Potentials - May/June 2017 - 19
a broad community interested in
security standards and formal-
ized certification.
Team diversity
The nature of quantum cybersecuri-
ty research requires expertise from a
combination of science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM)
disciplines such as quantum physi-
cists, engineers, information theo-
rists, and security specialists. When
considering the development and use
of a flexible modeling framework to
support this effort, the team mem-
bership grows to include computer
scientists, software architects, sys-
tem modelers, and verification and
validation experts.
While most research teams have
diversity in terms of education, ad-
ditional differences in background
knowledge, skills, abilities, and even
personal experiences are valuable
as well. Interactions between a di-
verse set of individuals focused on
the same problem provides a level
of creativity and competence that
is difficult to match with a homog-
enous group. For example, our team
is led by a senior engineer in quan-
tum communications, an academic
security researcher, and a model-
ing frameworks expert. These advi-
sors work in collaboration with vari-
ous students-each with their own
knowledge, skills, and abilities-to
perform research tasks such as de-
termining methods for modeling
quantum attacks, simulating quan-
tum phenomenon, and optimizing
security protocols.
Emergent dependencies
In a collaborative research relation-
ship, dependencies quickly emerge
between team members and tend to
complement individual strengths
and weaknesses. For example, a
new student may gain the necessary
understanding to model the desired
behavior from a second team mem-
ber, which then requires an update
to the modeling framework by a
third team member. The developed
software package grows and defines
the next baseline for future students
to perform follow-up research tasks,
For students, learning to operate within,
and eventually lead, a team is a necessary and
valuable skill that will benefit them throughout
their professional lives.
as guided by the cooperative team of
advisors. Because of such dependen-
cies, the team will often succeed or
fail together. Consequently, it is
important for each student to be a
"good team player" and fulfill his or
her obligations.
Open communication
As a precursor to attaining the ben-
efits of successful teamwork, senior
team members must work to foster
an open environment of mutual
respect where students are comfort-
able asking questions, expressing
opinions, and receiving feedback.
This essential foundation allows
team members to more freely par-
ticipate in natura l ly occur r i ng
educational opportunities where a
"learning how to learn" mentality
can be fostered. Additionally, team
leadership also needs to demon-
st rate t he abilit y to adjust for
short notice opportunities, unfore-
seen problems, timely deliverables,
and graduation timelines. This
Agile-like approach allows students
and advisors to accomplish tasks
together, build trust, and solidify
the research team into a productive,
cohesive unit.
Benefits of a research team
In this section, several benefits for
joining multidisciplinary research
teams are highlighted. We believe
these benefits improve the student's
overall educational experience and
allow them to more rapidly achieve
research goals.
1) Accelerate understanding of the
research area. Working with expe-
rienced team members allows stu-
dents to learn from others who
have already spent considerable
time-months, and in some cases
years-working in the research
area. For example, when a new
member joins the team, they must
first gain a basic understanding
of the technical aspects of the
problem to appreciate the team's
strategic research objectives. Dur-
ing this initial period, we found
that having new team members
review project artifacts, in addition
to seminal literature, is an effective
means to "bootstrap" their knowl-
edge in the area.
2) Institute a productive learning
environment. A dedicated learning
environment provides students a
"home base" from which to work
and, more importantly, a shared
workspace to more intentionally
learn from and with other team
members. These shared work-
spaces allow team members to re-
gularly participate in unplanned
research-oriented discussions that
further accelerate the student's
understanding and productivity.
Moreover, team-oriented learning
environments offer students a safe
place to talk through uncertainties
and learn from those who have
already "been there" or "tried that"
to avoid common pitfalls.
3) Help solve difficult problems. It
is simply impossible to have all the
answers. When studying today's
complex problems, it is vital for stu-
dents to participate in and leverage
the expertise of multidisciplinary
research groups. For example,
those closest to the problem, (for
example, students conducting re-
search) often require assistance
in appropriately scoping research
problems, identifying poor assump-
tions, and troubleshooting code.
This is why different perspectives
and experiences are so beneficial to
young researchers.
4) Provide feedback. Teams are an
excellent vehicle for obtaining
timely feedback. In particular, two
very effective ways to obtain feed-
back are:
a) Present your work during team
meetings. Students should
IEEE PotEntIals
May/June 2017
■
19
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