Current
Matured
If you took a class with me, I will be happy to write a letter for you. Simply provide the appropriate materials to my assistant Sheila Clark (sdclark@cs.uiuc.edu) with a note indicating which classes you took with me, when, and your grades in those classes. However, unless I got to know you in class, this will be a rather generic letter effectively stating that you took the class with me, got a grade of XYZ, and a total score ranked XYZ. Frankly, such a letter isn't particularly valuable for a graduate school application, but I can't write any more if I don't know you. If you feel that I did get to know you in class (e.g., you participated a lot in class and I knew you by name), send me an email and/or come by my office (during my office hours) to jog my memory. In this case, I will personalize the letter.
If I am your assigned advisor, feel free to drop by my office hours (posted on my web site). If you can't make my office hours, send me an email for an appointment. To discuss your academic progress and/or your schedule for the next semester, please bring your grad check along and preferably have some idea of the courses you would like to take next semester.
If you already have a thesis advisor, you should meet with him/her for advising. (Ensure you have submitted a form to the academic office declaring your advisor.) Otherwise, if I am your assigned academic advisor, feel feel free to drop by my office hours (posted on my web site). If you can't make my office hours, send me an email for an appointment. To discuss your academic progress and/or your schedule for the next semester, please bring a hard copy of the progress report from the academic office with all the blanks filled in and also email me the corresponding pdf in advance. Also, take a look at the timetable and try to get a rough idea of the courses you are interested in taking for the next semester.
In general, if I don't know you or your work by the time you are ready to take your prelim, I am probably not the right person to be on your prelim committee. In other words, if you would like me to be on your prelim committee, make sure we get to know each other well before the prelim.