In this talk I will discuss my view of what computer science research is, generally, and what programming languages research is, in particular. Given these definitions, I will discuss practical ideas for approaching research activities, considering both a long-term and day-to-day view. For example, I will discuss how to pick good research problems, how to organize and prioritize activities, how to have successful collaborations, how to overcome being stuck, and more.

Bio: Michael Hicks is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Maryland. His research focuses on using programming languages and analyses to improve the security, reliability, and availability of software. He is the current Chair of the ACM Special Interest Group on Programming Languages (SIGPLAN) and blogs for a general computer science audience, both researchers and practitioners, at http://www.pl-enthusiast.net/