September. What a month. I’m going to start from August 31st, because that’s honestly where September really began for me. 📄
And just like that, September came to an end. What a month. My goodness. I honestly thought September wasn’t going to be worth writing about, but now that I’m sitting here trying to remember everything that happened, I’m realizing there was actually quite a bit. So let’s get into it.
The Paper That Was Rejected… and Then Reborn
As I said I think it would be better to start from August 31st. The paper was submitted to USENIX Security, and then…Rejected. Let me specify why, because this was not a rejection based on the research itself.
The rejection was administrative.
USENIX requires the artifact associated with the paper to be anonymized in a very specific way. I had already created a GitHub repository that didn’t contain my name or any obvious personal information, but apparently that wasn’t sufficient. They had a specific process that authors were required to follow for artifact anonymization, and I didn’t follow it.
So on August 31st, I received the email basically saying, unfortunately, your paper is rejected because the artifact was not anonymized according to the required process.
Ouch.
This was actually the right way to anonymize. For any researchers here, over to you.
I spoke with my advisor afterward, and he was understandably like, “Okay, you see what happened? Why did you do it this way?” Not in a “I’m going to beat you up” kind of way. 😂 More like, “How did we miss this?” And honestly, it was a mistake, one I hope never to repeat whether a publication demand artifact anonymization or not.
But research moves quickly, and there is always another venue. My advisor suggested that I look into PoPETs, so I went to their website, looked at the deadline, and realized that I had until Anywhere on Earth on September 1st. Which meant…
Time crunch.
I had to take the paper, change the template, adjust the formatting, make sure the paper fit within the required page range, and tune the language to fit the venue. Thankfully, because the paper was already privacy-related, it wasn’t a complete conceptual transformation.
It was mostly about adapting the paper to the expectations and style of the venue. And somehow, we got it done. I submitted the paper to PoPETs. And then…we made it to Round 2!
On September 18th, I received an email that the paper had advanced to Round 2 of the review process. Hooray 🤸🏾💃🏿! That was definitely one of the good moments of September. The next major notification is expected on November 1st, so as I write this, I am waiting. Fingers crossed. Hopefully, when I write my November recap, I will be starting with a very happy “Congratulations!” rather than another research plot twist. 😂 But for now, I remain hopeful.
The Unexpected ICLR Submission
As if one paper submission wasn’t enough, another opportunity appeared. I ended up submitting another paper to ICLR. This one was somewhat unplanned. My research sits at this intersection between natural language and formal verification — essentially the LLM component and the formal methods component coming together. And ICLR has a track/submission category that aligned with this perfect intersection- neurosymbolic & hybrid AI systems (physics-informed, logic & formal reasoning, etc.)
So I started looking at the venue more closely. Then I looked at the submission deadline. Then I looked at the timeline. And I thought:
“Wait… this actually works.”
The code had already been implemented over the summer, and the paper writing had already started, so it wasn’t like I was starting from scratch. And I also like to think about the “what if it doesn’t get accepted?” scenario.That’s just part of research. You cannot submit a paper assuming that it will automatically be accepted, regardless of how much you believe in the idea.
Once you submit a paper, it is in the hands of reviewers.
They decide whether the work is ready, whether the contribution is strong enough, whether the experiments support the claims, and whether the paper fits the venue. So, yes, I remain hopeful. But I also plan for alternatives. If one venue doesn’t work, what’s next? If that doesn’t work, what’s after that? That’s just part of the process.
And I have to say, ICLR was a little intimidating. This is a very machine-learning-heavy venue, and the submission process itself is quite different from some of the conferences I’ve submitted to before. The number of submissions is also wild. Tens of thousands of papers. I remember seeing the submission count and thinking: 31,000 +?!
Jesus. What?! Obviously, not every submission gets accepted, and I don’t even know what the final acceptance numbers will look like. But just seeing that number puts things into perspective. There are a lot of brilliant people submitting brilliant work. So again, all I can do is submit my work, make it as strong as possible, and hope the reviewers see the value in it.
The Next Phase of My Research
While all of this is happening, I’m already thinking about the next phase of the research. I’m currently working on an extension of the paper I submitted to PoPETs. I’m hoping that eventually this work can make its way to one of the major security and privacy venues — potentially USENIX Security, ACM CCS, or IEEE S&P. I’m leaning more toward the privacy-focused venues because of the nature of the work. So October will probably involve a lot of brainstorming and planning around what that extension should look like. And I’ve also challenged myself to do something else.
I realized that even though I’m a PhD candidate and I talk about my life as a PhD student all the time, I don’t actually talk very much about what my research is about. So sometime in October, I want to sit down and write a post explaining my research at a very high level. Not giving away anything confidential or going into the details of ongoing work.
Just: What am I actually doing? What is the problem? Why does it matter? And what am I trying to solve? That is officially on my October to-do list.
A Little SREB Conference Excitement
Another happy thing that happened this month: I was accepted to attend the annual SREB conference! It will take place in Virginia from October 29th to November 1st. This will be my third year attending, and I always enjoy being around people from different backgrounds who have excelled in different parts of their academic journeys. There is something encouraging about being in a room full of people who have taken very different paths and still made it to where they are. So I’m looking forward to it. Also, apparently, Virginia is for lovers. I’ve never been, so we’ll see. 😂 Interestingly, I’ll be traveling around the same time that my PoPETs notification comes out on November 1st. So I might literally be on my way back to New York when I find out what happens with the paper. What a way to end a conference trip.
And Then… Internship Applications
I’m also applying for internships. After last summer, when my advisor didn’t have funding and I had to scramble to find a way to support myself, I’m really hoping that next summer looks different.
I want the experience.
I’ve been in school for a long time, and I’ve lived between Canada and the United States for several years, but I haven’t actually had industry experience. I want to know what happens outside academia. How does the research I’m doing translate into industry? What parts of my work are relevant? What does it feel like to work on these problems outside of a university? And maybe, more importantly, do I actually like it? I don’t want to make assumptions about academia versus industry without experiencing both. So hopefully, I get an internship next year and get that exposure. For now, that’s another thing I’m working on alongside the papers.
The TA Life Is… A Lot
And then, of course, there is my TA position. Oh my goodness. I don’t think I’ve had a single weekend to myself. Every single week there is an assignment to read, grade, and comment on. Again, I’m not complaining about being paid to do the work. That’s literally how I get paid. But I’m just saying… Every. Single. Weekend. I haven’t had one weekend where I could completely switch off and not think about grading. And the class is large.
I’ve TA’d large classes before, but this feels different because there is consistently something due and something that needs to be graded. So while I’m doing my responsibilities, I can definitely feel that part of my life starting to drown me a little bit. It’s not that I can’t do it. I am doing it. But I’m tired. Very tired.
And Then My Car Decided to Join the Chaos
As if September didn’t already have enough going on, my car decided to stop working. Of course. I was on my way to deal with my TA responsibilities when the car broke down, and the police actually had to come and manually push the car to a safe location. Then I had to call AAA the following day to have the vehicle towed. Thankfully, everything worked out. The car is fine. I’m fine. But at the time, it was just another thing to add to the list. Sometimes life really does have a sense of humor.
Conclusion
September wasn’t necessarily exciting in the traditional sense. There weren’t a million adventures. There weren’t long vacations or dramatic experiences. It was mostly work. But I think that’s also what this stage of my PhD is. Sometimes the month is just papers, deadlines, grading, applications, and trying to keep your head above water. And that’s okay.
I am learning that not every month needs to be memorable. Some months are simply building blocks for the things that come later.So here’s to October. Here’s to more research, hopefully some good paper news, maybe a little rest, and hopefully a few moments where I remember that I am a human being and not just a PhD student who grades papers. 😂
Thank you for making it all the way to the end and listening to all my blabbing. Until next month. Love you. ❤️
