Advising

Hi there! Thanks for wanting me to be involved in your education! Here are some tips:

• Whatever it is you want from me: send me lots of information about it in your first email. The more I know about you and your project the more likely it is that I will find your idea so fully awesome that I must write back.
• If you simply want some advice send me an email with your detailed question. I have expertise in privacy, recommender systems, HCI, psychological theory, and statistics. Note that in many cases I will give you a pointer to where you can find the answer yourself, rather than just giving you the answer.
• If you are a current Clemson student who wants me as an academic advisor, please send me an email with your interests. I will then try to find a project for you to work on, and send you some readings on the project. Next, we will have a meeting to see how our interests align, after which we may decide to do an in dependent study. If that goes well, we can talk about a more permanent advising role.
• If you want to collaborate on a project with me, please tell me upfront what you expect from me. What is the project for? What are the goals? Is there a timeline and budget? What part of my expertise do you need? The more I know, the better I can judge whether I can help.
• If you want to do an internship with me, please contact me with your interests, your preferred timeline for the internship, and your level of funding. Doing an internship with me is practically “free”, aside from the cost of living in Clemson. If you come from outside the U.S., the immigration services will require that you have sufficient funds to support yourself, though. If you require a U.S. Visa, please contact me early, so that this can be arranged on time!
• If you are an aspiring Clemson student interested in working with me, please contact me with your interests etc., but also apply through the official channels.
• If you seek funding, please note that as a starting Assistant Professor, I have very few funds to hire students. I prefer students who have taken a class or independent study with me, as well as students who are willing to work on projects for which I have funds available. If you want to work on your own project, I am happy to help you apply for suitable scholarships and fellowships.
• If you already have funding, then I am happy to advise you on a project of your own choosing, as long as it broadly aligns with my interests.

Having read all this, feel free to contact me at bartk@clemson.edu :-).