Contact

Hello! You likely clicked the “email” icon on my website. I get many emails on similar topics, so please scroll down to see if your question is already answered. If not (or if your situation is truly exceptional) you’ll find my email address at the bottom of this page. Don’t be discouraged! Genuine questions are always welcome.

Frequently asked questions

Hi! I am a Columbia Undergraduate / Master’s / PhD student who would like to enrol in your course, but I am waitlisted. Can you let me in?

As of Fall 2025, my course waitlist is handled by the Columbia Computer Science Department staff, not by myself (even if Vergil/some other online system says otherwise). I trust them, they know what they are doing and they’ve been doing it much longer than me. Feel free to plead your case to them.

Hi! Will you sign this Registration Adjustment Form so I can enroll in your course?

As a blanket policy, no.

Hi! I am a high-school student. Can I work with you on a research project?

I applaud your enthusiasm! However, as a policy, I do not work with high school students. Training high school students is a very difficult skill that I deeply admire (my mother is a high school teacher!), and I do not have it.

Hi! I am a Columbia Computer Science Master’s or Undergraduate student. Can I work with you on a research project, in exchange for class credit or as a research assistant?

All open research positions are announced on the home page of my website (and, in the future, on my to-be-constructed lab website). If you think you could be a good fit for one of them, make sure to contact me following the instructions in each announcement!

If there are no open positions, and you still would like to work with me, I am expecting you to present a somewhat concrete proposal for what project you wish to work on, as well as any experience relevant to geometry processing and 3D graphics that you may have. If your primary interest is in Machine Learning, Large Language Models, Computer Vision or Robotics, I will likely direct you to other faculty in our department who are, unlike me, experts in these areas.

Hi! Can I be a new PhD student in your lab?

All open research positions are announced on the home page of my website (and, in the future, on my to-be-constructed lab website). If there is an available PhD position, feel free to email me with any questions, and apply through the Columbia Engineering PhD application website.

Please note that my first name is spelled “Silvia” (the second letter is an “i”, not a “y”) and my last name is spelled “Sellán” (with an acute accent over the “a”). I do not mean to seem rude, but I may delete your email without reading it if you do not take the time to spell my name correctly. This is my email address: silviasellan@cs.columbia.edu