The research lab is located in Gilbert 4102. Unfortunately there is currently no seating available in the lab, but a request is pending to add more space and seats will become available as students graduate.
- Slack will be the primary mode of communication for the research group. Each project has an individual channel to discuss research updates, and general updates will appear in the #general, #reading-group, or #random channels. There are also public channels available for various research areas in the group.
- Dr. Brown frequently checks Slack messages. He is also available via email (dcbrown@vt.edu) and zoom (virginiatech.zoom.us/my/dcbrown). He rarely answers his office phone (540-231-9176).
- If Dr. Brown is in his office and not currently in a meeting, please feel free to stop by. His office is 4102 Gilbert.
- Students are expected to attend weekly meetings to provide updates on research progress, ask questions, or discuss blockers. If you will miss a meeting, please contact Dr. Brown ahead of time to reschedule or provide an update via Slack.
- We also have a weekly group meeting, where we all meet to discuss relevant papers, provide feedback on ongoing work, and discuss topics relevant to SE and research. This meeting will be hybrid (in-person and on Zoom). Attendance is strongly encouraged.
- The first author is responsible for carrying our research activities and ensuring the ethics and integrity of research processes.
- All studies involving human subject participants (i.e., surveys, interviews, user studies, etc.) must obtain IRB approval before commencing. If you are not sure whether your study applies, please submit a request for human subjects research determination. Dr. Brown will complete the IRB for newer research students, but more experienced PhD students will be expected to complete the IRB protocol for their study themselves.
- Please review the Empirical Standards for Software Engineering for your selected research methods.
- Please submit the Travel Approval Form to Teresa Hall (teresa@vt.edu) at least two weeks before the departure date. After returning from the conference, pleace complete the Travel Reimbursment Form form as soon as possible (within 60 days). The reimbursement process may take several weeks to be completed.
- Per department policies, students can be reimbursed for: registration fees, airfare (baggage fees require additional justification), lodging, transportation (i.e., gas, taxi, rental vehicle, etc.) and parking, and meals (per diem rates for meals not provided by the hotel, conference or airline).
- For more information, you can contact Teresa Hall (teresa@vt.edu) or visit the Virginia Tech Travel Website.
Due to limited funding, only first authors may travel to conferences unless otherwise specified. Please apply for travel funding from the following sources:
- CS Grad Council
- GPSS
- GRDP
- CHCI
- SIGSOFT CAPS Travel Support (for certain ACM conferences)
- Conference-specific travel support, if available.
Taking personal time off is critical for maintaining well-being, mental health, and work-life balance. Please request approval from Dr. Brown at least one week before the expected departure date for time off, personal and non-research-related travel, and vacations. If you are sick or there is an emergency situation, please let Dr. Brown know as soon as possible.
- Please use open-source models for research-related tasks whenever possible. We currently have API access to GPT, Claude, and Gemini. To obtain access, please contact Dr. Brown with a summary of how the model will be used. Please only use LLM APIs for research purposes and limit tokens.
- Holding office hours in the lab space is discouraged to prevent disruptions to other students who may be working in the lab.