Read This Before Cold-Emailing Me

I have one simple request for cold emails^*:

If you want me to respond to your cold email, make sure I can read AND respond to it within one minute.

Otherwise I probably won't respond, or I'll send you to this page. It's nothing personal. It doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with your email; in fact, your email could be great! But I don't have time to respond to every email that I get.

There are only three exceptions to this policy:

• I know someone who knows you.
• You are from a professional organization that I belong to.
• You are affiliated with UCSD (see next section).

If you want to send me a longer email, the best strategy is to first send me a super-short email to see if I want to request more info.

If you are a UCSD student:

• Please do not email me about class registration or scheduling. Talk to Thanh Maxwell or Katy Schoeneweis (undergrad advisors), or Beverley Walton (grad advisor). However ...

  • If a class is overbooked and you are trying to get in, our policy is that we must prioritize students who fulfill all of the prerequisites and are on the waitlist. In those cases, I encourage you to look into other classes to enroll in.

• If you'd like to chat in person, come to my office hours. No need to email me beforehand. It's hard for me to schedule other times to meet.

^*This policy applies only to cold emails; if I contacted you first or personally know you, then your email to me is no longer “cold.”