ML and Science. Understanding Foundation Models, from Principles to Science.
I am an incoming Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Vanderbilt University, within the newly founded College of Connected Computing (CCC). I am also a final-year CS PhD at Northwestern, advised by Han Liu in the MAGICS Lab. I hold my B.S. degree in Physics from National Taiwan University, advised by Pisin Chen.
My research is in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Recently, my focus is on the science of Foundation Models (LLMs, Generative AI, World Models, and AI Agents). I study how these AI models learn, remember, compute, adapt, and generalize:
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Foundations:
Understand the principles behind these capabilities.
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Methods:
Turn these principles into new architectures and algorithms.
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Science:
Apply them to genomics, virtual cells, drug discovery, and physics.
To make progress, I pursue through physics, neuroscience, statistics, information, and computation. My long-term goal is to leverage machine learning to tackle important scientific and societal challenges. Please see my recent publications for details.
At Vanderbilt, I lead the ARTEMIS Lab (ARTificial intElligent MachIneS) within CCC as the research home for students and collaborators pursuing the agenda above.
PhD Recruiting & Research Opportunities
I am recruiting multiple PhD students to start in Fall 2027. If you are interested in my research, we should chat. Or, you can apply directly to CCC and list my name in your application.
I also enjoy working with junior students. Please see mentoring for past experiences, and reach out if you are interested.
At CCC, we welcome students across disciplines (CS, Math, Stats, EE, Physics, etc.). Please send me a short email with your CV, transcript and interests, and include "tag_student" so it won't get lost.
Pro Bono Office Hours (Not for PhD Applicant Meetings)
- I set aside two hours weekly for pro bono conversations with master's, undergraduate, and high-school outreach students about research, graduate school, and my transition to ML research from a non-CS/ML background.
- I welcome students from underrepresented groups and will prioritize these meetings.
- Please fill out this link to schedule a chat.