Member Roles and Responsibilities¶

Role of the Supervisor¶

This section outlines the responsibilities that the lab supervisor undertakes with respect to trainees (graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and undergraduate thesis students). It is intended to set mutual expectations and to provide a reference point should questions of scope or responsibility arise over the course of a trainee's tenure in the lab.

1. Intellectual Direction¶

The supervisor sets or helps refine the research agenda. This includes:

Identifying tractable research problems consistent with the trainee's interests and the lab's strategic direction;
Situating the trainee's work within the broader field, including relevant prior art and open questions;
Assessing feasibility given available time, funding, and infrastructure.

2. Mentorship and Skill Development¶

The supervisor is responsible for cultivating the trainee's capacity for independent research, including:

Technical competencies (experimental methodology, statistical analysis, technical writing, presentation skills);
Critical evaluation of one's own and others' work;
Scholarly judgment, developed progressively through guided practice and increasing autonomy.

3. Resource Provision and Advocacy¶

The supervisor secures the material and institutional conditions necessary for the trainee's research, including:

Funding (through grants, scholarships, or other mechanisms);
Equipment, lab space, and access to participant pools where relevant;
Representation of the trainee's interests in departmental and institutional contexts, including committee composition and progress evaluations.

4. Quality Control¶

The supervisor is accountable, to a substantial degree, for the rigour and integrity of work produced under their supervision. This includes:

Review of manuscripts, theses, and conference submissions prior to submission;
Verification of adherence to ethical standards (e.g., REB/IRB protocols) and methodological rigour;
Timely and substantive feedback on drafts and results.

5. Professional Socialization¶

The supervisor models disciplinary norms and facilitates the trainee's integration into the research community, including:

Introduction to relevant networks: conferences, collaborators, funding bodies;
Guidance on career trajectories, whether academic, industrial, or otherwise;
Modelling of professional conduct in review, collaboration, and public communication of research.

6. Pastoral and Administrative Support¶

Though less frequently formalized, this role occupies considerable time in practice and includes:

Supporting trainees through setbacks, both technical and personal, where these affect research progress;
Managing interpersonal dynamics within the lab;
Navigating institutional bureaucracy (funding applications, ethics renewals, degree milestones) on the trainee's behalf.

What the Supervisor Is Not¶

This section addresses common misconceptions about the supervisor's role. These are included not to disclaim responsibility, but to set realistic expectations that prevent frustration in a supervisor/student relationship.

The Supervisor Is Not a Micromanager. The supervisor sets direction and reviews progress at agreed checkpoints. They are not expected to track daily progress, approve every experimental decision, or be consulted before minor choices. The obligation runs the other way: trainees are expected to exercise independent judgment and to bring the supervisor in when it matters, not to seek approval for every step.
The Supervisor Is Not a Dedicated Support Desk. Availability for troubleshooting (code, hardware, administrative snags) is bounded by the supervisor's own competing obligations. The supervisor is a resource to consult once other avenues, such as peers, documentation, or technical staff, have been exhausted, not a first responder for every issue.
The Supervisor Is Not a Therapist or Counsellor. Pastoral support has a real but limited scope. Genuine mental health concerns warrant referral to the university's counselling services, not ongoing informal counselling from the supervisor.
The Supervisor Is Not a Co-Author Who Does the Work. The supervisor guides, critiques, and occasionally contributes directly, but the intellectual and practical labour of the thesis or paper belongs to the trainee. Supervision is not a substitute for the trainee's own effort.
The Supervisor Is Not a Guarantor of Outcomes. A supervisor cannot guarantee publication, funding renewal, or a successful defence; these depend on the quality of the work and on factors outside either party's control.
The Supervisor Is Not Perpetually Available. Reasonable response times apply, but the supervisor is not on call outside working hours or during leave, conference travel, or other absences. Supervisors are professors and have to wear multiple hats: they are instructors, mentors, administrators, collaborators, etc. Therefore, managing students is a small part of their jobs.
The Supervisor Is Not a Substitute for Peer Community. Lab mates, other faculty, and external collaborators all have a role to play. Funnelling every question through the supervisor bypasses a network that trainees should be building for their own benefit.
The Supervisor Is Not an Employer in the Conventional Sense. Despite the funding relationship, the dynamic is closer to an apprenticeship, with attendant obligations on both sides that differ from a standard employer-employee relationship.

Note on scope in HRI research: Given the infrastructure demands of human-subjects and robotics work, the supervisor's role in resource provision (hardware, participant recruitment, ethics approvals) is typically more pronounced in HRI than in purely theoretical disciplines. Trainees should expect earlier and more frequent supervisor involvement in matters of study design and GREB compliance than may be typical elsewhere.

Roles of Trainees by Level¶

This section outlines expectations for trainees at different stages, recognizing that autonomy and responsibility scale with experience and degree requirements.

Undergraduate Researcher¶

Undergraduate researchers (e.g., through ELEC 497, summer research assistantship or similar independent study arrangements) are typically in the lab to gain exposure to the research process rather than to produce a defined, independent contribution.

Works on a well-scoped task or sub-component of a larger project, usually defined collaboratively with the supervisor or a senior lab member;
Requires closer guidance from either supervisors or other graduate students and more frequent check-ins than graduate trainees;
Is expected to develop foundational research skills: literature review, basic experimental or coding practice, and clear documentation of work;
May be paired with a graduate student or postdoc for day-to-day mentorship, with the supervisor retaining overall oversight;
Is not expected to publish, though meaningful contributions to a paper or project are possible and encouraged where warranted.

Master's Student¶

The master's degree is typically the trainee's first sustained experience of independent research, and expectations should be calibrated accordingly.

Works toward a well-defined thesis or project scope, usually narrower than a doctoral project, established early in consultation with the supervisor;
Is expected to develop competence in the methods and tools of the field, with more independence expected as the degree progresses;
Requires more structured guidance than a PhD student, particularly in the first year; the pace of increasing autonomy should be explicit rather than assumed;
Is expected to produce a thesis of publishable quality, though not necessarily a publication itself, depending on program and timeline;
Should be building toward independent judgment by the degree's end, but is not expected to arrive with it.

PhD Student¶

The doctoral degree is oriented toward developing an independent researcher capable of defining and pursuing original contributions to the field.

Takes primary ownership of defining and refining their research direction, in consultation with, but not dictated entirely by, the supervisor;
Is expected to demonstrate increasing independence over the course of the degree, culminating in the ability to identify problems, design studies, and interpret results with minimal oversight;
Bears responsibility for the rigour, integrity, and timeliness of their own work, with the supervisor providing review and course-correction rather than direction at every step;
Is expected to engage with the broader research community: conferences, collaborations, and peer review;
Contributes to the mentorship of more junior lab members (undergraduates, incoming master's students) as their own expertise develops;
Should expect the supervisory relationship to shift over time, from closer guidance early on toward a more consultative dynamic as the thesis work matures.

Postdoctoral Researcher¶

The postdoctoral position is a transitional stage between trainee and independent researcher, and the supervisory relationship reflects this.

Operates with substantial independence, typically defining and executing research programs with minimal day-to-day oversight;
Is expected to contribute to the lab's strategic research direction, not simply execute on an assigned project;
Takes on mentorship and supervisory responsibilities for graduate and undergraduate trainees, often functioning as a secondary point of contact;
Is expected to build an independent research profile, including authorship, grant involvement, and professional networking, in preparation for subsequent career stages;
Engages with the supervisor more as a colleague and collaborator than as a trainee in the conventional sense, though institutional and funding obligations remain.

Lab Responsibilities¶

All members of the lab are expected to take on added responsibilities that are vital for the functioning of the lab. These responsibilities are packaged as "Tzar-ships," each carrying a suitably grandiose title and a mandate to match. The supervisor may ask for you to volunteer for one or more Tzar-ships.

Role	Description
Commander of Lab Tours and Outreach	First point of contact for all who wish to behold the lab in person; commands the coordination and execution of tours and outreach engagements with tactical precision.
Guv'nor of Lab Meetings	Rules over the scheduling, spatial allocation, and technical setup of lab meetings; ensures the trains, and the meetings, run on time.
Queen of Social Media	Sovereign over the lab's online presence and public voice; decides what the world sees and when it sees it.
Captain Safety	Guards the lab against peril; trains new recruits in the ways of not getting hurt and serves as first responder should safety incidents occur.
Top Dog of Purchasing	Presides over the acquisition of supplies and small equipment; the final word on what gets bought and when.
SharePoint Czar	Sole custodian of the lab's SharePoint empire; maintains order in a domain most fear to enter.
Web Boss	Runs the lab's public-facing digital storefront (www.mithrilab.com) with an iron keyboard; keeps the website current and the world impressed.
Equipment Big Shot	Tracks every asset, cable, and gadget the lab owns; oversees equipment training and keeps the machines running.
Empress of Social Events	Reigns over the lab's social calendar; orchestrates gatherings that keep morale high and burnout at bay.
Steward of EDII	Champions equity, diversity, inclusion, and Indigeneity within the lab; ensures these principles are lived, not just listed.