Update: we are currently working on collecting info from professors to fill in the "Open Research Positions" page hosted on this wiki site, so that you can get a sense of which professors have what type of projects available in the coming years.
Obviously there is no right or wrong way of approaching a professor about research projects. Most commonly in our department this is done in person. Here is a couple of suggestions as of what could better prepare you before approaching your professor of interest and potentially help you establish yourself as a strong candidate for the position you are interested in:
- Research about the professors/groups you are interested in:
- Check out the professors' websites at MIT's NSE: keep in mind some of them might be out of date, and not all professor listed on it is actively accepting students.
- Research about the professors' recent publications to get an idea of the projects he/she has. Two sites I like to start for searching for publications are:
- Engineering Village/Compendex: Engineering Village (requires MIT certificate)
- Web of Science: Web of Science (requires MIT certificate)
- Ask the graduate students that work in the group. You can check out this page to find out which students work for which professors (info needs update): NSE Student Office Directory (Excluding PSFC, RLE) 10-2012
- Email the professor of interest and politely ask whether he/she can meet briefly to discuss whether he/she has new opening and/or funding available.
- Decide on a group/project. You should definitely decide by the end of first year.