Prospective PhD student
Ask about advising fit, research alignment, and application timing.
Include: CV, research interests, relevant paper or project, application timeline.
Contact
Start with the right context
Email is the best way to reach the lab. A specific note about your path, research fit, and timeline helps us respond productively.
Primary Contact
Email Dr. Andrew Katz
Andrew Katz
Associate Professor, Engineering Education
Virginia Tech
Meeting location and availability vary by term and are shared after an initial fit check.
Choose Your Path
What to include in your email
Undergraduate research assistant
Ask about active project roles, semester expectations, and research tasks.
Include: Resume, weekly availability, relevant coursework, preferred project areas.
Academic collaborator
Start a conversation about a study, proposal, dataset, workshop, or co-authored output.
Include: Research question, available data, timeline, and intended output.
Useful subject lines
These are not scripts; they are a way to make the intent of the message clear before the email is opened.
Prospective PhD student: research fit with IDEEAS Lab and engineering education
Undergraduate RA: interest in [project name] for [semester]
Collaboration: study/proposal idea on [topic]
Before sending
For student inquiries, connect your interests to a specific project, paper, or method. For collaborations, lead with the research question and the output you are aiming for.