First, we are indebted to the entire current grad student community and many others for providing important information toward this collection. Also, thanks go to Becky Freeland and Jeff Shrager for taking time to read, edit and comment on the earlier versions. Thanks to Dan Kimberg, Parastu Mehta and Bruce Taylor for their help and comments on the recent editions (Dan says don't blame him if you don't like it!) Special thanks to Matthew Lewis and Jeff Shrager for initiating this document.
As your graduate career proceeds, keep us in mind and keep track of problems that you run into or questions that you ask (and their answers). Likewise, if something in here is wrong or unclear we can take criticism (as well as back patting). We are trying to make this a living, thriving document and your help is essential to that end.
We look forward to welcoming you into the grad community. In other words, we'll have a party soon.
I just ran into one of the original contributors to this document. I am happy to report that he is surviving in the wilds of the real world. Yes, Dan, there is life after CMU!
--Marcie (April 19, 1990)
Document HistoryThis document has a long and varied history (or something like that). Its first incarnation was written by Jeff Shrager and Matthew Lewis in the mid-80's using some antiquated computer system. It was edited by Kate McGilly and Irvin Katz at some point, and then updated (and moved to a Macintosh) by a string of people: Ross Thompson (unknown), Marcie Wallace (several times, June 1993 was the last), Stephen Blessing, Todd Braver, and Rick Gilmore (August 1993), again by Blessing (June 1994), by Terri Huston and Tonya Sieverding (August 1994), and again by Blessing (August 1995). In July/August of 1996, Sean McGuire converted it to HTML (actually, Blessing used a program to convert it into HTML and McGuire then prettified the document, or at least munged the format up) and updated it yet again. Then in August of 1997 he updated it again. And probably he'll do so in 1998 and 1999 as well. (are you sensing a pattern here?) 2000 is someone else's problem, appropriate deities willing.
By all accounts, the hoped-for revisions of 1998 and 1999 were never made (or at least never completed). Thus, it falls to me (Glenn Gunzelmann) to restore this repository of information to its original glory. This revision (2000) will complete the evolution of the document to its web form. While this may mean that it may not print as nicely, I don't really think that most of this stuff is worth printing (think of the trees!). Think of it as a reference (it should be here, at least as long as I am). At the same time, I am hopeful that the whole of the graduate student population will find it useful, as it is currently the only place online to find comprehensive contact information for all of the people in the department you are likely to need to track down. The point is, don't lose this url!