http://boston.openguides.org/?Mary_Chung's http://boston.openguides.org/?Mary_Chung's :) Be careful if you don't like spicy food, though. That's my only specif

http://boston.openguides.org/?Mary_Chung's http://boston.openguides.org/?Mary_Chung's :) Be careful if you don't like spicy food, though. That's my only specific advice, since I know nothing about AI. General advice: Get introduced to a grad student, and have them introduce you to other grad students, until you find one that can run down the list of professors and tell you how each one's research is really going. In my experience, third or fourth-year grad students -- who often have friendly peers scattered throughout the university, who have spent much time comparing life in one research group to life in another, and who know where to find good beer at reasonable prices -- are the ones who are most likely to give you glimpses of the cold, hard facts, instead of merely a beautifully crafted line of funding-agency-ready marketing copy. If all you do is look at hallway posters and chat with profs, you won't learn anything that you can't learn from reading journal articles or attending a conference in your field. If you're interested in applications of AI, consider trying to find some local companies (the letters "ITA" come to mind here... to say nothing of "iRobot") and asking them for "informational interviews". From the sound of your CV, companies might well be willing to have someone spend an hour talking to you, just on spec. Be prepared to detach them politely if they cling to your leg and beg you to join the technical staff.