If you are interested in doing research or directed research with me, the best thing to do is take a course from me and then talk to me during the semester. (See elsewhere for what classes I teach.) I generally do not reply to unsolicited requests for research assistantships or directed research.
I recognize this policy is a problem for students who have not taken my class or who cannot take my class. My recommendation in these cases is: have a USC professor recommend you to me. Presumably you took some other USC class and did well---ask that professor to send mail to me saying you're a promising student.
Unfortunately, due to the large number of USC students
and the requirement that I have sufficient time to work with my
current students I cannot do all the DRs I might otherwise do.
Advice to students applying to USC
I am not involved with standard student enrollment or recruiting.
See the CS Dept. web page
for information about enrollment.
I generally do not reply to requests about enrollment.
If you want to maximize your chances of getting my attention,
please describe some aspect of my prior work and your prior work that overlap,
and what you'd like to do.
Advice to students already at USC
In the Spring semesters, I have regular office hours on campus. Feel free to come by during those hours (no appointment needed---that's why they're regular office hours).
For class related questions other times during the year, or if you cannot make my office hours, please contact me by e-mail. Please indicate the reason you want to talk in the mail.
In general, it is always helpful to have some context about why you
want to meet.
"I want to meet with you" is not helpful,
while "I did well in your class and would like to a DR on topic X"
is.
Advice to students requesting letters documenting class work
Since I teach regularly, I get a reasonable number of letters from prior students of my classes asking for letters that document what their class work was. (Often these are useful as part of the process of getting permission to work in this country.)
In general, I'm happy to document what work you did in my class. If you want such a letter, please send me a draft with which you are happy, and send me specific instructions where you want the final letter to go. I will edit what you send me and send it out.
Some suggestions about the letter, though: