A Research Survival Guide: A Retrospective on my First Six Years Learning How to Research

Curiosity and serendipity led me to pursue a Ph.D. in Computer Architecture, but did not prepare me to navigate the gauntlet of graduate research. After six years, many paper rejections, and countless sleepless nights, I was able to publish a first-author paper, forming the basis for my thesis. In this talk I will reflect on my journey — offering the lessons I learned about myself and research in practice — with the goal of helping graduate students thrive in computer architecture research.