Weizhi Lin

How to Choose a Topic for Your Final Project (UG and MS students)

• This guide is intended for students who would like to work with me on a capstone or final-year project, such as ISE 298. It is not intended for students seeking research project opportunities.
• If you would like to work with me on your final-year project, please review this guide carefully and identify a few potential project topics or directions before reaching out.
• To help me better understand your background and project interests, please complete this application form before reaching out.
• Please kindly note that emails regarding ISE 298 can only be considered after the form has been completed. Thank you for helping me review all requests fairly and efficiently!

For Students Interested in Industry

- for students who already have a target job, role, or career direction in mind.

1. Review job descriptions
   • Look for common skills, tools, methods, and industry needs in relevant job postings.
2. Summarize common themes
   • Use AI tools to identify recurring requirements, techniques, and keywords, such as monitoring, diagnosis, prediction, optimization, simulation, or data analysis.
3. Choose a specific application domain
   • Select a focused industry area, such as healthcare operations, manufacturing, automotive systems, logistics, or supply chain.
4. Develop research questions
   • Formulate questions inspired by industry needs, such as how to monitor a process, diagnose problems, predict outcomes, or optimize cost, quality, or efficiency.
5. Discuss with the advisor for finalization. 

For Students Interested in a Ph.D.

1. Identify your dream programs
   • Make a list of graduate schools, colleges, or departments you may want to apply to for a Ph.D.
   • Consider program reputation, research strengths, faculty expertise, location, funding opportunities, and fit with your long-term goals.
2. Search relevant departments and research groups
   • Visit the websites of the departments, labs, and research centers that match your interests.
   • Pay attention to their active research areas, recent publications, ongoing projects, and Ph.D. student profiles.
3. Identify potential advisors
   • Look for faculty members whose research aligns with your interests.
   • Review their personal websites, lab pages, Google Scholar profiles, and recent papers to understand their research directions.
4. Study the advisor’s research interests
   • Summarize the advisor’s main research topics, methods, applications, and recent publications.
   • Try to identify what research questions they are currently working on and what skills may be useful for joining their group.
5. Develop a research topic aligned with your Ph.D. goals
   • Formulate a project topic that connects with your potential Ph.D. direction.
   • The topic should help you build relevant research experience, strengthen your application, and prepare for future graduate study.