SURF 2014

This page is intended for students interested in working on SURF projects in the Summer of 2014. It contains a list of project areas where I will be supervising projects this year along with information about how to apply for a SURF project in my group.

Meetings on 17-20 June

Tue (17 Jun) SURF orientation

Wed (18 Jun) 10:00 - Meeting with co-mentors, 114 Steele Lab Biocircuits: lab orientation/cleanup 12:00 - SURF seminar 1:30 - Caltech safety briefing (mandatory)

Thu (19 Jun) First full day with co-mentors

Fri (20 Jun) 1:00-3:00 - SURF group meeting with Richard and co-mentors, 114 Steele 1 chart overviews (5 min each)

Students

Student	Subgroup	Co-mentor(s)	Project
Mattias Falt	NCS	Vasu	Invariant Refinement for Receding Horizon Temporal Logic Planning
Anton Frisk	Biocircuits	Clare, Vipul	Rapid prototyping of moderate complexity biomolecular circuits
Joaquin Gabaldon	NCS	Ioannis	Symbolic Verification of Nonlinear Hybrid Systems using Theorem Provers
Joon Sik (David) Kim [starts in Jul]	NCS	Vasu	Invariant Refinement for Receding Horizon Temporal Logic Planning
Pulkit Malik	Biocircuits	Clare, Vipul	Rapid prototyping of moderate complexity biomolecular circuits
Robert Mattila	NCS	Yilin	Improved methods of discretization for temporal logic planning
Linnea Persson	NCS	Scott	Switching control synthesis in the presence of uncertainty and general loads for an aircraft electric power system testbed
Rohit Satija	Biocircuits	S. Sen	Fabricating a Toolbox of RNA Thermometers
Samriddhi Sharma	NCS	Ioannis	Symbolic Verification of Nonlinear Hybrid Systems using Theorem Provers
Ben Wu	NCS	Vasu	Applying Formal Methods to Improve Automated Security Systems
Tiffany Zhou	Biocircuits	Clare, Vipul	Rapid prototyping of moderate complexity biomolecular circuits

Applying for a SURF project

Because I get many students interested in doing SURFs in my group and because we have several projects available, we use the first few weeks in January to sort out who we will work with in writing proposals. We only submit one proposal per project area and so we often can't accommodate everyone who wants to work in my group over the summer.

1. A list of SURF project descriptions is given in the table below. Due to the number of SURF projects that we support, we are only able to support students who select from among these projects. Please make sure to read the project descriptions, required skills (if any) and skim a few of the listed references before contacting me about doing a SURF project.
2. Students interested in writing proposals for SURF projects should contact me via e-mail by 10 Jan (Fri) and provide the following information:
   • A list of up to three SURF projects from the list below that you are interested in working on
   • A one page resume listing relevant experience and coursework
   • If you are not a Caltech student, I will also need the following additional information:
     • An unofficial copy of your academic transcript
     • Names of two faculty members at your current institution that I can contact for a reference
3. Starting on 11 January, I will go through all applications and work with my group to identify who is a possible fit for each project. We will then contact you and ask for you to meet (or talk with) possible co-mentors so that we can eventually work out who we will work with in writing up a proposal.
4. We hope to make final decisions on projects by about 20 Jan, at which point we will start working with students on writing up proposals.
5. All applications should go through the normal SURF application process, described at www.surf.caltech.edu. SURF applications are due on 22 Feb 2014.
6. If you are selected for a SURF, please be aware of the following information
   • All SURF projects in my group will start on 17 Jun (Tue). If you can't start on that date, please make sure that you indicate this when you contact me
   • All SURF projects are for a minimum of 10 weeks, although I usually recommend that you try to stay for 12 weeks if possible (at no additional pay). It's hard to complete a project in just 10 weeks and spending a few extra weeks can greatly improve the project.
   • All SURF students in my group will be expected to devote full-time effort to their SURF project, so you cannot have a second job in addition to your SURF.

List of available projects

Title	Grant/Project	Co-Mentors	Comments
Switching control synthesis in the presence of uncertainty and general loads for an aircraft electric power system testbed	iCyPhy	Scott C. Livingston
Improved methods of discretization for temporal logic planning	iCyPhy	Yilin Mo
Symbolic Verification of Nonlinear Hybrid Systems using Theorem Provers	TerraSwarm	Ioannis Filippidis
Rapid prototyping of moderate complexity biomolecular circuits	DARPA Breadboards	Richard Murray, Clare Hayes	Multiple positions available (2-4)
Invariant Refinement for Receding Horizon Temporal Logic Planning	TerraSwarm	Vasu Raman