Tech Reports | EECS at UC Berkeley (original) (raw)

David A. Patterson

EECS Department, University of California, Berkeley

Technical Report No. UCB/EECS-2013-123

June 15, 2013

http://www2.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2013/EECS-2013-123.pdf

This paper contains my advice on building and running research centers based on being involved in a dozen of them over nearly 40 years. In keeping with my past advice pieces on talks and careers, where the goal was to be informative and entertaining, I first lay down eight commandments to create a bad research center before describing how to do the opposite: multidisciplinary, five-year centers that rely on biannual retreats and shared open space to guide the research.

Be forewarned that to persuade readers of the benefits of this approach I see no option but to cite impact on research results and on student and faculty careers I have witnessed in my decades at UC Berkeley. (Hint: the impact was positive.)

My intent is to publish this piece in a journal, but early feedback is that it will have to be less satirical and a lot shorter, hence this technical report to share the full history.

BibTeX citation:

@techreport{Patterson:EECS-2013-123, Author= {Patterson, David A.}, Title= {How to Build a Bad Research Center}, Year= {2013}, Month= {Jun}, Url= {http://www2.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2013/EECS-2013-123.html}, Number= {UCB/EECS-2013-123}, Abstract= {This paper contains my advice on building and running research centers based on being involved in a dozen of them over nearly 40 years. In keeping with my past advice pieces on talks and careers, where the goal was to be informative and entertaining, I first lay down eight commandments to create a bad research center before describing how to do the opposite: multidisciplinary, five-year centers that rely on biannual retreats and shared open space to guide the research.

Be forewarned that to persuade readers of the benefits of this approach I see no option but to cite impact on research results and on student and faculty careers I have witnessed in my decades at UC Berkeley. (Hint: the impact was positive.)

My intent is to publish this piece in a journal, but early feedback is that it will have to be less satirical and a lot shorter, hence this technical report to share the full history.}, }

EndNote citation:

%0 Report %A Patterson, David A. %T How to Build a Bad Research Center %I EECS Department, University of California, Berkeley %D 2013 %8 June 15 %@ UCB/EECS-2013-123 %U http://www2.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2013/EECS-2013-123.html %F Patterson:EECS-2013-123