Council  and campus policies, graduation requirements, and mentorship issues. Samantha has worked at UC Davis since 2015. Prior to arriving at Graduate Studies, Samantha was an Academic Advisor in the College of Letters and Science Dean’s Office. She also worked for UC Davis School of Law in Admissions and Financial Aid. She earned her M.A. degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from CSU Sacramento and received her B.A. degree from UC Davis in History. 

Sarah Hamid

Senior academic advisor - primary international student advisor.

Sarah is a Senior Academic Advisor responsible for advising graduate students on degree milestones, Graduate Council and campus policies, graduation requirements, and mentorship issues.  Sarah has been at UC Davis since 2010.  Prior to arriving at Graduate Studies, Sarah was an International Academic Advisor in the College of Letters and Science Dean’s Office.  She also served as an International Student Advisor in the Services for International Students & Scholars Office (SISS).  She earned her M.S. degree in College Student Personnel Services and Administration from the University of Dayton and her B.A. degree in International Studies and Spanish from the University of Minnesota.

Tudor Dimofte

Physical mathematics.

Note: This website is out of date. Current information here .

• July 2020-  Reader, Hodge Institute (Mathematics), University of Edinburgh
• July 2021-  Professor of Mathematics, UC Davis (on leave)
• July 2019-June 2021 Associate Professor of Mathematics, UC Davis
• July 2015-June 2019 Assistant Professor of Mathematics, UC Davis
• Sep. 2015-June 2016 Senior Postdoc, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
• Dec. 2013-Aug 2015 Long-Term Member, Institute for Advanced Study
• Jan. 2011-Nov. 2013 Member, Institute for Advanced Study
• Oct. 2010-Sep. 2015 Junior Research Fellow, Trinity College, Cambridge
• Sep. 2010 Postdoc, Max Planck Institute for Mathematics, Bonn
• 2010 Ph.D. in Physics, Caltech
• 2005 MASt in Theoretical Physics (Part III Maths), Cambridge
• 2004 A.B. in Mathematics, Princeton

Honors and Awards

• 2018-23 NSF CAREER Grant
• 2017-18 UC Davis Hellman Fellow
• 2010 Caltech Clauser Prize for Ph.D. Thesis
• 2006-09 NDSEG Graduate Fellowship
• 2004-05 Studentship in Mathematics, Trinity College, Cambridge
• 2000 US Presidential Scholar
• 2018-23 NSF Career Grant No. 1753077 The Algebraic Structures of 3d Gauge Theory $400,000
• 2017-21 NSF Focused Research Group Grant No. 1664454 Homotopy Renormalization of Topological Field Theories  $113,937
• 2014-18 (Co-PI, PI: Piotr Sulkowski ) ERC Support for Frontier Research Grant No. 335739 Quantum Fields and Knot Homologies  $70,000

Publications

Recent teaching

Workshops and conferences organized

Talks and seminars given

Lecture series

• Derived geometry in twists of gauge theories , PIMS Summer School on Algebraic Geometry in High-Energy Physics , U. Alberta (August 23-27, 2021)
• Twisted Quantum Field Theory , 13-part informal online seminar, with Brian Williams (February-April 2021)
• Algebraic structure of boundary conditions in (T)QFT , 2 lectures, online seminar on Arithmetic Geometry and Quantum Field Theory (June 17&24, 2020)
• Boundaries, Defects, and Dualities in SUSY Gauge Theory , 3 lectures, Introductory Workshop on 3D mirror symmetry and AGT conjecture, Inst. for Adv. Studies in Mathematics, Zhejiang University, China (Oct 1-4, 2019)
• Boundary Conditions and Extended Defects , 3 lectures, QFT for Mathematicians, Perimeter Institute (June 24-28, 2019)
• Higher Structures in SUSY QFT , 3 lectures, KIAS Seoul (July 30-Aug 3, 2018)
• Higher Algebra in SUSY QFT , 3 lectures [ 1 2 3 ], ICTS Bangalore (July 23-27, 2018)
• Dual Boundary Conditions for 3d N=2 Gauge Theories , 2 lectures, Fields and Duality, LMU Munich (Oct 11-12, 2017)
• Quantum Field Theory (a survey), 2 lectures, Arithmetic Chern-Simons Theory , U. Leiden (May 23, 2017)
• 3d Gauge Theories, Symplectic Duality and Knot Homology , 4 lectures, Mathematical Aspects of Six-Dimensional Quantum Field Theories, UC Berkeley (Dec 8-12, 2014)
• Holomorphic Blocks for 3d SCFT’s , 2 lectures [ 1 2 ], Simons Summer Workshop (Aug 16, 2012)
• Holomorphic twists and boundary vertex algebras , QFT and Geometry Seminar , online (Aug 6, 2020)
• 3d Gauge Theories and Representation Theory ,  Hamburg ZMP Colloquium (Dec 5, 2019)
• A 3d bridge between mathematics and physics , Amsterdam Math-Physics Colloquium (Apr 9, 2015)
• A three-dimensional bridge between physics and mathematics , UT Austin (Jan 29, 2015)
• A three-dimensional bridge between physics and mathematics , UC Davis  (Jan 23, 2015)
• Chern-Simons theory with complex gauge group, UI Urbana-Champaign (Dec 17, 2014)

International conferences and workshops

• Non-semisimple and derived QFT’s for quantum groups at a root of unity , “ Quantum Field Theories and Quantum Topology Beyond Semisimplicity ,” BIRS, Banff (Nov 4, 2021)
• 3d SUSY gauge theory and quantum groups at roots of unity , “ Enumerative Geometry, Physics, and Representation Theory ,” IHES Summer School (July 9, 2021)
• QFT’s for Non-Semisimple TQFT’s , “ Number Theory, Strings, and Quantum Physics ,” IPMU Tokyo (June 2, 2021)
• QFT’s for Non-Semisimple TQFT’s , “ Perspectives on Knot Homology ,” BIRS, Banff (May 17, 2021)
• Categorifying the Schur Index, North British Math. Phys. Seminar (Nov 24, 2020)
• Twists and Operators in 3d SUSY Gauge Theories , “ GLSMs 2020 ,” Virginia Tech/online (Aug 18, 2020)
• 3d Mirror Symmetry and HOMFLY-PT Homology , String-Math 2020, Stellenbosch, South Africa/online (July 27, 2020)
• Boundary Vertex Algebras , “Higher Structures in Geometry and Physics,” Fields Institute (Nov 20, 2019)
• Vortices and Categories of Line Operators , “Novel Vistas on Vortices,” Simons Center (Nov 15, 2019)
• Boundary Vertex Algebras , “BPS/CFT Correspondence,” CIRM Luminy (Sept 11, 2019)
• Boundary Vertex Algebras , “Arithmetic Geometry and Quantum Field Theory,” KIAS Seoul (Aug 15, 2019)
• Higher algebraic structures in SUSY QFT , 11th Internat. Symposium on Quantum Theories and Symmetry, CRM Montreal (July 1, 2019)
• 3d Mirror Symmetry and HOMFLY-PT Homology , “Geometric representation theory and low-dimensional topology,” Edinburgh (June 14, 2019)
• HOMFLY homology and 3d mirror symmetry , “Quantum Knot Invariants and Supersymmetric Gauge Theories,” KITP Santa Barbara (Dec 12, 2018)
• Categories of line operators in 3d N=4 gauge theories , “Quantum Fields, Knots, and Strings,” U. Warsaw (Sept 26, 2018)
• (0,2) Dualities and 4-Simplices , “Geometry, Quantum Topology and Asymptotics,” Sandbjerg, Denmark (July 12, 2018)
• Quantized symplectic resolutions and quantum gauge theories , CIME school on Geometric Representation Theory and Gauge Theory , Cetraro, Italy (June 29, 2018)
• (0,2) Theories and the 4-Simplex , “Categorification in mathematical physics,” Simons Center (April 13, 2018)
• G-Actions in Quantum Mechanics , “QFT on Manifolds with Boundary and the BV Formalism,” Perimeter Institute (May 8, 2017)
• Koszul duality patterns in physics , String-Math 2017 , Hamburg (July 27, 2017)
• G-actions and Koszul duality in supersymmetric quantum mechanics , “ Enumerative Geometry, Mirror Symmetry, and Physics ” (Sheldon Katz’ 60th), UI Urbana-Champaign, (July 18, 2017)
• Vortices and Vermas (and other applications of 3d gauge theory to geometric representation theory) , “Homology theories in low dimensional topology” Newton Institute, Cambridge (Apr 6, 2017)
• A Mathematical Definition of 3d Indices , “Hitchin Systems in Mathematics and Physics,” Perimeter Institute (Feb 14, 2017)
• Counting Vortices in the 3D Index , “ Topological Recursion and Modularity ,” MATRIX, Melbourne (Dec 20, 2016)
• Toward categorification of hyperbolic geometry , “Mathematics of QFT,” IBS, Pohang, South Korea (Aug 23, 2016)
• Vortices, monopoles, and finite AGT , “Advances in Geometric Representation Theory,” U. Michigan (May 11, 2016)
• 3d BPS states, monopoles, and a finite version of AGT , “ String Geometry and BPS State Counting ,” IHP, Paris (Apr 25, 2016)
• Quantum Modularity and Chern-Simons Theory , “ Topological Recursion and TQFT’s ,” MFO Oberwolfach (Feb 17, 2016)
• Applications of 3d N=4 theories in geometric representation theory , “Geometric Representation Theory,” Simons Center (Jan 14, 2016)
• Toward Categorification of Hyperbolic Geometry , “New Developments in TQFT,” QGM Aarhus (July 29, 2015)
• Categorified Hyperbolic Geometry , “Classical and quantum hyperbolic geometry and topology,” U. Paris Sud (Orsay) (July 9, 2015)
• T he Coulomb branch of 3 d N=4 theories , “Geometric Unification from Six Dimensions,” BIRS, Canada (May 26, 2015)
• Aspects of the 3d-3d correspondence , ENS Summer Institute, ENS Paris (Aug 26, 2014)
• A Spectral Perspective on Neumann-Zagier , “ Low-dimensional topology and number theory ,” MFO Oberwolfach (Aug 20, 2014)
• 3d-3d correspondence, lens spaces, and quantizations of Teichmuller theory , “Geometry, topology and physics of moduli spaces of Higgs bundles,” IMS Singapore (Aug 6, 2014)
• A Spectral Perspective on Neumann-Zagier , “Geometry, Quantum Topology and Asymptotics,” Geneva (July 3, 2014)
• Quantum Curves and Quantum Knot Invariants, “Quantum Curves and Quantum Knot Invariants,” BIRS, Canada (June 18, 2014)
• 3d N=4 theories and symplectic duality , String-Math 2014 , Edmonton (June 9, 2014)
• 3d N=4 theories, symplectic duality, and knot homology , Mathematics of String Theory , King’s College London (June 2, 2014)
• q-Teichmuller Theory from 3d , “ Pressure Metrics and Higgs Bundles ,” QGM Aarhus (Aug 20, 2013)
• Framed 3-manifolds and flat SL(2,C) connections , “Geometric Topology in New York,” Columbia U. (Aug 14, 2013)
• BPS domain walls in 4d N=2 theories , Mathematics of Superconformal Field Theory , ACP Aspen (July 30, 2013)
• RG Domain Walls and Janus Attractors , String-Math 2013, Simons Center (June 18, 2013)
• From framed flat connections on 3-manifolds to RG domain walls in 4d gauge theory , “Moduli Spaces in Mathematical Physics,” CRM Montreal (June 7, 2013)
• Flags, Triangulations, and Quantization , “Topology and Hyperbolic Geometry,” Nha Trang, Vietnam (May 14, 2013)
• K-decompositions and framed flat connections on 3-manifolds , “ Teichmuller theory: quantization and relations with physics ,” Erwin Schrodinger Institute, Vienna (Apr 17, 2013)
• RG Domain Walls , “ New mathematical structures in SUSY gauge theory? ,” Perimeter Institute (March 2, 2013)
• SL(N) local systems on 3-manifolds , “ Mathematics and Physics of Moduli Spaces ,” MATCH Heidelberg (Sept 24, 2012)
• Supersymmetric Vortices, 3d BPS states, and 3-Manifolds , “Geometry of Gauged Vortices,” Hausdorff Institute, Bonn (Sept 18, 2012)
• Spin Networks, Teichmüller Theory, and RG Domain Walls , “ New Perspectives in Topological Field Theories ,” Hamburg (Aug 31, 2012)
• Class R: A User’s Guide , Strings 2012 , Munich (July 25, 2012)
• Holomorphic Blocks and Stokes Phenomena , String-Math 2012 , HCM Bonn (July 16, 2012)
• Class R: The Bloch Group on Steroids , “Algebraic Topology, Field Theory, and Strings,” Simons Center (May 25, 2012)
• Nonabelian Torsion and the Neumann-Zagier Equations, “Low Dimensional Topology and Number Theory,” Fukuoka (March 16, 2012)
• 3-Manifolds and Duality Domain Walls , “New Perspectives on Supersymmetric Gauge Theories,” LMU Munich (March 1, 2012)
• 3-Manifolds and 3d Gauge Theory , “ Classical and Quantum Integrable Systems ,” Dubna, Russia (Jan 24, 2012)
• 3-Manifolds and 3d Gauge Theory , “Geometric Correspondences of Gauge Theories,” SISSA Trieste (Oct 30, 2012)
• Tetrahedra, 3-Manifolds, and 3d Gauge Theory , “Nonperturbative Effects and Dualities in QFT and Integrable Systems,” KITP Santa Barbara (July 27, 2011)
• Chern-Simons with Complex Gauge Groups , Mathematische Arbeitstagung , MPIM Bonn, (June 29, 2011)
• S-duality and Mirror Symmetry in Chern-Simons Theory , “Derived Categories,” Newton Institute, Cambridge (Apr 14, 2011)
• Gluing Tetrahedra in TQFT, Quantum A-Polynomials, and Chern-Simons Theory }, “ Spring School in Geometry and Quantum Topology ,” Les Diablerets (March 25, 2011)
• Modularity in Chern-Simons Theory , “ Modular Forms and Mock Modular Forms ,” ICTP, Trieste (March 17, 2011)
• Triangles and tetrahedra: from wall crossing to complex Chern-Simons theory , “ New Mathematical Methods in Quantum Gauge Theories ,” ACP Aspen (July 7, 2010)
• TQFT and the Volume Conjecture , “Low dimensional topology and number theory II,” U. Tokyo (March 17, 2010)
• Refined and Motivic BPS Invariants, Simons Summer Workshop (Aug 11, 2009)
• Refined and Motivic Wall Crossing , “Focus Week on New Invariants and Wall Crossing,” IPMU Tokyo (May 21, 2009)

Departmental seminars

• Classical and quantum A-polynomials , Cluster Geometry Lab Seminar , HSE Moscow (Nov 18, 2021)
• QFT’s for Non-Semisimple TQFT’s , QMAP Seminar , UC Davis (Oct 1, 2021)
• QFT’s for Non-Semisimple TQFT’s , iGAP Trieste (May 18, 2021)
• QFT’s for Non-Semisimple TQFT’s , BIMSA (Beijing) Mathematical Physics Seminar (May 13, 2021)
• 3d Mirror Symmetry and HOMFLY-PT Homology , Lisbon TQFT Club (Nov 20, 2020)
• The d=1,2,3 of TQFT (pre-talk); 3d Mirror Symmetry and HOMFLY-PT Homology (main talk), Univ. of Edinburgh Hodge Seminar (Oct 28, 2020)
• 3d Mirror Symmetry and HOMFLY-PT Homology ,  U. Mass Amherst Rep. Theory Seminar (Oct 26, 2020)
• 3d Twists, Mirror Symmetry, and Knot Homology , Boston Univ. Geometry & Physics Seminar (Oct 21, 2020)
• 3d Mirror Symmetry and HOMFLY-PT Homology , Kansas State M-Seminar (July 23, 2020)
• Algebra, Geometry, and Duality in 3d Gauge Theory , Edinburgh (Dec 9, 2019)
• 3d Mirror Symmetry and Line Operators , Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen (Nov 26, 2019)
• 3d Mirror Symmetry and HOMFLY-PT Homology , Yale (Nov 11, 2019)
• 3d Homological Mirror Symmetry , U Penn (Nov 7, 2019)
• 3D Mirror Symmetry and HOMFLY-PT Homology , Perimeter Institute (Oct 31, 2019)
• 3D Mirror Symmetry and HOMFLY-PT Homology , UC Berkeley (Oct 21, 2019)
• Categories of Line Operators in 3d N=4 Theories , Kavli IPMU (Oct 15, 2019)
• Categories of line operators in 3d gauge theories, and homological 3d mirror symmetry , Oxford (May 6, 2019)
• Categories of Line Operators in 3d N=4 Gauge Theories , Kansas State (April 8, 2019)
• Categories of Line Operators in 3d N=4 Gauge Theories , Perimeter Institute (Oct 29, 2018)
• Higher algebraic structures in SUSY QFT , Princeton (Oct 22, 2018)
• Higher Products in Supersymmetric QFT , Imperial College London (Oct 4, 2018)
• An Introduction to Physical Mathematics  at St. John’s College, Oxford, Research Soiree, (May 3, 2018)
• G-actions in quantum mechanics and Koszul duality, Oxford (May 14, 2018)
• (0,2) dualities and 4-simplices , Oxford (June 4, 2018)
• Koszul duality patterns in quantum field theory , UC Berkeley (Sept 18, 2017)
• Equivariance and the Cosmological Constant , UT Austin geometry seminar (Apr 27, 2017)
• Equivariance and the Cosmological Constant , Caltech (Mar 24, 2017)
• 3d Theories, Boundaries, and Representations , UC Berkeley (Dec 6 2016)
• 3d Index, Normal Surfaces, and Categorification , UT Austin (Apr 23, 2016)
• Vortices, Monopoles, and Finite AGT , Rutgers (Apr 19, 2016)
• 3d Gauge Theory and Geometric Representation Theory , U. Western Ontario, (Apr 6, 2016)
• Applications of 3d Gauge Theory to Geometric Representation Theory , U. Melbourne (March 2, 2016)
• The 3d Index , U. Melbourne (Feb 24, 2016)
• Vortices, Monopoles, and Finite AGT , UC Santa Barbara (Feb 3, 2016)
• Applications of 3d gauge theory to geometric representation theory , U. Toronto (Jan 25, 2016)
• Symplectic duality and 3d gauge theory , Northeastern (Nov 16, 2015)
• SL(2,C) Chern-Simons Theory, Perimeter Institute (Nov 4, 2015)
• 3d Mirror Symmetry and Symplectic Duality , Princeton Mathematics (Oct 16, 2015)
• 3d Gauge Theory and Symplectic Duality , Perimeter Institute (Oct 1, 2015)
• Boundaries and D-modules in 3d N=4 theories , Perimeter Institute (Oct 1, 2015)
• The Coulomb branch of 3d N=4 theorie s, U. Amsterdam (April 8, 2015)
• The Coulomb Branch of 3d N=4 Theories , Oxford (March 9, 2015)
• Geometric representation theory, symplectic duality, and 3d supersymmetric gauge theory , Georgia Tech (Jan 9, 2015)
• Boundary conditions and symplectic duality in 3d N=4 theories , UC Davis (Dec 12, 2014)
• 3d N=4 theories and knot homologies , UI Urbana-Champaign (Apr 24, 2014)
• Boundary conditions and braids in 3d N=4 gauge theory , MIT (Apr 17, 2014)
• Six is the new ten , IAS Math Conversation (Apr 9, 2014)
• A Spectral Perspective on Neumann-Zagier , Michigan State (March 10, 2014)
• Knot homology, symplectic duality, and 3d gauge theory , UT Austin (Feb 26, 2014)
• A Spectral Perspective on Neumann-Zagier , Temple U. (Feb 18, 2014)
• Framed flat connections, K-decompositions, and the 3d-3d correspondence at higher rank , Harvard (Feb 7, 2013)
• A Spectral Perspective on Neumann-Zagier , UC Berkeley, (Jan 27, 2014)
• A Spectral Perspective on Neumann-Zagier , U. Maryland (Nov 8, 2013)
• Domain Walls and Janus Attractors , Rutgers (Oct 8, 2013)
• 3-Manifolds and 3d Gauge Theories , U. Michigan (Jan 21, 2013)
• 3-Manifolds and 3d Gauge Theories , UI Urbana-Champaign (Nov 30, 2012)
• 3-Manifolds, K2-Lagrangians, and Quantization , UT Austin (Oct 18, 2012)
• Supersymmetric boundary conditions, symmetry enhancement, and E7 surprises , Rutgers (Nov 27, 2012)
• Holomorphic Blocks in 3d, Perimeter Institute (Nov 6, 2012)
• The Quantum Content of the Gluing Equations , UC Berkeley (May 22, 2012)
• 3d Domain Walls of Class R , U. Penn (April 10, 2012)
• Non-Abelian Torsion and the Neumann-Zagier Equations , Columbia (Feb 3, 2012)
• 3-Manifolds, 3d Gauge Theory, and 3d Indices , Caltech (Jan 6, 2012)
• 3-Manifolds, 3d Gauge Theory, and 3d Indices , UC Berkeley (Nov 16, 2011)
• 3-Manifolds and 3d Indices , Georgia Tech (Nov 4, 2011)
• 3-Manifolds and 3d Indices , MIT (Oct 24, 2011)
• 3-Manifolds, 3d Gauge Theory, and 3d Indices , Institute for Advanced Study (Oct 2011)
• Liouville Theory and D-Modules , Rutgers (Apr 19, 2011)
• A New Perspective on Gluing in TQFT , Caltech (Feb 11, 2011)
• Quantum Curves in Chern-Simons Theory , Georgia Tech (Jan 19, 2011)
• Quantum Riemann Surfaces , CERN, Geneva (Nov 25, 2010)
• Quantum Riemann Surfaces , King’s College London (Nov 12, 2010)
• Motivic Wall Crossing in Seiberg-Witten Theory , AMS Sectional Meeting, Mathematical String Theory (March 27, 2010)
• Motivic Wall Crossing in Seiberg-Witten Theory, UC Berkeley (Dec 2009)
• Multicenter black holes and refined microstate counting , Stanford (Apr 20, 2009)
• A hyperbolic state sum model for SL(2,C) Chern-Simons theory , UC Santa Barbara (May 3, 2008)

Man Econ Math Camp 2024: September 19, 20, 23, & 24 from 6 to 8pm (strongly recommended for incoming transfer students & anyone registered for ARE 100A)

Sign up and get more information here: https://managerialeconomics.ucdavis.edu/news/man-econ-math-camp-2024  

Senior Research Thesis: ARE 194HA and HB

Senior Research Thesis: ARE 194HA and HB 

This program exposes and actively involves students in all aspects of academic research, starting from the pursuit of their own research interests and the articulation of a well-defined research question to the identification of data sources and appropriate methods of analysis. Importantly, this program encourages students to explore their own questions—such as questions addressing climate change and economic inequality—strengthens their critical thinking skills and research expertise, and actively involves them in the search for much-needed solutions to pressing problems of our time. We particularly encourage research addressing existing health and wealth inequities in agricultural supply chains and possible paths toward greater economic resilience and environmental justice, issues critical to the overall well-being of many communities here in California. A  senior research thesis  is an original, independent research project undertaken with the guidance of a faculty advisor and culminating in a research paper. The program is especially effective for students who:

• Plan to pursue an advanced (graduate) degree
• Want to develop research and writing skills required for a variety of business careers, non-profit and government positions 

2024/25 Initial Applications Under Review

Submit revised applications (password required).

Download the Senior Research Thesis Handbook .

See below for past participants and theses topics.

Application Requirements

In order to apply to the program, students must meet the following requirements:

• Major in Managerial Economics
• Senior standing
• ARE 100B (completed by fall)
• ARE 106 (completed by fall)
• ARE 155 (completed by fall)
• ARE 107 (can be taken concurrently)

Students interested in applying must:

• Choose a general area of research interest
• Develop a preliminary research question

Download the Library Research Guide for ARE Students . 

Students will be matched with potential faculty advisors based on their expressed interests during the spring quarter.

Spring quarter

• Submit an initial application ( due Monday, April 15, 2024 )
• Feedback received ( by Wednesday, May 15, 2024 )
• Submit revised application ( due Thursday, June 6, 2024 )
• Students will be matched with potential faculty advisors 

Summer quarter

• Acceptance letters sent (prior to SSI)
• Participation in Summer Applied Economics Research Workshop (SSII, recommended)

Fall quarter

• Submit final research proposal to faculty advisor by 10th day of quarter
• Attend honors thesis coffee hour

Winter quarter

• Submit final thesis to faculty advisor by end of quarter
• Present research at department seminar
• Student Research Conference *

* Students are encouraged to present at the  UC Davis Undergraduate Research Conference

View the  Program Flyer

Previous participants and topics:

Completed theses are available in the ARE Library (fourth-floor SS&H)

For more information contact:  Kristin Kiesel (Thesis Coordinator) Email: [email protected] Office: SSH 3124

M.S. Degree - Plan I (Thesis)

This master’s program in electrical and computer engineering gives the student an opportunity to perform in-depth research and thesis writing.

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering prepares graduate students to do meaningful research and acquire skills and insights vital to solving some of the world’s most complex technological problems. Many of our graduates go on to leadership and technology management roles in industry.

Graduate program highlights include:

• A challenging and stimulating environment
• Depth of resources
• Highly interdisciplinary culture
• Generous financial support.

Degree Requirements

• General Requirements and Information
• Students should note that ECE program requirements are more stringent than those stated by Graduate Studies. The ECE program requirements, therefore, take precedence. Plan I requires thirty-six (36) units of upper-division and graduate coursework (see course requirements below), a thesis, and a minimum of three-quarters of academic residence. The thesis serves as the capstone requirement.  Full-time students must enroll for 12 units per quarter including research, academic and seminar units. Courses may not be taken with the S/U option to fulfill course requirements, unless the course is normally graded as S/U.  A student who elects Plan I can register for 299 research units and should do so while preparing for the thesis. The number of 299 units taken should reflect the amount of time and effort devoted to the preparation.  Once course requirements are completed, students can take additional classes as needed, although the 12 units per quarter are generally fulfilled with a research course (EEC 299) and perhaps seminars. Per UC regulations students cannot enroll in more than 12 units of graduate level courses (200) or more than 16 units of combined undergraduate and graduate level (100, 200, 300) courses per quarter.
• Course Requirements
• Thirty-six (36) units of upper-division and graduate coursework, a thesis, and a minimum of three-quarters of academic residence are required. At least 16 units must be letter-graded graduate Electrical and Computer Engineering 200 series courses (excluding EEC200, EEC29X seminar series, and EEC299). Not more than 3 units of graduate seminar (290-297, excluding 290C) and 9 research units (EEC 299) may be used to satisfy the 36-unit requirement. The remaining units must either be upper division technical or graduate courses. All courses listed on the Program of Study must be passed with a “B-“ or higher. A course in which a student receives a “C+” or lower cannot be used to satisfy the unit requirement for the M.S. degree but will count in determining the grade point average. Courses required for the ECE undergraduate degree, or the following courses: EEC100, EEC110A/B, EEC130A/B, EEC140A/B, EEC150, EEC151, EEC161, EEC170, EEC172, and EEC180A/B, may not be used to satisfy the requirements of the ECE M.S. degree. The summary of Plan I course requirements is ♦   Course Requirements: 36 units minimum (100 and 200 series only) ♦   16 units of letter graded ECE graduate courses (200 series) ♦   Not more than 9 units of EEC 299 research units may be used ♦   Not more than 3 units of graduate seminar may be used ♦   Courses with grades B- or better Suggested Courses: ♦    Courses in Computer Engineering          ♦   Courses in Information Systems ♦    Courses in Integrated Circuits and Systems      ♦    Courses in Quantum, Photonics, and Electronic Devices ♦    Courses in RF-to-Terahertz              ♦    Courses in Bio, Ag, and Healthy Technologies
• Special Requirements
• All graduate students are required to take EEC290, Seminar in Electrical and Computer Engineering, each quarter that it is offered. An S grade in EEC390, the Teaching of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is required to be eligible to hold a teaching assistantship in ECE, but may not be used to satisfy graduate coursework requirements. International students may need to take LIN25, LIN26, LIN391 or a combination thereof, to meet university language proficiency requirements.

♦    Admission Committee Once the completed application, all supporting materials, and the application fee have been received, the application will be submitted to the admissions committee. The admissions committee consists of the faculty members of ECE’s Graduate Study Committee (GSC) and the GSC admissions chair. Applicants who apply by the space available deadline (but after the general deadline) are not guaranteed to have their application reviewed by the graduate program. Their application will be reviewed only if the graduate program determines that they have additional space available. Based on a review of the entire application, a recommendation is made to accept or decline an applicant’s request for admission. The recommendation to accept or decline an applicant’s request for admission is forwarded to the Dean of Graduate Studies for final approval of admission. Notification of admissions decisions will be sent by Graduate Studies. Applications are accepted from the date the admission system opens (typically in September) through the space available deadline for the next fall-entering class

♦    Course Guidance or Advising Committee The major professor and the ECE Graduate Advisor will assist the student in developing a Program of Study. See the section below on “Advising and Mentoring.” By the third quarter of enrollment the student must file a Program of Study that must be routed through the ECE Graduate Program Coordinator for the ECE Graduate Advisor’s approval.

♦    Thesis Committee for M.S. Plan I When the student advances to candidacy, they will declare an M.S. thesis committee. The ECE Graduate Advisor will nominate the committee based on consultations with the student and the major professor. This committee is chaired by the major professor and made up of at least two other members. The majority of this committee must be members of the ECE graduate program. The responsibility of this committee is to assist in the guidance of the student and to read and approve the thesis. The thesis must be prepared in accordance with Graduate Studies guidelines.

• Advising and Mentoring

The  major professor  is the primary mentor during the student’s career at UC Davis and will assist with developing the student’s Program of Study. The major professor serves as the chair of the Thesis Committee (for Plan I) or Comprehensive Exam Committee (for Plan II). The student must select a major professor from the members of the ECE Graduate Program as soon as possible, but no later than the beginning of the third quarter of enrollment. Changing a major professor, requires the signatures of the previous and new major professor, acknowledging the change. The ECE Vice Chair for Graduate Studies, also referred to as the Graduate Program Chair, will serve as the interim advisor to new students during the process of selecting a major professor.

The  Graduate Advisor,  who is nominated by the department chair and appointed by the Dean of Graduate Studies, is a resource for information on academic requirements, policies and procedures and registration information until a major professor is selected. The ECE Graduate Advisor is responsible for reviewing programs of study for each student and acting on student petitions.

The  Graduate Program Coordinator  should be the first person consulted on all actions regarding graduate affairs. The Graduate Program Coordinator may advise the student to contact the ECE Graduate Advisor or the Office of Graduate Studies to address particular issues.

• Advancement to Candidacy
• Every student must file an official application for candidacy for the Master of Science degree and pay the candidacy fee after completing half of their course requirements and at least one quarter before completing all degree requirements. This is typically the third quarter. The candidacy for the Master of Science degree form can be found online at:  http://www.gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/forms/ . A completed form includes a list of courses the student will take to complete degree requirements. If changes must be made to the student’s course plan after they have advanced to candidacy, the Graduate Advisor must recommend these changes to Graduate Studies. Students must have the ECE Graduate Advisor and committee chair, if applicable, sign the candidacy form before it can be submitted to Graduate Studies. If the candidacy is approved, the Office of Graduate Studies will send a copy to the appropriate graduate program coordinator and the student. The thesis committee chair will also receive a copy, if applicable. If the Office of Graduate Studies determines that a student is not eligible for advancement, the program and the student will be told the reasons for the application’s deferral. Some reasons for deferring an application include grade point average below 3.0, outstanding “I” grades in required courses or insufficient units.
• Thesis Requirements

The M.S. thesis must demonstrate the student’s proficiency in research methods and scientific analysis, as well as a thorough knowledge of the state-of-the-art of the student’s chosen field. Original contributions to knowledge are encouraged, but not expected, at the M.S. degree level. Thus, an M.S. thesis may consist of:

♦   An original technical or research contribution of limited scope ♦   A critical evaluation of the state-of-the-art of a current research area ♦   An advanced design project, either analytical or experimental.

Research for the master’s thesis is to be carried out under the supervision of a faculty member of the program. The thesis research must be conducted while the student is enrolled in the program. The thesis is submitted to the thesis committee at least one month before the student plans to make requested revisions. All committee members must approve the thesis and sign the title page before the thesis is submitted to Graduate Studies for final approval. Should the committee determine that the thesis is unacceptable, even with substantial revisions, the program may recommend to the Dean of Graduate Studies that the student be disqualified from the program.

The thesis must be filed in a quarter in which the student is registered or on filing fee. Instructions on preparation of the thesis and a schedule of dates for filing the thesis in final form are available from Graduate Studies ; the dates are also printed in the UC Davis General Catalog and in the Class Schedule and Registration Guide issued each quarter. A student must have a GPA of 3.0 for the M.S. degree to be awarded.

• Normative Timeline

• Sources of Funding
• Please see more information on  helpful funding resources .
• PELP, In Absentia and Filing Fee Status
• Information about PELP (Planned Educational Leave), In Absentia (reduced fees when researching out of state) and filing fee status can be found in the graduate student guide:  https://grad.ucdavis.edu/resources/graduate-student-resources . M.S. students are eligible for filing fee status after completing their coursework (Program of Study) and a working draft of their thesis or comprehensive examination report. In order to be approved for filing fee status, a student must submit the filing fee request along with signatures of all three members of the Thesis Committee or Comprehensive Examination Committee stating they have received an acceptable working draft of the thesis or comprehensive examination report. This application must be routed through the ECE Graduate Program Coordinator for the ECE Graduate Advisor’s approval and then must be filed with Graduate Studies. Filing fee is available for one quarter only, but extensions may be approved on a case-by-case basis. In the event that filing fee status expires, the student must file a readmission application.

Projects Offered 

• Area of Research: Computer Engineering

Project:   FPGA Security

Sponsors: Professor Houman Homayoun

Description: : FPGA security is a rapidly evolving field, especially as more FPGAs are found in critical cloud infrastructures. Recently, malicious sensors have been proposed that can be discretely integrated within an FPGA fabric, and can expose data to an attacker. For this project the student will evaluate and develop defensive strategies which re-purpose these malicious circuits into security primitives that can be used to hide sensitive data. Requirements: Basic circuit knowledge; experience with any hardware description language; experience programming and debugging FPGAs

Project:   Cloud Security

Description: Machine learning-based algorithms have been proved to be able to improve the scheduling quality of cluster schedulers. For this project, students will learn to interact with cluster schedulers and construct performance datasets, develop machine learning-based algorithms to perform performance prediction and optimize behaviors of cluster schedulers. Students will gain experience in machine learning as well as cluster computing. Requirements: Knowledge in basic machine learning, basic Python and C++ programming.

Project:   Detection of firmware vulnerabilities that can lead to fault injection attacks

Description: Hardware attack like fault injection is one of the major threats on embedded devices. Though they are hardware based attacks, sometimes the attack exploitation succeeds because of the implementation vulnerabilities in the hardware. This project aims to identify the scenarios and patterns of flaws in the firmware that can lead to such exploitations and design a framework to auto identify them during assessment. Requirements: Understanding of Embedded systems, firmware development, C/C++, Python, IoT, Experience using hardware tools like oscilloscope, multimeters, etc.; basic circuit understanding

Project:   Secure firmware update for resource constrained embedded systems

Description: Embedded systems are the core of the IoT (Internet of things) ecosystem. Resource constrained embedded devices encounter a plethora of challenges when it comes to secure design. Firmware is the brain of these devices, for some vendors it’s their IP. There are several scenarios and ongoing research to find firmware vulnerabilities whose exploitation could significantly affect both the system performance and financial impact on vendors.  This project aims to go in-depth of current methods for secure firmware updates in IoT devices, the vulnerabilities associated with them and corresponding solutions. Requirements: Understanding of Embedded systems, firmware development, C/C++, Python, IoT

Project:   Machine learning security and privacy on FPGAs

Description: Inference results from machine learning models are critical and sensitive. In this project, students will work on extracting power traces to deduce the labels from users' machine learning models. To achieve this attack, the machine learning models will be implemented in FPGA platforms, mostly sequence related and time-series related machine learning models. Requirements: Basic machine learning knowledge; knowledge in FPGA

Project:   ASIC implementation of Compute-In-memory circuits with emerging Non-volatile memories

Description: Recent trends show an increasing interest in research of non-volatile memories for various applications. As Von Neuman architectures gives rise to memory bottleneck, new compute-in-memory architectures have shown potential. In this project, we will explore emerging non-volatile memories and work on implementing a compute-in-memory module for an ASIC. A modified ASIC flow will be developed through the course of this project to integrate NVMs onto the ASIC design flow.    Requirements: Basic knowledge of ASIC design CMOS and emerging memories. Familiarity with Python, C/C++, Verilog/VHDL, HSPICE would help. 

Project:  GPU Solvers for Flow Computation

Sponsors: Professor John Owens and Postdoc Serban Porumbescu

Description: We are working with the US Army Corps of Engineers to develop a GPU implementation of their "HEC-RAS" river analysis system, the leading system for flow computation. The current implementation of this package is on CPUs and we would like to bring it to GPUs. The core computation is modeling hydraulic flow on unstructured grids, and the research problems are both algorithmic and systems ones. The ideal student will be interested in writing high-quality open-source software in collaboration with fellow graduate students as well as domain experts from government, in the context of a large and active group that is interested in problems across many domains of parallel computing. It is likely that this position will be funded. It is expected that an interested student will pursue a thesis that will result in publication in a high-quality venue. This position should be equally interesting for new PhD students.

Requirements: Desirable: Expertise in numerical computation and/or parallel computing. Highly desirable: C++ expertise, and even more desirable, CUDA experience. Good communicator and collaborator.

Project:  "Gunrock" GPU Graph Analytics Framework 

Description: : John Owens’ research group focuses on GPU computing and has a large open-source project on parallel graph analytics called Gunrock. We have a large number of small projects within Gunrock and believe it would be straightforward to assemble a MS thesis or MS project within Gunrock depending on the interests of the student. We have projects within the core of Gunrock (mostly CUDA/C++-oriented), in writing and improving Gunrock applications (primarily C++), and in interfacing and tuning Gunrock (more likely Python).

Requirements: Gunrock is written in C++ and we have Python-related projects as well. Experience with (in order) CUDA C, C++, and/or Python is highly desirable. Strong (text) writing skills. Experience with parallel computing would be terrific but is not required. We need talented students who can learn quickly, communicate well, and work well both in a group and independently.

Project:   Trusted Execution Environments for High-Performance Computing

Sponsors: Professor Venkatesh Akella, Professor Jason Lowe-Power, and Professor Sean Peisert

Description: : In partnership with the Computational Research Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), we are developing trusted execution environments (TEEs) for high-performance computing (HPC) systems such as those operated by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science’s Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) program, including the National Energy Research Supercomputing Center (NERSC) at Berkeley Lab.  Current commercial TEEs such as Intel SGX and AMD’s SEV are inadequate for HPC a variety of reasons.  Our solution involves a RISC-V based approach, along with development and modifications to the security monitor and operating system elements, as well as implementation and experimentation in gem5 simulations or in FPGA clusters.  Potential work could be on multiple levels of the stack from programming FPGAs to developing hardware modifications to kernel elements. Research problems include both security and performance elements, as well as tradeoffs between the two.  The ideal student will be interested in writing high-quality open-source software in collaboration with fellow graduate students, as well as researchers and HPC operators from the Berkeley Lab. This position may be funded. It is expected that interested students will pursue a thesis that will result in publication in a high-quality venue. This position should be equally interesting for PhD students.

Requirements:  Expertise in OS/kernel function, computer architecture, and modification, and/or FGPA programming. Expertise in programming C/C++ and Python, and software-engineering methodologies.  Excellent written and verbal English communication skills.  Looking for motivated and pro-active students who are great collaborators. Link:  https://dst.lbl.gov/security/project/ascr-hpc-cybersecurity-codesign/

Project:   Optimizing Compiler Instruction Scheduling Using GPU-Accelerated Intelligent Search

Sponsors: Prof. John Owens (UC Davis),  Ghassan Shobaki (California State University) Financial support provided by : National Science Foundation (NSF)

Description:   Master’s students are needed to work as Research Assistants (RAs) on an NSF-funded project at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS). Selected Master’s students will not have to transfer to CSUS to work on this project. They can work on the project as UC Davis students, and their theses will be based on their work on this project. Master’s students will be co-advised by UC Davis Professor John Owens. All the work for this project may be done remotely whether the campus is closed or open.  In this project, we use a combination of intelligent search techniques (specifically, Branch-and-Bound and Ant Colony Optimization) to solve a long-standing problem in compiler optimization, and thus generate more efficient code for a wide range of programs running on CPUs and GPUs. The official project abstract may be found at: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1911235  

Our most recent publications may be found here:  https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3368826.3377918   and  https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3301489  

 A Research Assistant on this project will develop parallel versions of existing intelligent-search algorithms and/or enhance the sequential versions. The algorithms will be first implemented in the LLVM compiler and later in the GCC compiler. The project will involve collaboration with open-source compiler engineers from Apple, IBM, Google, Redhat, as well as the GPU compiler team at AMD. We are looking for students who can understand complex compiler optimization algorithms and successfully implement them in a production compiler.   

Requirements:  The ideal candidate for this position is a junior, senior or Master’s student who is interested in conducting serious research in this area and producing quality publications that will help him/her build a strong career either in academia or in the industry. Undergraduate students who are interested in pursuing a Master’s degree right after graduation are also encouraged to apply. They can do their Master’s at UC Davis, and their theses will be based on their work on this project. Productive students may continue to work on the project after their graduation if they are interested.  Requirements include: Strong analytical and problem solving skills. Strong background in algorithms, especially graph algorithms (see the list of topics below). Strong programming skills in C/C++. Self-motivated and able to work independently with minimum supervision. Having some background in one or more of the following areas is desirable but not required: Code generation and optimization. GPU computing. Artificial intelligence, with emphasis on Branch-and-Bound search and Ant Colony Optimization.  Link:  https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1911235    

Project:  A  hypothetical RISC-V based game console

Sponsors: Professor Christopher Nitta

Description: : Christopher Nitta has developed a simulator for a hypothetical RISC-V based game console (available at https://github.com/UCDClassNitta/riscv-console/ ). The simulator is designed as an educational tool to be used in courses such as Operating Systems or Machine Dependent Programming. We are looking to expand the simulator to support auto grading, add new hardware components, and to improve the portability of the project.  

Requirements:  You should have taken EEC 270 or equivalent (graduate course in computer architecture), and have strong C/C++ programming skills. Ideally, we are looking for a single student to continue the project. Link:  https://github.com/UCDClassNitta/riscv-console/

• Area of Research: Photonic and Electronic Devices

Project: Advanced computational imaging for healthcare and climate-resilient agriculture enabled by nanophotonics and AI

Sponsor: Professor Saif Islam. Description:  This MS thesis project will focus on an innovative imaging technology based on nanotechnology-enabled ultra-fast CMOS imaging sensors that operate by slowing down photons, deep learning, AI, and computational imaging. The sensors can make real-time in-situ tissue diagnoses during surgery and identify molecular activity in plant cells for autonomous nutrient monitoring. Requirements:  Understanding of solid-state devices - PN junction, MOS Capacitor, MOSFETs, transistors, sensors, etc. Understanding of electromagnetic theory. Familiarity with TCAD tools and Matlab. 

Lab and simulation:  Both lab work and computer simulation will be necessary. The thesis will involve working closely with other Ph.D. students and postdocs. Link:  https://www.ece.ucdavis.edu/~saif/

Project: Ar-Ion Plasma Surface Treatment of Reticulated Vitreous Carbon (RVC) for Field-Emission Cathodes

Sponsor: Professor Charles Hunt. Description:  Experimental Project assembling a RF Ar plasma system in the Vacuum Microelectronics Lab.  Verification on RVC samples. Requirements:  Comfort working with Vacuum equipment, power supplies and electronic materials.  Requires hands-on use of shop tools. References:  C. E. Hunt and Y. Wang, "Application of vitreous and graphitic large-area carbon surfaces as field-emission cathodes", Applied Surface Science , (2005). Funding for MS students available! Please contact Prof. Hunt.

Project: Advanced Magneto Optic Device Development 

Sponsor: Professor J. Sebastian Gomez-Diaz and II-VI Inc . Description:  The goal of this project is to develop a proof of concept prototype optical device capable of sensing micro-Tesla magnetic fields.      Phase (1) review literature for advantages and disadvantages of existing approaches.  Wavelength range is telecommunications C-band (1.5um), material is II-VI proprietary Thick Film Planar Faraday Rotator Crystals, preferred implementation is a waveguide/fiber optic device.  Preferred (but not required) substrate is Silicon Carbide.    Phase (2) Develop theoretical designs, simulate with numerical software, optimize parameters, converge on the most promising design.    Phase (3) Generate plan to build prototype(s) including resources (materials, chambers, fab time and location, testing, etc.); cost; and approximate timeline.      Phase (4) Build prototype(s), test and determine sensitivity.    Phase (5) Write summary and recommendations for next phase (if promising). The project will be developed in coordination with the Advanced Coating Group of II-VI Inc. located in Santa Rosa, Ca.  Requirements:  Knowledge of electromagnetic waves, waveguides, and optics. Experience with simulation software (Lumerical FDTD), metasurfaces, 2D materials, optical thin films and magneto-optical thick films would be useful but it is not required.   Link:  https://sites.google.com/site/jsebastiangomezdiaz/  

Project: MS projects in the Integrated Nanodevices & Nanosystems Laboratory 

Sponsor: Professor Saif Islam  Description: Project opportunities include: 1.- Silicon photodiodes for 100gigabit/sec and beyond data communication. 2.- Computational imaging with photon-trapping photdiodes. 3.- Photon detectors for quantum internet. 4.- Transparent solar cells for window based on UV and IR light absorption. 5.- High resolution time-of-flight (TOF) sensing with ultra-fast photodiodes. 6.- LIDAR: technological challenges and recent developments. 7.- Ionizing air and gases to trap COVID-19 virus and prevent airborne transmission. Financial support available for strong candidates! 8.-Ultra-fast silicon photodiodes for real-time visualization of tumor boundaries during surgery enabled by fluorescent lifetime imaging (FLIm). 9.-Semiconductor transistors/memory for extreme temperature and harsh environment.  10.- Memory and logic based on memristors: Simulations and design.    Link:  https://www.ece.ucdavis.edu/~saif/

Project: MS projects in the Woodall Research Laboratory 

Sponsor:  Professor Jerry Woodall  Description: Project opportunities include: 1.- Compound semiconductor materials and epilayer projects     a. Materials: AlGaAs, GaP, ZnSe/GaAs, HJ alloys     b. Epi tools - LPE for GaP, AlGaAs; MBE for III-V and II-VIxIII-V1-x devices 2.- LPE Devices: AlGaAs "true red" 610nm for high efficiency LEDs for pixelated displays. 3.- MBE Devices based on ZnSe/GaAs     a. ZnSe/GaAs for RGB LEDs, BG 1.4-2.7 eV.     b. ZnSe/GaAS THz HBTs. 4.- Latent heat storage of intermittent solar and wind power     a. Convert intermittent solar/wind power to 24/7 power via latent heat energy storage: 577 C Al-Si eutectit and Si phase change batteries. 5.- Hydrogen Generation via Stored Energy in Aluminum and Water     a. Split water using Al-Ga alloys to make UHP H2 and UHP Al2O3.  Link:  https://woodall.ece.ucdavis.edu/

Project:  Tailored NMEMS-plasmonic platform for gas/cancer detection 

Sponsors: Professor J. Sebastian Gomez-Diaz and Texas Instruments    Description: This project deals with the development of a platform that combines NMEMS at RF with tailored metasurfaces at IR to detect specific spectral fingerprints of gases and cancer cells. The project will include (i) development of plasmonic metasurface and characterization with a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer with microscope; (ii) update an existing RF and laser testing set-up; and (iii) development of a testing chamber printed in 3D. The project requires knowledge of electromagnetics and the use of numerical software (Matlab and CST/COMSOL). Once the system is ready, it will be applied to the analysis of gases and biological samples. The project will be developed in coordination with Texas Instruments.    Requirements: Knowledge of electromagnetic waves, RF, and optics. Experience with instrumentation software (Labview/Matlab), metasurfaces and MEMS design would be useful but it is not required.   Link:  https://sites.google.com/site/jsebastiangomezdiaz/  

Project:  Reconfigurable Computing with Photonic Interconnects and AI

Sponsors: Professor S. J. Ben Yoo.   Description: This project seeks innovations in scalable high-performance cloud computing systems through a combination of new generation of optical interconnect technologies as well as existing electronic switching architectures. The current project team is planning to conduct computing and networking experiments through a combination of off-the-shelf computing and networking equipment and research-grade optical interconnect and switching devices. The MS student is expected to assist the NGNS researchers with FPGA programming, Ethernet network switches configurations and automation, Linux servers’ configuration, and software-defined networking programming. This project can accommodate two students.   Requirements:  Proficiency in one or more script languages (e.g. Python, Matlab), C/C++, etc. Good knowledge of Linux operating system (e.g. Ubuntu). Familiar with distributed programming and MPI protocol. Familiar with HDL language and FPGA programming platforms (e.g. Xilinx Vivado). Familiar with Ethernet and TCP/IP networks, LAN configuration, and Ethernet switches configuration and routing protocols.   Link:  https://sierra.ece.ucdavis.edu/index.php/2020/03/21/computing-architecture-algorithm-and-testbed-studies-for-reconfigurable-computing-with-photonic-interconnects-and-ai/

Project:  AI-Assisted Self-Driving Autonomic Optical Networking

Sponsors: Professor S. J. Ben Yoo.   Description: This position seeks innovations in next-generation autonomous and self-driving optical networking systems leveraging existing and emerging machine learning and AI tools. The current project team is planning to build novel prototype network control plane algorithms and experiments. The MS student will assist the NGNS researchers with conducting computing and networking systems integration, and software-defined networking programming to implement novel and scalable control and management plane architectures and algorithms. In particular, we are looking for someone helping implementing AI-driven resource calculation modules, application interfaces, communication protocol extensions, and network telemetry functions. This project can accommodate two students.   Requirements:  Proficiency in one or more script languages (e.g. Python, Matlab),  Java, C/C++, etc. Familiar with machine learning algorithms (e.g. deep reinforcement learning) and tools (e.g. Tensor Flow or PyTorch).  Familiar with Ethernet and TCP/IP networks, LAN configuration, Ethernet switches configuration and routing protocols, network monitoring tools (e.g., Wireshark). Familiar with software defined networking (SDN) and Open Network Operating System (ONOS®). Link:  https://sierra.ece.ucdavis.edu/index.php/2020/03/20/service-provisioning-in-multi-domain-sd-eon-with-machine-learning-and-game-theory-approaches/

Project:  3D Ultrafast Laser Inscription

Sponsors: Professor S. J. Ben Yoo.   Description: This project seeks to design, inscribe, and test arbitrary 3D waveguides for future computing, networking, and imaging applications.  Utilizing the unique ultrafast laser inscription facility, the project team has realized 3D waveguides of arbitrary shapes and forms.  More descriptions are available in this publication: S. J. Ben Yoo, Binbin Guan and Ryan P. Scott, “ Heterogeneous 2D/3D photonic integrated microsystems “,   Microsyst Nanoeng  2,  16030 (2016). Requirements:  Proficiency in one or more script languages (e.g. Python, Matlab),  Java, C/C++, etc. Good knowledge of optics and waves. Overall good skills in laboratory experiments. Familiarity with computer controlled instrumentation is desired but not necessary. Familiarity with computer aided design is desired but not necessary. Link:  https://sierra.ece.ucdavis.edu/

• Area of Research: Information Systems

Project:  Video-based quantification of dexterous finger movement kinematics using computer vision and deep learning techniques

Sponsors: Professors  Wilsaan Joiner and Karen Moxon   Description:  This project will apply computer vision and deep learning techniques to analyze the dexterous finger movements of nonhuman primates ( rhesus macaque monkeys). The subjects are recorded while performing a task which involves retrieving food rewards from variously-oriented shallow wells (i.e., the Brinkman Board task). The MS student is expected to assist in streamlining the analysis of the videos and applying DeepLabCut, a deep learning toolset that allows for the markerless tracking of various locations across multiple video frames. The information obtained from movement tracking will then be used to quantify several features of finger movements (separation, extension and preshaping) in order to provide behavioral measures that are sensitive to injury (e.g., spinal cord contusion) and treatments. Importantly, this will provide critical information to evaluate the effectiveness of novel interventions for clinical conditions that affect the motor system.

Requirements:  Applicants should have expertise in machine learning, deep learning and computer vision concepts, and ample experience with common programming languages such as C++, Python and Matlab. How to: To apply, please email your CV and interest statement to: [email protected]

Project:   Security of Deep Reinforcement Learning-based Traffic Signal Controllers (TSC)

Sponsors: Professor  Chen-Nee Chuah .   Description:  Next generation of TSCs expected to communicate with traffic environment and learn how to behave in different traffic conditions. For this purpose, we have shown that the traffic signals controlled with deep reinforcement learning (DRL) are effective in terms of traffic flow and air quality. However, adversarial attacks may target such edge controllers. The impact of adversarial attacks to the learning-based TSCs could have serios consequences beyond traffic congestion, such as life threatening traffic accidents. Initial results of this project show that learning based TSCs are vulnerable to adversarial attacks. This project further extends the study to a different level and seeks novel solutions for DRL- TSCs on city level San Francisco downtown network and different learning configurations such as different state, action, and reward definitions.

Requirements:  Expertise in Python programming and machine learning libraries (Numpy, Tensorflow, Matplotlib, Pandas), ability to research on intelligent systems, knowledge about deep reinforcement learning concept and security of machine learning. If interested, please email your resume/CV to [email protected] with [DRL-TSC with AV] in the subject title.

Project:   Optimal Traffic Control with Deep Reinforcement Learning-based Traffic Signal Controllers and Autonomous Vehicles

Sponsors: Professor  Chen-Nee Chuah .   Description:  Deep reinforcement learning (DRL) is a promising machine learning tool that combines artificial neural networks with reinforcement learning algorithms. DRL models have been applied to different control domains including intelligent transportation systems. We have seen very promising results for DRL-based traffic signal controllers (TSC) on city level traffic flow in terms of travel delay and air pollution. In the context of autonomous vehicles (AV), DRL can be applied to control optimization, path planning and navigation. However, it remains an open question as to how these DRL-TSCs and DRL-AVs can co-exist and collaborate effectively. Since AVs are great tools for traffic platooning, it will be interesting to quantify the performance of DRL-TSCs in mixed traffic (with a combination of autonomous and human-driven vehicles).

Requirements:  Expertise in Python programming and machine learning libraries (Numpy, Tensorflow, Matplotlib, Pandas), ability to research on intelligent systems, knowledge about deep reinforcement learning concept. If interested, please email your resume/CV to [email protected] with [DRL-TSC with AV] in the subject title.

Project:  Deep Camera Calibration – Deep Learning for Accurate Camera Calibration in Assembly Automation

Sponsors: Professor Iman Soltani.   Description:  This project is going to be conducted at LARA (Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Automation). The overall goal of the project is to develop a deep learning scheme for accurate and streamlined camera calibration that is suitable for precision assembly automation.

Camera calibration is the first and foremost step in any robotics application involving vision. Currently the models used for this purpose are simplified and the calibration process is cumbersome. These simplifications lead to rather inaccurate calibration results that are acceptable for only a subset of applications relying on vision such as mobile robotics in which obstacle avoidance is the main objective. However, applications requiring high precision positioning such as assembly automation cannot rely on vision alone solely due to low accuracy of the vision-based object positioning methods.

This project aims to rely on deep learning to form more complex models of camera 3D to 2D mapping and develop streamlined calibration schemes that can be easily implemented.  Link:  https://soltanilab.engineering.ucdavis.edu/

Project:  Learning from Simulation in Assembly Automation and Quality Control

Sponsors: Professor Iman Soltani.   Description: This project will be conducted at LARA (Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Automation). The focus of this project is on generalization performance of deep networks trained on simulated training data. The main application under consideration is quality control and assembly automation. As part of this project we aim to train deep networks to detect certain keypoints on an image of a given mechanical component or assembly. The detection of these keypoints will help us estimate the absolute or relative position of the parts in 3D space. This information can be used for assembly quality control or for assembly automation.

However, training deep networks for keypoint detection requires large volumes of training data. Such training data include thousands of images of mechanical parts in which the keypoints of interest are annotated manually by human operators. This process is cumbersome, requiring capture of thousands of images from various perspectives and annotating the corresponding keypoints. This has to be repeated upon product design updates or sometimes after a significant change in the assembly environment e.g. lighting.

To avoid the complications and cost associated with training data generation, we plan to develop a training scheme solely reliant on synthetic training data generation. In this approach component CAD information is used to synthesize realistic images. In this form the keypoints can be annotated automatically. As such, thousands of training images can be generated very quickly.

However, the deep learning schemes develop should benefit from a robust generalization  performance such that their ability do not deteriorate when test samples come from real images of same components.  

The ideal outcome of this project is a deep learning architecture that performs reliably on real images of parts of interest. This network will be trained fully on simulated (synthetic) images of the same parts e.g. generated through a CAD software. Link:  https://soltanilab.engineering.ucdavis.edu/

• Area of Research: RF-to-THz Electronics and Waves

Project: Nonreciprocal phased array antennas

Sponsors: Professor J. Sebastian Gomez-Diaz    Description: This project deals with the analysis, design, fabrication and characterization of nonreciprocal phased-array antennas able to transmit and receive RF signals with different patterns at the same operation frequency with polarization control. The project entails the design of antenna in simulation software (HFSS or CST), the use of nonlinear circuit analysis (ADS), fabrication, and measurement in an anechoic chamber.     Requirements: Knowledge of electromagnetic waves and electronic circuits. Experience with full-wave simulation software (such as HFSS/CST and ADS) would be great but it is not required. It is a project for 1~2 students. Link:  https://sites.google.com/site/jsebastiangomezdiaz/  

Project:  THz imaging 

Sponsors: Professor J. Sebastian Gomez-Diaz    Description: This project deals with the development of a imaging system based on time-domain terahertz spectroscopy. The goal is to automatize the system with a 2D positioner, aiming to implement imaging of biological samples from 0.1 to 4.5 THz. The project requires the analysis of THz waves, the implementation of signal processing algorithms, and the development of instrumentation code. Once the system is ready, it will be applied to the analysis of biological healthy/cancer biological samples.    Requirements: Knowledge of electromagnetic waves and Matlab. Experience with instrumentation software (Labview/Matlab) would be useful but it is not required.  Link:  https://sites.google.com/site/jsebastiangomezdiaz/  

Project: UC Davis Dark E-field Radio experiment

Sponsor: Professor Tony Taylor 

Description:  The UC Davis Dark E-field Radio experiment is a search for the electromagnetic signature from a low mass dark matter candidate called a dark photon. It involves massively averaging the EM noise inside an RF shielded environment to look for high Q candidate signals 80 dB below the Johnson noise threshold. For the first phase of this project, we are building a 64-million channel real-time FFT over the 30-300 MHz region. However, this will produce terabytes of data that need to be efficiently packaged, compressed, stored, and analyzed on a remote data server. We are looking for someone to design this data analysis tool chain and implement it on experimental data. Requirements: Proficiency with common programming languages such as C++ and Python. Courses in Signals and Systems. Link:  https://tyson.ucdavis.edu    

• Area of Research: Integrated Circuits and Systems

Project: CMOS Analog IC design

Sponsor: Professor Stephen Lewis

Description: Continue the class project in EEC 210 or do another project related to analog CMOS integrated-circuit design.

Requirements: Receiving a B or higher in EEC 210.

Link:  https://www.ece.ucdavis.edu/~lewis/

• Area of Research: Bio Ag and Health Technologies

Project: Development of novel, full-implantable blood pressure monitoring sensor

Sponsor: Professor  Karen Moxon

Description:  The Moxon Neurorobotics Lab is looking for an ECE Master’s student interested in working on a neuroengineering project to support the testing of a novel, full-implantable blood pressure monitoring sensor. The sensor is being developed as part of an on-going DARPA project to design a closed-loop hemodynamics control system for patients with neurological injury who are unable to control their own blood pressure. 

Prototypes are currently being tested in an animal model and the successful candidate will develop computer code to process the data and interpret results, suggest additional experimental testing and aid in report of results to funding agencies. The MS student is expected to assist in streamlining the analysis of the data and help to develop an algorithm as part of the closed-loop control system.

Requirements: Applicants should have ample experience with common programming languages such as C++, Python and Matlab and an interest in neural engineering and computer control system. Applicants should have excellent data analytic skills include data management, process documentation and detailed reporting. Applicants are also expected to be able to create figures to explain results and present results to other members of the team. Funding:  may be available.  How to : To apply, please email your CV and interest statement to: [email protected]

Project: Tactile navigation for individuals with visual impairment 

Sponsor: Prof. Iman Soltani 

Description: This project involves development of hardware and software platforms to guide individuals with visual impairment in dynamic environments through tactile feedback. The hardware aspect includes development of micro actuators and mechanisms that change the topography of a tactile surface. By changing the topography of the surface we aim to provide a map of the surrounding obstacles to the user. This approach is inspired by Braille and will work very similar to how Braille is used by the blind individuals to read texts, but here instead of a book the users will read their surrounding environment. Through tactile feedback our technology will provide an image of the environment to the blind, helping them navigate their surroundings safely. The software aspect includes sensor fusion and receives all the sensory information available on a smart phone including camera, Lidar, IMU and GPS. 

Requirements: We are currently seeking a masters student with hands-on experience and a passion for designing and building electromechanical systems. Experience with sensor fusion is a plus but is not necessary. Partial financial support in the form of an hourly appointment is available. How to : To apply, please email your CV and interest statement to: [email protected]

Project: Portable Sensor System to Assess the Health Conditions of Individuals working Under Harsh Environments

Sponsor: Professor  Cristina Davis,  Associate Dean for Research, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Description: This project aims to design, prototype, and test an integrated sensor platform that will record physiological data (e.g., heart rate, oxygen saturation, physical activity levels, skin temperature, and galvanic skin response) of athletes and individuals who work in harsh environments. The envisioned lightweight device will consist of several commercially available sensors and a microcontroller for physiological data acquisition and integration. A standalone, portable, and small single-board computer (e.g., Raspberry Pi, or alternative) will complement the device for analyzing the extracted data based on prebuilt machine learning models. The system will report data by bluetooth to a WiFi connection hub.

Requirements: Applicants from computer engineering background should have a solid knowledge in data structures and algorithms. Applicants from an electrical engineering background should have experience on microcontroller coding and circuit designs. Willingness to adapt to several programming languages. Team work may be required. How to : To apply, please email your CV and interest statement to: [email protected]

Project: Thermo-electro-mechanical Testing Platform Development

Sponsor: Professor Erkin Şeker

Description: Thermal, electrical, and mechanical fields dictate the evolution of nanostructure in thin metal coatings that are used as battery electrodes, catalysts, and biomedical device coatings. The goal of this project is to develop a testing platform that impose time-varying temperature fields, mechanical stresses, and electrical currents to nanoporous gold thin films and in real-time acquiring mechanical stress and electrical resistance changes in the thin films. The student(s) will collaborate with other graduate students working on the materials science aspects of this project.

Requirements: Basic microfabrication and manufacturing process experience, and MATLAB and LabView-based programming and interfacing with sensors/actuators are required.

Project: Electrochemical Biosensor Engineering

Description: Electrochemical sensors are used for detecting environmental contaminants, biomarkers for health monitoring, and pathogens. In such sensor the electrode where the detection event takes place plays a critical role. This project builds upon our group’s experience in engineering nanoporous gold electrodes for nucleic acid detection and aims to continue the development of such sensors with interactions with collaborators at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Requirements: Basic microfabrication experience, biology, biochemistry, and/or electrochemistry knowledge are desirable.

Project: Microfluidic Device Laboratory Course Development

Description: Microfluidic devices are composed of small channels and flexible membranes that guide fluid flow for studying physical/chemical/biological phenomena as well as creating miniaturized analysis tools on chips. These devices vary much behave like analog electrical circuits. This project aims to create similar course to the existing EEC 146A (Integrated Circuit Fabrication Laboratory) but with a focus on fabricating and characterizing microfluidic devices, with the ultimate goal of it being offered as an upper-level undergrad or grad-level laboratory course.

Requirements: Basic microfabrication (soft lithography) experience and basic fluidic dynamics knowledge are desirable.

Project: CeDP:  Computational Efficiency of Deep Learning in Digital Pathology

Sponsor: Professor  Chen-Nee Chuah

Description: While supervised learning (SL) techniques such as convolutional neural networks achieve promising results in pathology images, the computational complexity is still significantly heavy due to the gigapixel resolution of pathology images. To make deep learning more practical in digital pathology, it is necessary to comprehensively study the tradeoff between performance and complexity. In this project, we will study how to deploy efficient deep learning models on edge devices for pathology image analysis and how to remove unnecessary computation in the recent state-of-the-art deep learning networks. We will also benchmark the complexity of different models on our pathology datasets.

Requirements: Expertise in machine learning concepts, Docker, and Python programming inclusive of scikit-learn, Pandas, PyTorch/Tensorflow.

Project: SSL-Pathology: Semi-supervised Learning in Pathology Detection of Alzheimer's Disease

Description: While supervised learning (SL) techniques such as convolutional neural networks achieve promising results in medical images, procuring a sufficiently large dataset with annotations is labor-intensive, especially in gigapixel pathology images. To circumvent the need for large labeled datasets, semi-supervised learning (SSL) can be a potential approach. Amyloid-beta plaques are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. A supervised detection model has been established to classify three types of plaques. However, it relies on more than 50,000 annotated images for training the model. In this project, we will adopt SSL to this problem and explore the upper bound of SSL to relieve the reliance on a large labeled dataset.

Project: Computer-Vision Assisted Autism Disorder Spectrum (ADS) Behavior Detection using Videos

Sponsor: Professors Chen-Nee Chuah and Samson Cheung

Description: Early intensive intervention has been shown to be highly promising for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and hence a measure that could identify ASD risk during this period of onset offers the opportunity for intervention before the full set of symptoms is present. In collaboration with the MIND Institute, our team have developed computer vision (CV) and deep learning (DL) based video-based screening tool that utilizes a large library of video clips. The videos are collected under the Video-referenced Infant Rating System for Autism (VIRSA) project and depict a wide range of social-communication ability and relies solely on video in the ratings, with no written descriptions of behavior. We hypothesized that the semantic clarity afforded by video would provide improved early discrimination of infants at highest risk for ASD. In this project, we will expand on our previous efforts to explore (a) optimized models for mobile screening platform, (b) mitigation for bias in AI models, and (c) security and privacy issues associated our CV/DL-based pipeline.

Requirements: Expertise in machine learning and computer vision concepts, Python programming inclusive of scikit-learn, Pandas, PyTorch/Tensorflow

Project: Time-resolved near-infrared spectroscopy for blood oxygenation measurement

Sponsor: Professors Weijian Yang and Soheil Ghiasi 

Description: Blood oxygenation is the fraction of oxygen-saturated hemoglobin relative to total hemoglobin (unsaturated + saturated) in the blood. A healthy individual regulates a very precise and specific balance of oxygen in the blood and there is medical significance to monitor oxygen saturation in patients. Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy provides a noninvasive approach to conveniently measure the blood oxygenation. In this project, we will study the various approaches of NIR spectroscopy for such measurements. In particularly, we will investigate and develop a time-resolved NIR spectroscopy system, which could not only provide the measurement results from the typical continuous-wave (CW) systems, but also rich information of the tissues under the measurement probe. We will develop the model, perform simulation, explore the components, build and characterize the prototype and perform in-vitro (and in-vivo) measurements.

Requirements: Electronic circuits, Basic optics, Matlab. It is a project for 2 students.

Project: Target brain stimulation using surface electrodes

Sponsor: Professor Weijian Yang

Description: Delivering electrical field into the brain for stimulation has been shown to be effective to treat depression, stroke, dementia and several other medical conditions. The existing brain electrical stimulation paradigms either rely on electrodes implanted deep into the brain or surface electrodes on the skull. The former approach is highly invasive whereas the latter one lacks a spatial specificity. Recently, a new technology utilizes temporal interference of fields from multiple surface electrode pairs to noninvasively stimulate specific brain regions. In this project, we will optimize the design parameters of such temporal interference system to further increase the spatial specificity of the stimulation region, through finite element method simulation. We will also build a prototype of this electrical stimulation system and test it on rodents.

Requirements: Electronic circuits, Electromagnetic waves, Matlab. It is a project for 1~2 students.

Senior Honors Thesis

Classics department – honors thesis protocol  .

Honors Program Eligibility : Candidates for high or highest honors in Classical Civilization must write a senior honors thesis under the direction of a faculty member in Classics. Potential candidates for the honors program must enroll in Classics 194HA and 194HB, normally during the first two quarters of the senior year.  Enrollment is limited to upper division students with a minimum of 135 units, and a  3.500 grade point average in courses in the Classical Civilization major.  For further information, students should consult with the major advisor or program director. The requirements for the honors program are in addition to the regular requirements for the major in Classical Civilization. 

Honors Thesis Description : Students will produce an academic paper of approximately 25–30 pages that addresses a clear research topic relevant to the study of the ancient world. Topics should be developed in consultation with a thesis supervisor, chosen by the student. The student must obtain their supervisor’s agreement to proceed with the project. 

Evaluation:  The paper must demonstrate a high degree of proficiency in the subject matter, including a thorough grasp of the relevant scholarship and primary sources. The paper should articulate a clear, defensible argument, which should be supported by appropriate evidence. Theses deserving of high or highest honors will be evaluated based on the originality and strength of the argument. Persistently failing to meet deadlines may also jeopardize achieving high or highest honors. 

Track One: Fall and Winter Quarters

Fall Quarter

1st day of quarter:  Eligible students must select a Classics faculty member as a supervisor for the honors thesis and obtain their permission to proceed (this is a process that ideally will be done as soon as possible after the quarter starts). Students who have confirmed their advisors and obtained permission must enroll in CLA 194HA.

12th day of instruction : Last day to enroll in CLA 194HA. 

30th day of instruction (end of week 6) : A project proposal must be submitted to the advisor for approval. This proposal will detail the scope of the project and the primary research question to be addressed. It will provide an overview of the production schedule, a bibliography of primary and secondary resources to be utilized and the timeline for thesis completion. In consultation with the advisor, a thesis committee will be selected. 

Winter Quarter

1st day of quarter:  Students who are completing their honors theses must enroll in CLA 194HB.

12th day of instruction : Last day to enroll in CLA 194HB.

40th day of instruction (end of week 8) : Students must submit a draft of their thesis to their advisor to receive comments and edits to be completed for the final draft.  

Last day of quarter: Students must submit a submission draft of their thesis for evaluation by both the advisor and the thesis committee.

Track Two: Winter and Spring Quarters

1st day of instruction : Eligible students must select a Classics faculty member as a supervisor for the honors thesis and obtain their permission to proceed (this is a process that ideally will be done as soon as the quarter starts). Students who have confirmed their advisors and obtained permission must enroll in CLA 194HA.

Spring Quarter

1st day of instruction:  Students completing their honors theses must enroll in CLA 194HB.

12th day of instruction : Last day to enroll in 194HB.

Undergrad Research and Senior Thesis

The Earth and Planetary Sciences faculty enthusiastically supports independent study and senior theses as a way of involving motivated undergraduates directly in research.

Engaging in undergraduate research or a senior thesis is an excellent way to pursue a particular interest in depth that might not be available in a particular course. Students may find themselves helping with experiments in the lab, data collection in the field, literature reviews in the library, or other creative projects. With any of these projects, students will work under a faculty member, and closely with the other graduate students, postdocs, and research scientists in the lab. Participating in undergraduate research is invaluable in helping students choose the direction their careers will take. It can help students engage in the scientific process, apply classroom learning to the real world, and gain scientific experience and transferable skills for careers or graduate school.

Research Opportunities

See this list of current research opportunities in Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Students who participate in undergraduate research with a faculty member in Earth and Planetary Sciences may register for units – GEL 99 for lower division students or GEL 199 for upper division students. GEL 199 can be counted toward the Geology major (see the catalog for unit limitations). For every 3 hours spent per week on research, the student earns 1 unit.

Senior Thesis/Honors Senior Thesis

Students interested in expanding their undergraduate research into an independent, longer-term project may be interested in doing a Senior Thesis. A Senior Thesis (GEL 194A-B) or Senior Honors Thesis (GEL 194HA-HB) is a two-quarter sequence of courses for a total of 6 units. At the end of two quarters, students receive a grade for both classes. A Senior Thesis or Senior Honors Thesis is open to students who have completed 135 units; an honors thesis also requires that a student’s GPA is at least 3.5 before registering.

A senior thesis is like a smaller version of a Master’s thesis or PhD dissertation, so it provides excellent preparation for graduate school.

Undergraduate Research Center

The Undergraduate Research Center provides advice, help getting started in research, funding, and a chance to present your research at the Undergraduate Research Conference  each April. We strongly encourage students doing research or a senior thesis to present their work at the conference as either a talk or a poster.

Finding a position in a research lab often means asking the professor directly if they have space and projects for undergraduates. This can be intimidating, so here is some advice:

• Find the faculty member you would like to work with using the list of faculty in Earth and Planetary Sciences . Read about their research areas on their website.
• Visit them at office hours or write an email to introduce yourself. You will want your email or conversation to be professional, succinct, and clear about what you are asking. You should let them know your name and year in school, and a little about your background (for example, what are you interested in learning more about?). It helps to let them know you’ve read about their work online so that it’s clear you are not sending a generic message. 
• Blog: 8 Tips to Ask a Professor to Be Your Mentor
• Blog: Finding Undergraduate Research Internships
• The Transfer Research Society at UC Davis is a dedicated space for transfer students to find support in securing research positions

Becoming a researcher is different from taking a class for a grade. As part of a research team you will be expected to develop a level of responsibility and independence appropriate to the position. As with any job, you are expected to arrive on time and communicate closely with your project supervisor. Research can offer experience, skills, mentorship, networking, and recommendations for future jobs or graduate and professional school. It is important to commit to work hard in any role you accept. Please read Demystifying Undergraduate Research Experiences by UC Davis Ecology PhD student and Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute Lead Mentor Priya Shukla.

You can also talk with your research mentor about opportunities such as funding, travel to professional conferences, and getting published. 

The Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, campus as a whole, and external agencies all provide funding for research supplies and travel to professional conferences. Your research mentor should help guide you in finding and completing applications for research funding. Find a list of additional funding opportunities at Geology Honors, Scholarships & Awards .

It is UC Davis Earth and Planetary Sciences Department policy that paid research, senior thesis, or internship positions can also give unit credit.