Bob Losee -- Dissertation Committees and Advising.

Successful doctoral work requires placing quality research above almost everything else, as well as high quality and supportive communication among the research group, composed of the student and the dissertation committee members. I am committed to fostering a collaborative research environment with faculty colleagues and graduate students.

I would like to have one or two new doctoral students as my advisees every year.
I usually recommend accepting as my advisees the best students in those areas where
- Students appear to have the academic expertise and the social skills necessary to conduct research with me (for example, I'm not very tolerant of big egos that get in the way of advancing research),
- I have some research expertise, and
- The faculty near the student's area of research (the likely dissertation committee members) regularly communicate with me about doctoral students and research-related issues. Students need and deserve an intellectually exciting and effective team of faculty as their leaders. When considering acting as an advisor to a student, I ask myself whether most of the 3 other faculty closest to the student's area of interest have dropped by my office in the past few weeks to talk about research, doctoral students, and related areas. Potential applicants may email me before formally applying to determine whether their area of interest is an area in which I have research strength and this is an area about which people routinely communicate about research.
Students who work with research groups should seek an advisor from that group, ideally, the leader of that group. I am not able to successfully lead a dissertation when much of the work addresses problems and uses methods, systems, and data with which I am not involved.

If the applicant is strong, the applicant is interested in a research area where I feel that I am a leader and that I can help the applicant become a leader, and I and the faculty nearest the applicant's area work together supportively and effectively, I will often seek to have the applicant admitted.

Note: I would be glad to advise students on their master's papers in any area related to the fields in which I work, regardless of whether I can act as a doctoral advisor in the area or not. I don't think I have ever turned down a request to be a master's paper advisor. Master's papers only require a good relationship between the student and the advisor; doctoral dissertations additionally require high quality professional relationships between everyone on the dissertation committee as well as greater knowledge about the area of the doctoral dissertation.