Joining us

Interested in joining my group? Thank you for your interest! I may not be able to respond to individual inquiry emails, so please read the following information before reaching out!

If you’re applying to the CMU SCS Ph.D. program:

For the 2026 application cycle, I expect to recruit 2–3 Ph.D. students. Unfortunately, I am unlikely to respond to individual emails or review your applications.

  • Which Ph.D. programs to apply to: I’m affiliated with CMU’s Language Technologies Institute (LTI) and Machine Learning Department (MLD). The best way for me to see your application is to apply to LTI or MLD, list me as a potential advisor, and mention me in your Statement of Purpose. I may review applications from other SCS units (e.g., CSD, RI, S3D, HCII), but those are less likely to reach me directly. If you apply elsewhere and want to be considered, please mention me in your SoP and feel free to send me a brief email.

  • Which areas I’m looking for: I work broadly on LLMs and multimodal LMs. I’m especially excited about augmented LMs—systems that pair models with complementary components and external tools (e.g., RAG, agents)—and their system-level challenges (efficiency, scalability). I also apply these methods to real-world problems (e.g., scientific applications) and study safety and societal issues in LMs, including hallucinations and copyright.

  • What I look for in students: I enjoy working with students from diverse backgrounds who are curious, rigorous, and collaborative—and who care about building systems with real-world impact. I (like many faculty) genuinely enjoy reading SoPs: please highlight your interests, link your prior research to your goals, and make your strengths clear. Strong foundations in computer science, engineering, and mathematics are important.

I’m not able to provide feedback on individual application materials. That said, many universities offer free, Ph.D.-student–run mentorship programs that help with Ph.D. applications including SoP feedback. I encourage you to apply early. One example is CMU SCS’s Application Support Program (already closed for 2025–2026).

If you’re a current or incoming CMU SCS Ph.D. student (LTI, MLD, CSD etc.):

If you’re a Ph.D. student in CMU SCS and interested in collaborating, feel free to email or Slack me with a brief summary of your research interests or projects. I’ll be splitting my time between Pittsburgh and Seattle in 2025–2026 and would love to explore potential collaborations!

If you’re a CMU undergraduate or M.S. student:

Thanks so much for your interest! I love working with undergraduate and master’s students; many such collaborations have led to publications at ACL, COLM, NeurIPS, and more, and helped students launch research-focused careers.

To ensure a meaningful experience, I typically ask for two things:

  • Strong foundation: I generally consider students who have completed core courses in machine learning and NLP. This background helps ensure you can engage deeply with the research.
  • Time commitment: I ask for a consistent commitment of 10–20 hours per week. If you’re currently balancing a heavy course load, job search, or other responsibilities, I recommend waiting until you have more bandwidth. Research takes time and consistency, and my goal is to support your long-term growth, not just a short-term project.

If you’re interested, please fill out this google form (You need to sign in your CMU email address), including your transcript and CV. I may not be able to respond to all requests, but I’ll reach out if I think we might be a good match for a project.

If you’re an external undergraduate, M.S., or Ph.D. student seeking internships or visiting/postdoc positions:

In 2025–2026, I’ll be a Research Scientist at AI2 and won’t be able to host visiting students at CMU (if you are interested in working with me at Ai2 for internship / pre-doc, apply from Ai2’s career page!). Also in 2026, I am unlikely to have the capacity to advise students outside CMU during the academic year, but I may announce future opportunities on my website or social media, so please stay tuned!

For undergrad internships, CMU SCS offers several summer internship programs: Summer Research Fellowships at CMU In the future, I may host 1–2 summer interns through these programs, so please stay tuned!

Looking for general advice on research / Ph.D. applications, etc.

I restarted my public office hours each week, open to anyone to chat about research, career, or anything else this summer! While I can’t guarantee positions, this is meant to offer mentorship, especially for those with limited access. Please sign up from Google Calendar