4/18/2013
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Among the fourteen recipients of the Google US/Canada PhD Fellowships this year are two students from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Hongning Wang and Ankit Singla, both doctoral students in Computer Science, have been awarded fellowships.
Hongning specializes in Search and Information Retrieval. Having already interned with Yahoo and Microsoft, Wang is very excited to have the opportunity to learn from Google as well, a name that is synonymous with the word “search” and surrounded by a bit of mystery in how those searches work. While Hongning has not yet decided whether to pursue a career in academia or industry, he is interested in how to help users gather knowledge and personalize information retrieval.
Ankit focuses on Datacenter Networking. For Singla, having the chance to see some of the problems that Google sees is fundamental because of the scale and size of Google’s network. Singla is leaning toward a career in academe but is likewise not certain what career path he will take. He does, however, have some advice for fellow graduate students, “Take the time to write a good research proposal. It increases the odds of your getting the fellowship, but in any case, its contents could contribute to your thesis proposal.”
According to Ken Vickery, Director of External Fellowships, the Graduate College’s review committee was very impressed with both Ankit’s and Hongning’s applications. “[We were] confident that we were submitting a solid pair of nominations to Google,” says Vickery. “But for both nominees to win, especially given that there were only 14 awards offered, is certainly fantastic. This testifies to the vigor of Illinois’ Computer Science program as well as the promise of Ankit’s and Hongning’s individual research projects.”
The Google Fellowship Program recognizes outstanding graduate students doing exceptional work in computer science, related disciplines, or promising research areas. This is a prestigious two-year fellowship with a stipend of $32,000 per year and coverage of tuition and fees. It also has the additional benefit of pairing fellows with a Google research mentor. These mentors provide a different point of view beyond academic training, and introduce fellows to a professional network which will last throughout their careers.