At a time when most of his colleagues are sweating through dissertations and job-hunting, Curtis S. Signorino, a fourth-year graduate student at the John F. Kennedy School of Government has little to be concerned about.

A year before completing his dissertation, Signorino has secured a tenure-track position in the political science department at the University of Rochester.

According to Harold W. Stanley, chair of the political science department at Rochester, it is not unusual for the department to hire graduate students who have not completed their dissertation.

It is unusual, however, for the department to give someone a full year to complete a dissertation without the responsibility of teaching at the university, he said.

Signorino's chief advisor at Harvard, Professor of Government Gary King attributes Signorino's success to his ability as a researcher.

"In academia, three things are important: research, research and research, and [Mr. Signorino] focused on all three," King said.

Signorino's dramatic rise to the top began about five years ago, when Signorino-then working toward a masters degree in history at the Extension School-initiated a meeting with King.

Signorino had been having trouble with a program written by King, and asked the professor about statistical models within the program in order to debug it. When Signorino succeeded in debugging the program, King was so impressed that he hired Signorino to write the next version of the program.

In 1993, Signorino left the Extension School and was accepted into the Government department at the Graduate School of Arts and Science.

As a graduate student, Signorino co- authored two articles with King in Political Analysis and published one on his own in the Journal of Conflict Resolution.

According to Government Department Chair Kenneth A. Shepsle, Signorino distinguished himself by "learning very early to take chances."

Most students enter graduate school very proficient in absorbing knowledge, but Shepsle said Signorino was unique among graduate students in his ability to contribute knowledge.

"He was proactive about research," Shepsle said.

During his time at Harvard, Signorino made significant contributions to statistical models of international conflict.

Signorino's research focused on incorporating what political scientists call "strategic interaction" into statistical models.

Countries engage in strategic interaction when they make decisions-including whether to go to war-based on how they anticipate other countries will act.