Research is hard, thus making its success all the sweeter. However, we often celebrate the technical research output while the non-technical lessons learned along the journey receive less attention. In this talk, I describe the different research ideas and topics I explored during my 15-year research journey in storage systems, from my time as a graduate student at Seoul National University to a junior faculty member at Syracuse University. I highlight 8 lessons that I learned that should benefit graduate students and describe my plan for future success.

Bryan S. Kim is an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Syracuse University's College of Engineering and Computer Science. He completed his B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley in 2006 and earned his Ph.D. degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Seoul National University in 2018. His research primarily focuses on storage systems, specifically flash memory-based systems, with the goal of gaining a better understanding of system performance, reliability, and scalability. His work has been published in well-respected systems venues like ATC and FAST, and his research is generously supported by both industry research and government agencies.