graduate handbook aices 2010
TRANSCRIPT
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AICES Graduate School
AICES Graduate School
Handbook
Table of Contents AICES Graduate Handbook
Table of Contents 1 - 2
How to Find Us 3
1 Graduate Study in Computational Engineering Science 4
2 Institutes Involved in AICES 6
3 Admission 7
3.1 Degree Requirements 8
3.2 Proof of English Language Proficiency 8
3.3 Research Proposals 8
3.4 Offer 8
4 Academics 9
4.1 Coursework Phase Program (for Bachelor’s Degree Holders): 9
4.1.1 Coursework Phase Leading to the MS SiSc or MS CES Degree 9
4.1.2 The Coursework Program of MS in Simulation Sciences–Overview 11
4.1.3 Mandatory Courses 11
4.1.4 Elective Courses 12
4.2 Doctoral Program (for Master’s Degree Holders): 18
4.2.1 First Year of Doctoral Program 18
4.2.2 Second Year of Doctoral Program 19
4.2.3 Third Year of Doctoral Program 19
4.2.4 End of Third Year of Doctoral Program 19
5 Financial Support 20
6 Health Insurance 20
7 Student ID Card 20
8 Registration 20
8.1 Visa 20
8.2 Freedom of Movement 21
9 Matriculation 21
10 Accommodation 22
11 Traveling 22
12 Doctoral Degree Regulations (Promotionsordnung) 22
13 Graduation: Dr.-Ing./Dr. rer. nat. 22
14 EU Regional School, CCES Seminar 22
15 Xeon Computing Resources 22
16 Center for Doctoral Studies 23
17 AICES Soft-Skill Seminars 23
18 AICES Website Style Guide 23
19 AICES Presentation 24
20 AICES Publication and Preprint Server 24
21 Contacts at AICES Graduate School 25
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How to Find Us
AICES-Aachen Institute for Advanced Study in Computational Engineering Science
Schinkelstr. 2 Rogowski Building 3rd and 4th Floor 52062 Aachen Germany Tel.: +49 (0)241 80-99131 Fax: +49 (0)241 80-628498 E-Mail admission: [email protected] E-Mail general: [email protected]
Geschwister-Scholl-Str.
Templergraben
Schinkelstr.
P
Parking
Turm
str.
Turm
str.
Audimax
Turm
str.
Wüllnerstr.
Wüllnerstr.Ju
nker
str.
Melatenerstr.
Prof.-Prilet-Str.
Railway Station
Aachen-West
Kruppstr.
Pontwall H
Ponttor
Ludwigsallee
Pontstr.
RogowskiBuilding
Central Station
H
SuperC
Main Building
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1 Graduate Study in Computational Engineering Science
As one of the leading technical universities in Europe, RWTH Aachen University was awarded funding for all three lines within the Excellence Initiative of the German Federal and state governments to promote top-level research at German universities. Graduate School AICES was established to strengthen training and research in the various fields of computational engineering sciences (CES).Computational engineering science has its roots in modeling and simulation of technical systems and phenomena occurring in nature. Today, there is a trend towards an increasing intricacy of the systems being analyzed (complexity), a growing range of interacting scales which must be considered at once (multi-scale), and larger numbers of interacting physical phenomena that are inseparable (multi-physics). Furthermore, there is an increased demand for best-design identification of engineered systems with reduced input from human intuition (optimization). Therefore, in addition to pursue research in the classical CES research fields, AICES sets out to advance computational engineering science in three critical areas of synthesis:
• model identification and discovery supported by model-based experimentation (MEXA)• understanding scale interaction and scale integration, and• optimal design and operation of engineered systems, including both the products and
manufacturing processes.
These diverse objectives have a common trait in that they are examples of broadly-defined inverse problems.
Doctoral fellows work on research projects in many areas, including (but not limited to) the following topics:
• automatic differentiation• biomedical engineering• computational fluid dynamics• computational mechanics• energy systems• geoscience• global optimization• high-performance computing• inverse problems• materials science• model identification• multi-scale modeling & simulations• numerical linear algebra• numerical methods for PDEs, • optimal control, design & operation• process systems engineering
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One of the core elements of the doctoral training program is the mentoring team which is composed of
• a principal doctoral advisor (typically an independent junior research group leader),• a co-advisor (typically a senior faculty member), who should belong to a different,
department or faculty than the junior researcher’s,• a senior doctoral student mentor,• a member of the AICES Service Team.
Bachelor Degree Holders:The program is tailored to lead directly to a doctoral degree in a "fast-track" curriculum. For students in this program supported by AICES stipends, the Master’s degree in Simulation Science or CES will be granted after two to three semesters of course work (depending on the BS degree) and a Master's thesis which may also serve as doctoral thesis proposal.
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2 Institutes Involved in AICES
Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences (Faculty 1)Department of Mathematics
Mathematics (CCES): Prof. Dr. Joachim SchöberlMathematics (IGPM): Prof. Dr. Wolfgang DahmenNumerical Mathematics: Prof. Dr. Arnold Reusken
Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences (Faculty 1)Department of Computer Science
Computer Graphics and Multimedia: Prof. Dr. Leif KobbeltPerformance Analysis: Prof. Dr. Felix WolfScientific Computing: Prof. Christian Bischof, Ph.D.Software and Tools for Computational Engineering: Prof. Dr. Uwe NaumannAlgorithm Oriented Code Generation for High-Performance Architectures:Prof. Paolo Bientinesi, Ph.D.
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (Faculty 4)
Combustion Technology: Prof. Dr. Norbert PetersComputational Analysis of Technical Systems: Prof. Marek Behr, Ph.D.Process Systems Engineering: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang MarquardtFluid Mechanics: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang SchröderData-Driven Modeling in Computational Engineering Science: Prof. Dr. Andreas Schuppert
Faculty of Georesources and Materials Engineering (Faculty 5)
Applied Geophysics: Prof. Dr. Christoph ClauserComputational Materials Engineering: Prof. Dr. Heike EmmerichMicrostructure Physics and Metal Forming: Prof. Dr. Dierk Raabe
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3 Admission
The AICES doctoral program (http://www.aices.rwth-aachen.de/admission/academics) is open to a limited number of highly-qualified students with a substantial background in their proposed field of study.Bachelor‘s degree holders applying to the course-based program should file their application by December for admission to Summer Semester, and by April for admission to Winter semester. Applications from Master’s or Diplom degree holders applying for the research stage of the program are accepted throughout the year.All selected applicants with Bachelor’s degree will receive a tuition benefit and a stipend of 500 Euro per month during the coursework phase, and a stipend of 2,000 Euro per month during the three-year research phase.All selected applicants holding a Master’s or Diplom degree will receive a stipend of 2,000 Euro per month during the three-year research phase.The stipend is tax-free.
Mandatory application material:
• Completely filled out application form• Transcripts of all universities previously attended• Statement of purpose• Proof of English language proficiency, e.g. TOEFL test• Three letters of recommendation, to be filled in the forms which can be downloaded from
the web page (including written statement.)
Candidates holding degrees from European institutions or being admitted at Master’s or Diplom level do not need to submit GRE results. Candidates with Bachelor’s degrees from other countries (including the USA) will have to submit GRE results.Since AICES research represents a great variety of methods and applications, several different subject tests are accepted depending on applicant's interests: physics, mathematics, computer science, biochemistry, and cell and molecular biology. The subject test is not offered in some countries. In this case, this part of the GRE requirement may be waived.The documents will be reviewed by the International Office to determine whether they are acceptable for admission to RWTH Aachen University.Applications are reviewed on a continuous basis. Promising candidates may be asked to complete application documents and participate in phone interviews conducted by faculty members and one or two AICES research group leaders. Additional on-site interviews may also be required. The decision on admission is typically made within two months of receiving an application.The candidate should decide on a research project proposed by research group leaders. In special cases it will be possible to decide on the topic during the first month.
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3.1 Degree Requirements
The degree requirements are a recent Bachelor‘s, Master’s or German Diplom degree in engineering (including CES), computer science, geoscience, mathematics or physicsThe Master's degree from a University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule) is somewhat between the Bachelor’s and Master’s or Diplom degree. Doctoral degree regulations in Aachen require that such candidates take 20 semester-hours per week, or one semester, of Master-level courses, and spend additional 20 semester-hours per week on a project thesis before qualifying for doctoral-level research.Students with a Diplom degree from a University of Applied Sciences may also be admitted to AICES, but the Doctoral degree regulations stipulate that such candidates take 40 semester-hours per week, or two semesters worth of Master-level courses, and spend additional 20-semester hours per week on a project thesis before qualifying for doctoral-level research.AICES doctoral research stage must be taken in its entirety, i.e., full three years.
3.2 Proof of English Language Proficiency
GRE and TOEFL scores are just two of the decisive factors of the admission procedure. No strict range of grades is specified.Candidates with degrees from English-speaking institutions do not need to submit TOEFL results. Alternative documentation of English language ability, such as the German higher education entrance certificate (“Gymnasium” school leaving certificate and records) may be presented.GRE or TOEFL administration should submit the scores using the RWTH Aachen University institutional code: 8504.Candidates will have the opportunity to take German as Second Language classes during the AICES years at RWTH Aachen University or the continuing education center (Volkshochschule Aachen).For initial consideration, unofficial copies of GRE, TOEFL scores, and unofficial translations may be accepted. For final admission, official (original) documents will be required.
3.3 Research Proposals
Possible doctoral research topics are listed at:http://www.aices.rwth-aachen.de/research/research-proposals
3.4 Offer
If the junior research group leaders decide to admit the applicant, he or she will receive an offer from the Scientific Director of AICES on behalf of the Steering Committee. The offer for admission and the stipend are valid for a limited time only. The primary advisor and the co-advisor are determined prior to the candidate taking up studies.
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4 Academics
4.1 Coursework Phase Program (for Bachelor’s Degree Holders):
4.1.1 Coursework Phase Leading to the MS SiSc or MS CES Degree
Students who have completed a seven- or eight-semester Bachelor’s degree program may join the combined Master’s/doctoral program by taking two to three semesters of Master-level courses, spending one semester on writing and defending a Master’s thesis which serves as doctoral thesis proposal, and performing approximately five semesters of further thesis research. Graduates from six-semester Bachelor’s programs must take an additional semester of Master-level courses (three total).Another possibility to be admitted to AICES is at Master’s or Diplom level, for candidates who have completed a Master’s program at an accredited institution with comparably high standards, and who have fulfilled other admission criteria (See Ch. 3). The Bachelor’s candidates who enter in the coursework-phase will attend the courses of the Computational Engineering Science (CES) or Simulation Sciences (SiSc) Master programs.The SiSc Master’s program consists of mandatory and elective courses, and a written Master’s thesis. The entire program is conducted in English. In the mandatory courses, the students will acquire a knowledge foundation which equips them with the ability to rapidly deal with problems in the field of simulation sciences. The students’ personal choice of elective courses reflects the focus of their individual program–either application- or method-oriented, interdisciplinary or subject-specific.The following lectures, exercises and laboratory courses are mandatory: Numerical Methods for Partial Differential Equations, From Quantum to Continuum Physics I + II, Data Analysis and Visualization, Simulation Software Engineering, Simulation Methods, Fast Iterative Solvers, Parallel Computing in Simulation Sciences, Model-Based Estimation Methods, and Simulation Sciences Laboratory.Elective courses can be chosen from a catalog comprising the following fields: Energy/ Process/Control/Biomedical/Production/Communications Engineering, and Fluid and Structural Dynamics.
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Advisor, co-advisor and doctoral candidate agree on courses to be taken by the doctoral fellow during the first year, with a high course load in the first year and a lower one during the second year.The coursework phase is devoted to courses and preparation in personal studies guided by the advisor. During the final semester, the Master’s student takes courses and prepares his or her Master’s thesis. This is a dissertation written in English, which gives the students the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to work independently and scientifically on a problem within the field of simulation sciences. The topic of the Master’s thesis will lead to a written research proposal for the doctoral program. This research proposal will be due at the end of the coursework-phase along with an oral presentation on the same topic. Based on the written proposal and the oral presentation, advisor and co-advisor will each evaluate the student’s progress in a written review.The oral presentation at the end of the coursework phase and the doctoral defense presentation at the end of the third research phase year are integral part of the AICES training seminar series to further foster collaboration between AICES members. This seminar series is mandatory for the mentoring team and other AICES students; it is different from the AICES research seminars, which are typically given by guest speakers.
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4.1.2 The Coursework Program of MS in Simulation Sciences–Overview
4.1.3 Mandatory Courses
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4.1.4 Elective Courses
Please note that the following list of elective courses is preliminary and still subject to changes:
Energy Engineering
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Process Engineering
Control Engineering
Fluid Mechanics
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Biomedical Engineering
Production Engineering
Communications Engineering
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Structural Mechanics
Chemistry
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Computer Science
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Mathematics
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4.2 Doctoral Program (for Master’s Degree Holders):
4.2.1 First Year of Doctoral Program
Master’s and Diplom graduates follow a three-year schedule, which concludes with a doctoral thesis and defense. MS SiSc students who successfully attended the coursework phase, are also admitted to this research phase of the doctoral program.Advisor, co-advisor and doctoral fellow agree on a schedule for regular meetings during the first year. The point is not to impose the same schedule on all mentoring teams and doctoral candidates. On the contrary, the schedule and the frequency of meetings are agreed on by the mentoring team. Nevertheless, mentoring team and the doctoral fellow are encouraged to agree on a schedule ahead of time in order to establish regular time intervals for progress reports already at an early stage of the program.Any courses to be taken are agreed on by the principal advisor, co-advisor and the doctoral candidate on a case-by-case basis. There is no mandatory course component in the research phase. The principal advisor, co-advisor, and the doctoral candidate agree on a schedule for meetings during the second year which is convenient for the particular research project. At the end of each year, the doctoral candidate must summarize his or her progress in a short document called annual progress report (10—20 pages). Accompanied by an oral presentation consisting of a 30—45 minute presentation and 15 minutes questioning by the audit. The fellows will receive feedback for this first-year student presentation from a two-persons team recruited from research group leaders on a rotating basis. The doctoral candidate is strongly encouraged to write, or significantly contribute to, a conference publication. In such case, the publication may be a substitute for the progress report if accepted by both advisors. Further, an updated version of the research proposal must submitted, which reflects the experiences and results of the previous year. Advisors may request amendments.
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4.2.2 Second Year of Doctoral Program
The procedure is the same as in the first year. Based on the progress report, which is due at the end of the second year, principal advisor, co-advisor, and the doctoral student agree on the research to be carried out in order to accomplish the project. These agreements, preferably made with particular respect to the intended thesis, are documented in a short mandatory report. The doctoral fellow is strongly encouraged to write, or significantly contribute to, one conference article and one journal article during this year. In such case, these may substitute for the progress report if accepted by the advisors.
4.2.3 Third Year of Doctoral Program
During the first half of the year, the doctoral candidate will work on the tasks and topics agreed on at the end of year two. The second half is reserved for producing the thesis. The thesis is expected to be the basis of one or two journal articles to be submitted by the end of the third year.
4.2.4 End of Third Year of Doctoral Program
The doctoral candidate will defend his order thesis according to the doctoral degree regulations (Promotionsordnung) of the appropriate faculty. The principal advisor and co-advisor are members of the doctoral thesis commission.During the entire doctoral program, the AICES or Center for Doctoral Studies (CDS) staff member belonging to the student’s supervisory team is responsible for monitoring the student’s and the advisors’ compliance with the above schedule. In particular the publication schedule of all students is tracked by the service team. AICES staff members report to the steering committee, and steering committee members are encouraged to take results into account for selection of doctoral projects.
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5 Financial Support
Students who are admitted to the AICES program will attend the entire program without paying tuition. In fact, in the coursework phase students will receive a 500 Euro per month as stipend, which rises to 2,000 Euro per month in the research phase. The stipends are usually not subject to taxes.
6 Health Insurance
Students/doctoral candidates are responsible for taking out their own health insurance. Health and disability insurance companies in Germany usually charge 12—15% of the gross income for a standard policy. A good option is the DAAD insurance program (http://www.daad.de/deutschland/service/versicherungen/04703.en.html) only available to foreign students, which charges between 80 and 250 Euro per month.
7 Student ID Card
The Master’s students and doctoral candidates will receive a student ID card at the Registrar’s Office (Studierendensekretariat) of RWTH Aachen University. The ID card also includes a semester pass (Semesterticket) for the Aachen Region, which allows free public transport in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. For further information, please see the website of the Student Association (AStA):
http://www.asta.rwth-aachen.de/article/1679/de/
At the same time, each student will receive a TIM account (Tivoli Identity Manager), to access all services offered by the university (e.g. access to the computer facilities of the Centre for Computing and Communication (RZ), e-mail account, web services, Windows PC pool, etc.).
The student ID card offers a variety of benefits concerning public facilities, e.g. discounts at museums, sport clubs etc.
8 Registration
Every AICES student/doctoral candidate must register with the Registration Office of the City of Aachen and bring along a valid passport and the rental agreement for his or her apartment.There are two offices in Aachen:
• Verwaltungsgebäude Bahnhofplatz (administration building of the City of Aachen) Bahnhofplatz
• or Verwaltungsgebäude Katschhof (also called “Bürgerservice”, behind the old town-hall in the historical center)
8.1 Visa
Students who require a visa to enter Germany must apply for a student visa at the German embassy in their country of origin. They will receive the required documents from the AICES Service Team. During their stay in Aachen, the AICES Service Team will support the extension of the residence permit for the time spent at AICES.The visas are available at the Foreigner’s Registration Office of the City of Aachen. There is a branch office at the Student Service Building of the university: SuperC, Templergraben 55.
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8.2 Freedom of Movement
EU residents will receive a Certificate of Freedom of Movement (Freizügigkeitsbescheinigung), which is obligatory to travel outside Germany, e.g. to visit conferences or to take part in seminars abroad.
9 Matriculation
Each student must matriculate with RWTH Aachen University, Studierendensekretariat of RWTH, Templergraben 57 (Super C), 1st floor.Opening hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 08:00 am - 12:30 pmMonday and Tuesday 09:30 am - 12:30 pmWednesday 01:00 pm - 04:00 pmThursday and Friday 09:30 am - 12:30 pm
Master’s or Bachelor’s graduates of foreign universities must matriculate at the International Office of RWTH, Templergraben 57 (Super C), 5th floor.Opening hours:
Monday and Tuesday 09:30 am - 12:30 pmWednesday 14:00 pm - 16:30 pm
The documents necessary for matriculation are:
• Official documents and transcripts of the universities previously attended• An English translation of these documents• Certificate of health insurance• Passport
Foreign students with a Master’s or Bachelor’s or Diploma Supplement of a German university are called educational residents (“Bildungsinländer”), and they must matriculate with the Registrar’s Office in the SuperC Building of RWTH Aachen University.
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10 Accommodation
Students are responsible for financing their apartments from the stipends received. Assistance in finding suitable housing is provided by the AICES Service Team.
11 Traveling
If AICES students attend a conference or seminar the AICES Service Team will offer organizational and financial support.Please note that in order to reimburse the travel costs, original documents, receipts, invoices, tickets, etc. are required.
12 Doctoral Degree Regulations (Promotionsordnung)
In the beginning, every student is matriculated in the faculty his or her advisor or senior advisor is affiliated with. The doctoral degree he or she will get depends on this faculty, i.e. the doctoral degree is based on the doctoral degree regulations of this faculty.
13 Graduation: Dr.-Ing./Dr. rer. nat.
The type of doctoral degree (Dr. Ing./Dr. rer. nat.) depends on the affiliation of the senior co-advisor. It is possible to change the department in the beginning of the doctoral phase.
14 EU Regional School, CCES Seminar
AICES students are obliged to attend the EU Regional School, Center of Computational Engineering Sciences Seminar Series and the workshops within AICES Graduate School. They will receive a certificate at the end of the seminar.
15 Xeon Computing Resources
For permission to use the AICES Xeon Cluster please contact:Annette de Haes ([email protected])
In order to use the login for Hochleistungsrechnen please have a look at:http://www.rz.rwth-aachen.de/aw/cms/rz/Themen/~mem/hochleistungsrechnen/?lang=en
(you should use your TIM account)Here you will find the user description as PDF file:http://www.rz.rwth-aachen.de/aw/cms/rz/Themen/hochleistungsrechnen/hilfen_kurse_und_veranstaltungen/~pil/hpc_primer/?lang=en
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16 Center for Doctoral Studies
At the Center for Doctoral Studies (CDS) of RWTH Aachen University, the AICES doctoral candidates will have the opportunity to receive a diploma supplement with their doctoral degree.The CDS organizes seminars, workshops and courses for the registered doctoral candidates in the following fields:
• Management• Self-management• Languages• Scientific Writing & Communication Presentation Skills• Research
For more information, please go to:http://www.rwth-aachen.de/cds
AICES students registered with the CDS are encouraged to attend the language courses.
17 AICES Soft-Skill Seminars
AICES offers several soft-skill seminars each year such as Scientific Writing, Getting Started with the Doctorate, Time Management in Doctoral Research.
18 AICES Website Style Guide
The AICES Website is based on a Content Management System (CMS of Plone). Each student/doctoral candidate will receive a login and the right to publish his or her own page according to the template of the student‘s page.It is required that students observe the restrictions for the website to maintain the layout and quality, generally using HTML for content.Please look at similar items that were already added when creating new content. This will help us have consistent style between web-pages. “Copy-paste-edit” if possible.All URLs are lower case, with each folder identified by a reasonable short word, and each document by one or possibly more words, connected by dashes "-" (not underscores). One exception is the Members folder (due to peculiarities of Plone). Dates in the page name or file name, use the convention "...-YYYY-MM-DD" (for events occurring more than once a year) and "...-YYYY" (for events occurring only once a year). The date is added at the end of the name.Avoid using non-standard fonts. Display titles with the <h2> </h2> or <h3> </h3> directives. For emphasis, use the <em> </em> directives. For bold typeface, use the <b> </b> directives. Highlight commands, URLs, or terminal text with the <code> </code> directives.For links to external web pages, use target="_blank" command in the <a> tag. This will ensure that the external web pages open in a new window.Avoid transparent background in images, Internet Explorer, which many people use, does not deal well with transparency in all but most recent versions. Use GIF format for images with lots of solid uniform color. GIF compression works well in that case, without any loss of quality, whereas JPG format shows visible compression artifacts. Use JPG format for images with large range of colors and smooth color transitions, like photographs. JPG compression is much higher than GIF in that case, and losses due to compression are not noticeable. PNG format is a good GIF replacement, but some browsers are not yet up to speed in handling PNG images (for instance recent IE versions). Try to create images with the same size as specified in the <img ...> directive (scale
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the files before uploading them). Do not try to expand or scale down images through the <img ...> directive.Although there is no need to name default documents of a folder in a special way, they should be called index_html for consistency purposes.
19 AICES Presentation
In order to maintain the AICES corporate identity, every member of AICES should use the templates for slides which are posted on the website.http://www.aices.rwth-aachen.de/internal/template-slides/
20 AICES Publication and Preprint Server
In order to present the AICES scientific output (publications), it is important to upload the papers and technical reports to the AICES preprint server. There is no requirement for a preprint as published/accepted paper. Every student should upload papers that have been submitted or published in journals, conferences or workshops.Please send your manuscripts by email to [email protected] (Annette de Haes).Please include the TITLE and the AUTHOR LIST in the reference line.
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21 Contacts at AICES Graduate School
Managing Director Dr. Nicole Faber [email protected]
Scientific Director Prof. Marek Behr, Ph.D. [email protected]
Service Team:Service Team:Service Team:
Scientific Assistant Annette de Haes [email protected]
Office Assistant Nadine Howahl [email protected]
System Administrator Christoph Stolz [email protected]
Questions concerning:Questions concerning:Questions concerning:
Admission, Regulations Dr. Nicole FaberAnnette de Haes
Financial Support, Traveling Nadine Howahl [email protected]
Visa, Health Insurance, Registration, Matriculation, Accommodation
Annette de Haes [email protected]
Seminars in the Research PhaseCourses in the Coursework phaseAnnual Progress Report
Annette de Haes [email protected]
Xeon Cluster, Poster Print Annette de Haes [email protected]
Conference, Workshop Annette de Haes [email protected]
Email Account Annette de HaesChristoph Stolz [email protected]
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