By Louis DiPietro, Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science
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Becoming a researcher means accepting that the pursuit of new and exciting hypotheses often leads to dead ends.

 

“But it would be nice if an idea just worked one of these weeks,” joked Myles Pasetsky ‘27, a computer science major who spent his summer studying how to improve the real-world hardware performance of robotic arms trained in simulation. “I guess that means more chances to come up with new and exciting questions.”

A color photo of a man with glasses, smiling while sitting beside his laptop.
Computer Science Major, Myles Pasetsky ‘27

 

Pasetsky was one of 60 undergraduates from the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science who participated in this year’s Bowers Undergraduate Research Experience (BURE). The 10-week, paid summer program lets undergraduate students do real-world research alongside their choice of roughly 40 participating Bowers faculty and their graduate students. “Is research something I’d like to pursue?” “Would graduate school be the right fit?” – BURE exists to help aspiring researchers answer these questions. 

 

“A lot of students want to get involved in research, and it is generally a bit competitive, probably harder than it has to be to get involved,” said Pasetsky, whose robotics project was advised by Sarah Dean, assistant professor of computer science, and Preston Culbertson, assistant professor of computer science. “BURE is one release valve.”

 

Along with hands-on research opportunities, BURE deepens the summer research experience with weekly seminars from participating Bowers faculty and practical talks from Anshuman Mohan, a doctoral student in the field of computer science, about life as a research student.

 

Since launching in 2023, BURE has been a springboard for dozens of undergraduate researchers who’ve gone on to author published papers, win undergraduate research awards, and ultimately pursue doctoral degrees. All Cornell Bowers undergraduate majors can apply.

 

Cindy Weng ’27, a statistics and economics major, had some research experience in high school that involved analyzing existing datasets for insights. Her research project this summer, as a BURE student, was more rigorous and more in line with real-world research, she said. Weng worked with Dan Kowal, associate professor of statistics and data science, and simulated datasets to extend Kowal’s alternative statistical method for identifying and estimating disparities among groups, like wages between men and women or one hospital’s quality of care versus another’s. Weng’s work helped determine the drivers behind those disparities. 

Approaching Research Problems

A color photo of a woman with glasses working on a laptop.

There are no clear patterns to approach research problems. You need to explore on your own.

Cindy Weng ’27
Statistics and Economics Major

“I’m testing and applying a new method for analyzing data. It’s been a great opportunity to get involved with real research,” she said. “BURE gives you time to focus on the research, and you don't need to worry about anything else, like schoolwork.”

 

That freedom to focus only on research is both an advantage and a challenge, Weng and other BURE students noted. There’s more flexibility to the workday, and BURE students typically set their own work schedules. But research isn’t like coursework. It’s easy – anticipated even – to get lost in the open world of research, several current BURE students and alumni said. 

The BURE Advantage

A color photo of a man smiling for a photo at his workstation.

A huge advantage of BURE is that advisors guide new researchers and prevent you from being thrown into this research spiral, where your summer is unproductive and frustrating all the time.

Oded Harazi ’29
First-time BURE Participant

“There are no clear patterns to approach research problems,” Weng said. “You need to explore on your own.” On one’s own, but not in isolation – BURE students meet regularly with their advisors and graduate students to assess progress and reorient when the initial research pursuit becomes fuzzy, according to Oded Harazi ’29, a first-time BURE participant. 


Harazi was based at Cornell Tech in New York City this summer, working with Thijs Roumen, assistant professor of information science at Cornell Tech and the director of the Matter of Tech Lab. Continuing the lab’s previous work with SplatOverflow, Harazi developed the communication interface for a virtual tool that helps farmers identify problems with their equipment by analyzing drone-generated 3D digital renders of the broken equipment in the field.


“A huge advantage of BURE is that advisors guide new researchers and prevent you from being thrown into this research spiral, where your summer is unproductive and frustrating all the time,” said Harazi, who’s considering majoring in electrical and computer engineering and minoring in computer science. “They help keep me on track and ensure that I feel proud of my contributions and feel that my work is helping the lab meet its goals.” 
 

Nolan Lizmi ’27, a double major in computer science and astronomy, looked to the stars this summer. Working in collaboration with the Department of Astronomy, Lizmi leveraged optical modeling and computational imaging methods to improve the detection of exoplanets, using images from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Kristina Monakhova, assistant professor of computer science, advised him. 

Why Research Exists

A color photo of a person working on their laptop.

There are times when I’m like, ‘What am I doing? Is this pointless?’ But then you remember that this is why research exists – to ask hard questions and pursue them.

Nolan Lizmi ’27
Double Major in Computer Science and Astronomy

Research black holes are inevitable, Lizmi discovered. 


“There are times when I’m like, ‘What am I doing? Is this pointless?’ But then you remember that this is why research exists – to ask hard questions and pursue them,” Lizmi said. “You're supposed to be hitting these dead ends and rethinking everything. This is part of the scientific process.”
 

The process didn’t discourage any of them – not Pasetsky, the roboticist; Weng, the economist statistician; Harazi, the user-interface designer, nor Lizmi, the computational astronomer. The opposite, in fact: each said they’re strongly considering graduate school after graduation. 


BURE is supported by Cornell Bowers, various faculty grants, and gifts from individual donors. 


Louis DiPietro is a writer for the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science.