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Ceasar Dai

I feel incredibly fortunate for the opportunity to attend REU-CAAR2022! Coming from a 
small liberal arts college, the program was a broadening experience. I worked with 
peers and mentors from diverse academic and cultural backgrounds, learned the research 
processes, and experienced the graduate school lifestyle. Most importantly, I made 
meaningful connections, which helped me solidify my interest in pursuing a graduate degree.

The mentorship for my group was simply awesome. Our mentor Auguste is very competent 
in his area of study, and we genuinely feel that he wants us to make the most out of 
this REU program. During the program, he showed us that research could be a fun and 
self-fulfilling process. Moreover, working alongside motivated peers and 
(famous!) professors is an exhilarating experience. I was not only able to learn about 
various fields of research in computer science from other mentors and students but also 
experienced the excitement they have for their field firsthand.

Last but not least, I want to shout out to our program coordinator, professor Gasarch! 
Whether a Monday morning or a Thursday night, he energizes the room with the tremendous 
energy he brings. This program would not be so awesome without him!

With all being said, the structure and organization of the REU are perfect, and I believe 
this is the best program for students looking to do computer science research that brings 
theory to life.

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Nathan Hurtig

Spending the summer at REU-CAAR was a valuable experience for me. I was given the 
independence to work on a real research problem, but my mentor (Dr. Gasarch) was 
readily available for guidance and made sure I had the tools I needed to succeed. 
The program was very well-organized; we had multiple activities a week that taught 
us more about research/grad school and exposed us to topics in computer science and 
math outside of our research areas. Over the summer, I've met and presented my work 
to many grad students and professors and I'm now writing a paper over it. It's a great 
experience and I highly recommend applying and attending.

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Yang Hong

The experience of REU CAAR is quite beneficial for me. I have participated in some 
research before, yet this is the first time for me to cooperate with several 
team members. It is nice that I can have a deeper understanding of group cooperation. 
Though auction design as a topic was not familiar to me before, I have constructed a 
solid ground by reading several papers on such a topic. Our program includes both 
mathematical and computer science components. Meanwhile, our work has both theoretical 
and practical directions. That is nice as I am interested in all of these, and our 
group members can divide the work so that we all get the parts we are more good at. 
Other than our program, the routine lunch topics and Wednesday talks are also quite 
interesting events. Thanks to Professor Gasarch and all the mentors for holding such 
an REU program, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in computer science or 
mathematics (or muffins).

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Abdulaziz Memesh 

'm very thankful for having the opportunity to participate in REU CAAR. Given that it was 
my first research experience, I learned some invaluable lessons about the process of 
research and what doing research is like. No one told me what to do and when to do it, 
leaving me in a challenging situation where I wasn't sure where I was going or if 
anything I was doing would lead anywhere. However, this experience taught me to take 
responsibility and be proactive. Another plus about this program is that it's run by 
Bill Gasarch, a funny guy with infinite math shirts. He and his assistant Auguste Gezalyan 
created a very friendly environment, where I don't think of the other students as 
colleagues but as a family.