Undergraduate Theory Club

Community Engagement  ·  · 2 min read

Theory club members sitting in a classroom after Prof. Bobby Kleinberg's talk.

We started a CS theory club at Cornell! Professors, graduate students, and undergraduate students gave 10 talks spanning cryptography, algorithms, approximation algorithms, complexity, game theory, differential privacy, and more. About 10-25 undergraduates come to our talks every week! See them on our website!

Mission. To gather people who are collectively curious or passionate about CS theory! I’m really happy where the club has gotten to this semester where the the talks are interactive and informal (we interrupt and ask questions a lot). Though I’m leaving Cornell, I’m really looking forward to seeing where it goes from here! Shout out to Nancy and Lawrence for taking over as Co-Presidents!

Why. At Cornell, undergraduates interested in CS theory don’t have a place for connecting and hanging out. Sure you can take theory classes, be a teaching assistant for theory classes, attend graduate seminars, or do research, but we did not have a place where we can congregate together. A club by beginning CS theorists, for beginning CS theorists.

How.

Lessons Learned. Allow me to share what works well in talks and in leadership.

  1. Slow down and explain 1-2 key ideas at a time
  2. Write on the board. It’s fun
  3. Interrupt the speaker with questions
  4. Initiative conversation with people you don’t know
  5. Offer the speaker assistance or advice if they accept
  6. Organizers model behavior; set a social atmosphere
  7. Invite and involve passionate individuals with leadership
  8. Use the same room every week; it becomes home :)
  9. Regularly advertise and collab with student orgs

A clip art bear whose outline is formed or a directed graph and is wearing a red/black scarf, text Theory Club beneath.

Acknowledgements: Thanks to my all-star team! Ahan Misra created and maintained a fantastic website; Lawrence Ozoigbo manned the email list; Max Scialabba coordinated food orders; Nancy Chen drew a super cute logo (A Turing Bear); Shaleen Baral manned the camera; and huge thanks to Saket Murali and Sophia Song! Last but not least, we really appreciate invaluable advice from our advisor Prof. Eva Tardos.