Pei-MingHo's webpage for students

Send me an email to make an appointment.

	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri
AM			9:10--12:10 Special Topics On String Theory @R815		12:30 -- 2:00 Journal Club @R815
PM		2:20 -- 3:30 Colloquium @Lecture Hall	2:20 -- 3:30 Theory Group Seminar @833		2:20 -- 3:30 String Seminar @815

Choice of Research Field and Career:

My research interests include topics related to string theory, quantum field theory and mathematical physics.
The job market in these research fields is bad because a lot of people find them interesting but there are very few positions.
Many students in these fields are well-motivated, enthusiastic, brilliant and hard working.
You should think about your future career. It is not my responsibility to secure a job for you.
There are other faculty members at NTU Physics who work on closely related subjects. You should talk to them before making a decision on who to ask to be your advisor.

Prerequisites:

Determination to work harder than everyone else.
Before learning string theory, one should learn quantum field theory (QFT) and general relativity (GR).
To learn QFT, find a textbook suitable to you. Often people use Srednicki and Peskin and Schroeder . But you can choose other books as well. Usually it takes more than one book to learn QFT well.
To learn GR, often people use the Lecture notes by Carroll (there is also a book with enhanced content by the same author), but again you can choose your own book.
There are also many free lecture notes on QFT on the internet.

The websites String Theory Group at NTU and String Theory Group in Taiwan may give you some idea about the people and activities of the local string theory community.

Take a look at my publications to see if my research interest agrees with yours.

An oral quiz will be given before I take a student.

If you will become my student, you can feel free to stop being my student at any point without upsetting me. You should not feel upset either if I will choose to stop being your advisor.

Take the initiative:

Remember that you are the one who wants to work in this field with me. It is your job to prepare yourself for graduation (and for your future research career). I will help by pointing out potential research topics and answering your questions upon your request. You are always encouraged to find another advisor to replace me.

Work hard:

If you know any student working harder than you, you are not working hard enough. Keep in mind that many students in other countries work much harder than you even if you are the most hard-working student in Taiwan.

Emails:

Check emails at least once every two days. Always confirm receiving emails immediately after reading it. Always respond to the emails properly (with readable, complete content) within reasonable time.

Keeping me well informed:

Immediately inform me of any change of status on your side, e.g. change of advisor, collaboration with others, taking a long trip, sick leave, getting married, inability to work for unspeakable reasons, etc. although you do not need my approval on any of these things.

Graduation:

I will not lower my standards under any circumstances just to meet a deadline, even when I am partially responsible for the delay. (You should remind me about the deadlines.)

Failure to fulfill any of the following will almost always result in delay of graduation:

Tell me your intention of graduation at least 6 months before the defense.
Pay attention to and fulfill all department/university requirements.
Start writing thesis at least 3 months before defense.
Show me the first draft at least 2 months before defense.
At the same time of sending me a new version of your thesis, send me a copy of the draft with my earlier corrections.
Let me know the approximate date of defense at least 1 month ahead.
Correct all grammatical and spelling errors (using a computer software) at least 1 month before defense. Hire someone to help if your English is poor.
Send a copy to each committee member at least 10 days before defense.
Show me your computer file for presentation at least 1 week before defense.
Practice presentation (40 min. talk) in front of friends at least 1 week before defense. Allow your friends to ask questions as in a real defense.
Prepare all documents for the defense in advance.
If the committee suggests changes to the thesis, make sure that I will have time to check again after all changes are made.

To avoid the depreciation of my recommendation letters, so as to protect the interest of the students I will recommend, each year I will not write recommendation letters for over 5 students going abroad, and 5 students staying in Taiwan for advanced study.

You are advised to ask for recommendation letters from those teachers who may have something concrete to write about you. For example, if you got good grades from a course, if you took more than one courses from the same teacher, or if you had interesting discussions with a teacher, you may consider asking him/her for letters. Whether he/she is familiar with you is not as important. (The content of a casual chat is not something you can write about in a recommendation letter.)

If you decide to ask me for recommendation letters, please send me an email to confirm.

You need to provide the following information by email at least a month before the deadline of application.

A list of the courses you took from me.
Specify the semesters in which you took them, and the grades you got.
A copy of your transcript.
A copy of the proof of your ranking in the class.
A list of honors and awards.
An account of your special experiences, your strengths and weaknesses, or anything else worth mentioning.
Statement of Purpose.
A list of the institutes you will apply, including the deadlines.

Please try to be as complete as possible when you fill out application forms online, including referee information for me:

Name: Pei-Ming Ho
Title/Position: Professor
Institute: National Taiwan University
Address: No.1, Sec.4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei, Taiwan
Email: pmho(at)phys.ntu.edu.tw
Phone: 886-2-3366-5192
Fax: 886-2-3366-5565

Let me know if you have special requests. Good luck!

General rules:

Do not overestimate the knowledge, patience or motivation of the audience.
Use simple statements and claims to provide an intuitive, physical picture.
Explain your notation.
Say every word loud and clear, smile, make intriguing comments to attract attention.
Plan for the talk:
1. 1st part of the talk --- Introduction:
  Why should people care?
  (Why is it important or interesting?)
  Do not try to review all the background
  --- review only one or two crucial elements.
2. 2nd part of the talk --- Main Content:
  What are the arguments and the results?
3. 3rd (last) part of the talk --- Conclusion:
  Give a concise, intuitive summary.
  What contribution have you made?
  How does it help anyone understand anything?
  How is it related to other topics of research?
  Future work?

Preparing slides:

Make the slides simple, consistent and easy to read.
(Choose colors wisely -- easy to read but not distracting.
E.g. yellow is hard to see on a white background.)
Avoid inconsistent use of symbols.
Avoid too much information --- allow only one central idea on each slide.
Avoid too many words, equations or graphs on the same page.
Avoid distracting decorations.
Avoid complete sentences unless they are really important.
Avoid writing down every word you will say.
For every word on the slide, ask yourself whether it is really necessary.
No more than 20 slides nor 20 equations in an one-hour talk.
Cite important and relevant prior works. Use informative titles for each page.
Ask yourself these questions in advance:
Which slide should you get to when it is half-time of your talk?
Which are the slides you can skip if there is not enough time?