Gustavo Pinto

Gustavo Pinto

Professor & Researcher

Prospective Students

If you want to work with me, take some time and read this page (and the links in this page).

Gettting in touch

Before getting in touch, however, read a list of research topics that I am interested in. This list is not exhaustive, though. Students are welcome to bring their own research topic. However, please keep in mind that I will be more happy to work on stuff which happen to be on my critical path. When getting in touch, please state which research topic are you interested in.

Important: if you have little to no research experience, listen to this podcast.

Requirements

There are some basic skills and requirements you should carefully consider before applying for a urop/master/PhD position under my supervision.

The most important skill is responsiveness. From Monday to Friday, I’d expect that any email should be answered reasonable quickly.

What does this mean?

Generally speaking, I’d expect one email to be answered in at most 24 hours during the weekdays (even if the answer is: ‘‘I got your message, I will do that later.’’). However, I also understand that there are periods of low responsiveness (e.g., when taking exams, traveling, attending a conference, sick, etc). In most of these cases, the period of unresponsiveness is clear in advance (e.g., you know when you have to travel), so please let me know in advance as well! I also understand very exceptional situations, but, say, two weeks of unresponsiveness may suggest you have been busy with many other things other than research.

I usually do not care if you work in the morning or in the evening, but I do care about responsiveness. If you do not use any communication channel frequently (e.g., at least once a day), please do not apply for any position under my supervision.

There are some also additional important skills (in no priority order):

  • learn how to use git
  • learn how to write in LaTeX
  • learn how to use the command line
  • learn how to program, preferably in some scripting programming languages.
  • read at least a couple of scientific papers
  • be comfortable with reading and writing in English

If you still want to apply, I strongly recommend you to talk with some of my previous students (a list of former and current students is available here).

If you are already a master student, read this (pt-br).

Essential Skills for Any Student, at Any Level

  • Know how to send an email. Greet properly and sign off. Describe your question in a few words. If you have more than one question, use bullet points. Provide enough context so that anyone can understand your email.

  • Know how to schedule a meeting. Ask about the best times and mention when you are not available. If there are multiple people involved, consider using a Doodle poll. If people do not respond, follow up politely.

  • Know how to participate in a meeting. If it is your first meeting, take notes on everything — do not wait for someone to ask you to. If you have questions, ask them. Do not leave the meeting with unresolved doubts. Be present during the meeting; put your phone away. If the meeting is online, turn your camera on. If you cannot turn your camera on, mention it (and perhaps the reason). Before the meeting ends, revisit the main points of interest to you.

  • Know how to be punctual. Be present at the agreed time. If you realize you are going to be late, let people know in advance — the earlier, the better. Do not wait until you are already late to say you are running late.

  • Know how to ask for help. Do not stay stuck for days without saying anything. If you have tried to solve something on your own and could not, explain exactly what you tried and where you got stuck.

  • Know how to receive feedback. Criticism of your work is not criticism of you. Listen, take notes, and reflect before responding.

  • Know how to search before asking. Before sending a message with a question, try to solve it on your own first. A quick search often does the trick — and building this habit makes you more independent.

  • Know how to say you do not know. “I don’t know, but I’ll find out” is always better than making something up or staying silent out of fear of appearing ignorant.