{"id":53,"date":"2023-12-15T23:37:04","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T23:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/labs.engineering.asu.edu\/hw\/?page_id=53"},"modified":"2026-04-14T19:25:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T19:25:53","slug":"prospective-students","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/labs.engineering.asu.edu\/hw\/prospective-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Prospective Students"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I am looking for students (PhD, Masters, undergrads, interns) who are passionate about research, interested in data mining, machine learning, and human-computer interaction research, and strong in programming and\/or math. You will be mainly working on data mining and machine learning in real-world applications, especially on reinforcement learning, urban computing, and human-in-the-loop machine learning. Master&#8217;s and undergraduate students within ASU and self-funded visiting students\/scholars are also welcome to apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Did you know&#8230;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">Hua goes live from 8:00 pm to 8:30 pm, Phoenix time, every Monday (Oct. 14, 2024, to Dec. 14, 2024) on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.twitch.tv\/realhuawei\">Twitch<\/a>.<\/span> Chat with him directly with your questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hua is also hosting podcasts\u00a0(<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/%E5%8D%8E%E5%87%A0%E6%9D%A5%E4%BA%86\/id1865584665\">Apple Podcast<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0AD8pDyIOGR7DBmgYCgkGp?si=AuA3qQFMRzaaU6WlhBCRTA\">Spotify<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.xiaoyuzhoufm.com\/podcast\/6946206c81bb154d10175c2c\">\u5c0f\u5b87\u5b99<\/a>). If you would like to chat on his podcasts, feel free to let him know with <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/4zsVD3j4GS2DHMWj7\">this google form<\/a>! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Several fully-funded PhD positions are available in Fall\/Spring 2027.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u00a0I\u2019m looking for highly motivated PhD\/intern students to join my group. The official PhD application deadline for the Fall 2026 application cycle is Dec 31, 2025 (<a href=\"https:\/\/degrees.apps.asu.edu\/masters-phd\/major\/ASU00\/ESCOMSCPHD\/computer-science-phd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">details<\/a>).\u00a0If you are interested in working with me, please see the instructions and fill out <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/ZoyA69tTbJyGVWBL6\">this form<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You are expected to have:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Programming experience (preferably with Python and\/or C++)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Background in machine learning and\/or data mining, which is a plus<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mathematical foundation (e.g. probability theory, statistics, linear algebra, and optimization), which is a plus<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Experience with deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch and TensorFlow, which is a plus<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Publications (at venues such as KDD, AAAI, IJCAI, ICML, NeurIPS, ICLR, WWW, CIKM, ECML-PKDD), which are pluses<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Recently, we have been looking for students with backgrounds in embedded systems, robotics, and cyber-physical systems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">One PostDoc\/Research Scientist position is available in Fall 2026\/Spring 2027.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I&#8217;m actively looking for post-docs or research scientists. Please complete <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/TTCLf9hSdsMEme3S6\">this form<\/a> if you are interested in this position.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You are expected to have:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Prior publication record in top-tier conferences\/journals in machine learning, data mining, control, transportation and\/or other high-impact journals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Previous experience in building open-source systems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strong communication, leadership, and community-building skills.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>ASU MS students<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I typically recruit ASU Master students from my CSE 572 Data Mining course (please consider taking it first) or <a href=\"https:\/\/furi.engineering.asu.edu\/\">MORE<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>ASU Undergrad students<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I typically recruit ASU undergraduate students from hackathons or <a href=\"https:\/\/furi.engineering.asu.edu\/\">FURI<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/gcsp.engineering.asu.edu\/\">GCSP<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>ASU&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/furi.engineering.asu.edu\/\">FURI\/MORE\/GCSP<\/a> Program<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ASU offers excellent opportunities for&nbsp;student research, such as&nbsp;FURI and GCSP for&nbsp;undergraduates and&nbsp;MORE for master\u2019s students. You&nbsp;can find additional details about these programs below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Students are required to submit a concise research proposal, typically 2-3 pages long. Over time, I\u2019ve reviewed many proposals and developed a set of guidelines to help students craft effective submissions.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Choosing a Topic<\/strong>: Some students approach me with a clear topic in mind. However, due to time constraints and the need to align with my lab\u2019s broader research goals, I generally support only those students who are already volunteering in my lab or specific topics closely related to our lab. These students often refine their ideas into topics that I can feasibly support.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><em>Writing the proposal<\/em><\/strong>: While there are many ways to write an effective proposal, the following way of organizing the idea seems to be effective.\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>State the Problem (2-3 sentences):<\/strong><br>Clearly articulate the problem you aim to solve without delving into technical details. Focus on what the problem is and why it matters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Summarize Related Work (6 sentences):<\/strong><br>Discuss three key pieces of related research. Avoid summarizing numerous papers; instead, focus on how these works connect to your proposal. For example:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cIn prior work, the authors addressed {a specific problem}, but their solution {lacked a certain feature}. Our approach aims to address this gap by {briefly state improvement}.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Alternatively: \u201cThe method provides a foundation for {specific task}, which we plan to build upon and extend to {new application}.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Proposals should demonstrate that you have a clear and realistic plan. Here\u2019s a recommended structure:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Phase 1: Develop Theory (2-4 weeks):<\/strong>&nbsp;Conduct literature reviews or design experiments to establish a theoretical foundation. This may involve conceptual work rather than mathematical modeling.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Phase 2: Build a Prototype (4-8 weeks):<\/strong>&nbsp;Translate theoretical ideas into a working prototype or system.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Phase 3: Experimentation and Evaluation (4-8 weeks):<\/strong>&nbsp;Run experiments using datasets or simulations, define metrics for success, and analyze results to validate hypotheses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Phase 4: Write-Up (2-3 weeks):<\/strong>&nbsp;Summarize findings in a final report or paper.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><em>Hints<\/em><\/strong>: \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Review your draft critically as if you were evaluating someone else\u2019s proposal. Ask questions like:&nbsp;<em>Is the problem compelling? Is the scope realistic? Does the student have the skills and resources needed? Would I fund this project?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If continuing an existing project, highlight how your new work builds on prior efforts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mention any relevant experience in research labs, especially if it relates to the proposed work\u2014this demonstrates your preparedness and commitment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Think creatively about your budget. For instance, request funding for conference travel, cloud computing resources (e.g., AWS), technical books, software, or equipment that will support your project.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Start early! Though short, proposals require significant thought and effort to craft effectively.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I will read every email, but unfortunately, I cannot afford to reply to all of them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">I am looking for students (PhD, Masters, undergrads, interns) who are passionate about research, interested in data mining, machine learning, and human-computer interaction research, and strong in programming and\/or math. You will be mainly working on data mining and machine learning in real-world applications, especially on reinforcement learning, urban computing, and human-in-the-loop machine learning. Master&#8217;s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":284,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-53","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Prospective Students - DaRL Group \/ Hua Wei<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/labs.engineering.asu.edu\/hw\/prospective-students\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Prospective Students - DaRL Group \/ Hua Wei\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I am looking for students (PhD, Masters, undergrads, interns) who are passionate about research, interested in data mining, machine learning, and human-computer interaction research, and strong in programming and\/or math. 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