Are you taking new students?
Yes, I am looking to take about 2 new students in this application cycle (starting 2025 Fall).

What are your research interests?
My research interests are in computational linguistics and natural language processing, and I mostly work on language in the forms of text or speech. I generally describe my research interests as language sciences and language model sciences. Here're some specific topics that I'm interested in:

• Modeling human language acquisition in situated settings.
• Understanding linguistic phenomena with computational models.
• Understanding the behaviors of state-of-the-art NLP models, from a linguistic perspective.
• Assessing and improving (cross-lingual, cross-domain, and compositional) generalizability of NLP models.

I'm also open to working on other topics, as long as I'm convinced that they're interesting enough. Check out my research statement (written in late 2022) to learn more about what I've been working on.

Which program should I apply to if I want to work with you?
I can advise students in the following programs:

• Ph.D. in Computer Science
• MMath in Computer Science

Please also consult the official application guidelines for other detailed requirements, and mention my name in your application.

Do I need to have a Bachelor in Computer Science in order to apply to the above programs?
While the official program requirements state that you need a Bachelor in Computer Science or an equivalent degree, I'm also open to students with background in linguistics, psychology, cognitive sciences or mathematics, and I especially encourage you to apply if you have background in these areas and have strong interests in computer science. Students without a Computer Science background may need to take some remedial courses (e.g., CS 341: Algorithms and CS 350: Operating Systems), but I believe you will find these courses very helpful in your future research.

Does an email to you increase my chance of admission?
No, and due to bandwidth constraints, I'm afraid I can't respond to most of them or give individual feedback on applications; however, all applications are reviewed equally carefully, and the final decision won't be made until all applications are reviewed. To help me quickly spot your email (and to show that you've read this FAQ), please prepend "[Application-20XX]" to your subject line, where XX is the year you hope to enroll.

Are you hiring postdocs or visiting scholars? What are the criteria?
I will probably start taking postdocs in Fall 2024. Please apply through the Vector Postdoc program. Once you have applied, please reach out to me with your application materials, including your research statement, CV, two representative publications, and the contact of two references. Due to bandwidth constraints, I'm afraid I can't respond if you don't include all the materials.

I can only consider postdocs or visiting scholars who have demonstrated their skills through a publication record in computational linguistics, natural language processing, cognitive sciences, or computer vision.

Are you hiring undergrad research assistants or visiting students?
I will start taking URAs and visiting students in Fall 2024. Please complete a practice task to demonstrate your interest and skills, and submit your application here.

If you have questions about the practice tasks, please follow the guidelines in the GitHub repo.

Are you open to collaborate?
If we have been in touch before, feel free to reach out. Otherwise, please complete a practice task to demonstrate your interest and skills, and submit your application here.