Prospective Students
I am always interested in working with students who are excited about building and understanding networked systems.
Our projects span Internet measurement, networked systems, security and resilience, AI-assisted network operations, and emerging infrastructure such as cloud, satellite, and quantum-classical networks. The specific problems change over time, but the work usually involves some combination of systems building, measurement, experimentation, and careful reasoning from imperfect data.
I am particularly interested in students who want to take ownership of open-ended research problems rather than simply execute a predefined task.
What Helps
You do not need to arrive knowing every area we work on. You should, however, be comfortable building things and figuring out unfamiliar technical systems.
Strong preparation usually includes several of the following:
- solid programming skills, particularly in Python, C/C++, Go, Rust, or similar languages;
- familiarity with computer networks and distributed systems;
- experience working in Linux environments;
- ability to design and debug experiments;
- comfort working with real measurement data;
- experience with systems tools, cloud platforms, programmable networks, or network measurement;
- for AI-related projects, a solid understanding of machine learning fundamentals and an interest in reasoning about systems rather than only training models;
- for systems projects, willingness to read code, build prototypes, and work through details that are not specified in advance.
I care more about demonstrated technical curiosity and persistence than about matching a particular checklist (including the one above).
How to Contact Me
If you are interested in working with me, please do a little homework before sending a note.
Start by reading one or two recent papers from the Research or Publications pages that are close to the problems you want to work on.
Then send me an email at: ramd [at] uoregon [dot] edu
In your note*, tell me:
- which paper or research direction interested you;
- what you found interesting, unclear, or limiting about the current approach;
- one or two concrete ideas you would like to explore as an extension;
- what technical experience you have that would help you pursue those ideas.
* Please write this email yourself, in your own words, rather than using generative AI tools to compose it. Furthermore, I am not looking for polished prose. I want to understand how you think about a research problem, what caught your attention in the papers, and what ideas you would genuinely be interested in pursuing. Moreover, the note does not need to be long. Specificity matters much more than formality.
Ph.D. Students
Students interested in joining the group as Ph.D. students should also apply through the University of Oregon's regular graduate admissions process. Emailing me is a way to start a research conversation; it does not replace the formal admissions process.
M.S. and Undergraduate Students
Current University of Oregon M.S. and undergraduate students interested in research are also welcome to contact me using the same process: read relevant work first and send a concise note describing what you would like to explore and what you can contribute technically.