Recruitment

Prospective PhD students

I am looking for motivated PhD students to join my group. Openings are available for Fall 2026 admission. Potential research directions include trustworthy AI, AI x formal methods, LLM post-training and reasoning, and more. PhD students will be funded through a combination of fellowships, RAship, and TAship, and I encourage my PhD students to do summer internships every year.

UCR has basic requirements for admission, including TOEFL>=80 or IELTS>=7 for international students if not waived. For interested applicants, please apply to the PhD in Computer Science program at UCR (application website), and mention your interests in working with me. Deadline is January 5, 2026 for full consideration.

Why UCR? UCR is highly ranked in research-focused rankings – on csrankings.org, UCR is currently ranked at #28 in the United States. The CSE department has excellent opportunities for collaboration, with several recently joined AI/ML faculty members and diverse faculty on a variety of other research areas such as security, computer systems and networks, algorithms, etc. Also, UCR is located right near Los Angeles in Southern California, one of the best locations in the US, with easy access to restaurants, entertainment, airports, and natural attractions.

Current Undergraduate/MS Students

Undergraduates

I am also looking for current undergraduates at UCR. Interested students may contact me by email with CV and transcript, with a brief discussion on research interests and motivation for doing research.

Requirements: 1) Strong interest and motivation in academic AI research, aligned with your future academic and career goals; 2) Basic knowledge and experience in machine learning (e.g., via undergraduate-level machine learning coursework or some online course); 3) Good coding ability; 4) Availability for a serious research project (during the academic year, available for at least 15 hours per week).

Students are encouraged to apply to UCR undergraduate research programs which may provide funding.

MS students

[Not available at this point] For current MS students, I prefer to take first-year MS students who intend to pursue the Thesis Option. Since this option requires a commitment and official enrollment by the 3rd quarter, to ensure a good fit, interested students are encouraged to begin a research trial with me no later than their 2nd quarter.

Visitors

Funded summer research for CSU or CA community college students (apply by Feb 2): Cal-Bridge.