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) by January 5, 2026, and mention your interests in working with me.

As of April 15, 2026, consideration for strong candidates remains open. Please reach out by email if interested.

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. For example, Mentoring Summer Research Internship Program (MSRIP) (apply by March 15, 2026).

MS students

Current MS students may choose to pursue the M.S. Thesis or Project option. Before officially enrolling into Thesis or Project, students will need to make preliminary progress (typically by the end of their 2nd quarter), to ensure that the option is promising. Note that MS students are typically not funded and cannot stay as volunteers on F-1 OPT after their graduation.