Fwd: Volunteering Opportunity in Your Lab – Prospective PhD Applicant

[Tiffany Barnes]

Thanks for reaching out. I have considerable travel the rest of the summer so it would be best if we could meet after I return. please set a meeting with me after August 28 at https://meetme.so/TiffanyBarnes

Or you can reach out to my lab members on my web pages if you want to talk sooner and a project looks good. https://eliza.csc.ncsu.edu/people.html

Tiffany Barnes
Distinguished Professor of Computer Science
North Carolina State University

(she / her / hers)

Note: I check email M-Th at 12:30pm (why?). Apologies for delayed response.

On Mon, Jul 14, 2025 at 11:12 AM Aref Babaei <babae...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Dear Dr. Barnes,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Aref Babaei, and I am currently a senior undergraduate student in Computer Engineering.

I am planning to apply for the Ph.D. program in Computer Science at NC State this year, and I would be honored to consider you as a potential advisor. I am particularly interested in research on creative computer science education, intelligent learning systems, AI education for children and adolescents, professional development for CS teachers, computational thinking integration, and interdisciplinary education research, areas that strongly align with your impactful work.

I would be grateful for the opportunity to volunteer in your lab, where I can gain valuable research experience, contribute to your ongoing projects, and provide you with a chance to evaluate my capabilities before I apply. Since I currently live in Raleigh, I am fully available for in-person collaboration.

I have attached my current resume for your review.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Aref Babaei