Recruiting PhD students and Research Interns

Positions for PhD students and Research Interns:

• Multiple fully-funded positions for PhD in Computer Science are available, starting in 2026 Spring/Fall

• I am also looking for Research Interns all-year round, the start date and length are flexible, either remote or in-person

• The lab provides very sufficient computing resources for B200 GPUs and LLM API usage

Research Interests:

We will concentrate on Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Large Language Models (LLMs). Here are possible topics:

• LLMs Reasoning and Planning: logical reasoning, spatial reasoning, temporal reasoning, strategic planning

• Trustworthiness and Safety Alignment of LLMs: LLM hallucination, malicious misuse, jailbreaking, defense, safety alignment

• Knowledgeable LLM: knowledge reasoning, knowledge conflict, knowledge steering, knowledge editing, knowledge unlearning

• NLP/LLMs + X: X can be multi-modality learning, like NLP + audio video, or can be NLP application in health, law, science etc.

If you have other interested topics and would like to explore, please feel free to contact and we can discuss further.

Expectations for students:

• Students majoring in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Statistics, Mathematics, or other related disciplines.

• Strong motivations in doing research on Natural Language Processing, Large Language Models, Machine Learning.

How to apply:

• To apply for PhD or research intern, please send me an email at yuanyuan.lei@ufl.edu

• Please use the subject line as "Position (PhD or Research Intern) - Semester (like 2026 Fall) - Your Name". 

• Please attach your CV and transcripts in the email, and also highlight your research experience and interests.

University of Florida:

• Ranking: University of Florida ranks #30 among all US universities. The computer science subject ranks #45 in US universities.

• Location: Located in Gainesville, a college-town city, UF is 1-2 hours driving from three major metropolitan cities in Florida, including Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville. There are multiple state parks, beaches, world-famous attractions like Disneyland and Universal Studios within 1-2 hours driving, offering great resources for both nature activities and urban experiences.

Update for Florida Law SB-846 regarding PhD students hiring:

• If you are currently located outside of China regardless of your citizenship, such as located in USA, Europe, Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, Korea etc., you are eligible to be offered fully-funded PhD with no restrictions. Please feel free to apply!

• If you are currently located within China, you are also eligible to be offered PhD position with funding options. Date to March 28th 2025, Florida Law SB-846 has been suspended by the federal court. Please feel free to reach out to me!