Short A: None!

Long A: We are less interested in what specific skills that you can bring into the lab than we are in your desire and capacity to learn new skills.  We believe, for any student with the motivation to learn, we can teach you what you need to know!  So we tend to look more for signs of curiosity, persistence, and genuine enthusiasm for research more than we look for a specific skillset.  

A: During the school year, students enroll in 'Natural Science Research for credit' for either 0.25 or 0.5 credits.  For 0.25 credits, you should plan on being in lab for 4-6 hours / week.  Roughly speaking, this means that you are in lab for one 4 hour lab period per week (and then maybe you read a paper between lab periods or you come in the day before to set something up).  For 0.5 credits, it is basically twice the amount of time!  Most students starting out opt for the 0.25 credit option.

During the summer, students work (in a paid position) for 9 weeks.  This is a full time position and should be your priority; please do not plan on doing other time sensitive things (such as taking a class or working a second job during our summer weeks).

A: I want every student to have a strong sense of ownership over their project, and so students have a lot of input into which project they join (and which question within that project they join). Usually, I give students a list of projects which I think could be reasonably taken on and progressed over a spring and summer, and students give me their preferences. Almost always, students get their first or second choice!

A: My goal is for students to grow into independent scientists during their time in the lab, but I do not expect students to be ready to develop their own ideas from day one! I tailor projects and responsibilities to each student and try to meet each student where they are. For most students, that means that they will go through a period where they are largely told what to do (and why they are doing it), but they progress to making their own decisions on experiments (usually during their first summer). As student progress in the lab, they will (often as seniors) start proposing their own ideas informally and formally.