Students

The current meeting time is 10 a.m. on Fridays, although this can change. If you are thinking about attending, please reach out to confirm the time and date, and include the code 739184 in your email subject line (type the code as shown, without strikethrough). Attending this meeting and introducing yourself with a 30-second elevator pitch and one slide of material is the best way to introduce yourself to the group and get to know us. People who regularly attend will learn a lot and put themselves in a position to begin working more closely with the researchers in the group.

Attending the GeoAI and Earth Observation Research Group weekly meeting is the first point of contact. If you feel you need one, please email me with the code 739184 in the subject line and explain your key ask. For efficiency, I usually keep meetings to 15 minutes or less, so come prepared to get straight to the point and clearly state what you need help with.

Start planning your thesis proposal and defense many months in advance. Confirm when all required information and paperwork must be submitted to the department, then work backwards to find a meeting date at least two weeks before that deadline, with all committee members available. You must create a When2meet availability poll covering a minimum of four weeks, rather than just one or two weeks. Send it to all committee members one or two months in advance so the meeting can be booked in everyone’s calendar. Senior professors in particular have very busy schedules, and finding a time when the whole committee can meet is difficult. Once a date is agreed, confirm the room or online meeting arrangements and when the committee needs to receive your draft. Leave enough time for feedback, revisions, and the required departmental submissions.

I am seeing far too much AI generated writing. If I feel that a submission has been written with AI, I will return it to the student unreviewed or refer it to the relevant GMU office for consideration of possible plagiarism. AI can be used as a tool for generating ideas, provided you declare its use, but you must critically evaluate the information and express your ideas in your own words. Your writing should reflect your own personality. AI writing is very stale and uninspiring. Avoid excessive hyphenation and formulaic patterns, such as repeatedly arranging points in groups of three. These stylistic features alone do not establish AI use, but they should not replace thoughtful, individual writing.

Some professors receive 100 emails a day, so an email containing four paragraphs of text can make it harder to identify what needs attention. When emailing or liaising with me, be succinct and make your key ask clearly visible. Include the context needed to understand the issue, state what you need from me, and highlight any relevant deadline. A concise message with a clear request increases the likelihood of a swift response.

Students who show up and actively engage will be given research support and advice. This is an opportunity for you to take with both hands. In return, you are expected to follow through on agreed tasks and communicate early if you encounter difficulties. Students receiving a wage or salary through a funded research project are expected to deliver the work agreed for their role. Consistent failure to deliver agreed outputs will lead to a review of performance and may affect continued involvement in the project or future research opportunities.