We are hiring new Ph.D. students in our lab! In this page, I answer the questions from The Definitive 'what do I ask/look for’ in a PhD Advisor Guide. This will give you ideas of what it looks like to work with us.
Does the professor have tenure yet? (engagement level, Ph.D. might get interrupted)
A: I do! I just got my tenure in 2022. Hooray!
What is the professor’s formal training / background / PhD? (helps contextualize problems/approaches)
A: I studied VLSI and Circuit Design as an undergrad at National Chiao-Tung University in Taiwan. After attending a talk by Takeo Kanade, I discovered how fun it is to work in the field of computer vision. For my Ph.D., I worked on computational photography in the ECE department at UIUC.
What have previous lab members done after getting their PhD (Gone to industry?/Postdoc?/Professor?)?
A: Great question! Currently, I have four samples for Ph.D. students. Jinwoo Choi joined Kyung Hee University as an Assistant Professor; Badour AlBahar will join Kuwait University as an Assistant Professor; Chen Gao joined Meta as a Research Scientist; Yuliang Zou joined Waymo as a Research Scientist. I also advise many undergraduate students. You can find their next position on webpage(https:jbhuang0604.github.io/
What is the lab structure? (how collaborative/disjointed are lab members’ projects?)
A: Usually each Ph.D. student has projects that heshe is leading (i.e., where heshe will be the first author). Lab members are freeencouraged to collaborate if there is a match. On average, you will likely work on one primary project (that you lead) and collaboratesupport 1-2 other projects. All the project slack channels in our lab are public (within our group), so you can see what everyone else is working on. In the group meeting each week, you will also hear about the progress of other projects.
Does the advisor consider themselves a 'hands-on’ or 'hands-off’ advisor?
A: It depends. I am more hands-on for junior students and help iron out many low-level details to the best extent possible. As students become more senior/mature, I would gradually transition to a hands-off advisor.
How does the advisor give feedback on papers/what is their feedback style?
A: I give specific and detailed feedback on every figure and table. Whenever time permits (i.e., no deadline pressure), I would provide feedback on how the students can revise the paper. The students revise the paper. Then I give another round of suggestions. It's a slow iterative process, but it is an excellent way of training writing skills. With deadline pressure, I would revise the paper directly. Using overleaf, the students can learn from the before/after comparison.
How often does the advisor meet with their students? (1:1 or all together? Daily guidance by PI or postdoc?)
A: Aside from project meetings, we have weekly 30-minute 1:1 for each student. I also set aside evening discussion time slots (often 10:00 PM - 11:20 PM) where students can sign up if they want to have more in-depth discussions. From the internal feedback, students enjoy the evening discussions frequently as they can quickly adapt and make rapid research progress.
Are there lab meetings? What are other meetings you will see your advisor in a group with other people?
A: Yes, there are two main occasions where you will meet other people.
1) Group meetings: Lab-wise matter discussions. Everyone talks about what they have been doing in the past week and what they will do next week.
2) UMD computer vision seminar: The vision student seminar is a place for presenting/discussing exciting papers in the field. Students attending the computer vision seminars are from multiple different faculty members. In addition to an excellent platform for research discussion, you also get to meet people outside our group. Check out the link here
What does a group/lab meeting look like? (Or other relevant meetings)
A: It is like a standup meeting. Each person talks about their work and plan for 2-4 mins.
How many students are in the group? (Number of undergrad/masters/phd/post doc)
A: Check out our [jbhuang0604.github.io/index.html We rapidly expand and recruit highly motivated students at all levels (PhD/MS/undergrad)! We have yet to have a postdoc (yet), but I would be interested in hosting one if there is a good match.
What progress does the advisor generally expect from a student in the course of a semester? (Submission/Publication pace)
A: I expect the student complete and submit a project to one of the top conferences each year. It does not have to be accepted because the reviewing could be noisy, but completing a project and submitting it is crucial.
What other expectations does the advisor have for their students: time/vacation/paper/project/experiment wise etc.
A:
Goal: Maximize fun.
Time: You have the freedom to work whenever you want.
Place: You have the freedom to work wherever you want. However, before the pandemic, I usually work in the lab, so it may be easier to find me for a quick discussion.
Vacation: I think it's 5-6 weeks per year (usually during the winter break). Just let me know when you plan to be away.
Project: I expect the students to stay on top of the projects they lead and communicate well with all the collaborators involved.
Experiment: Experiments are about testing hypotheses. It would be best if you had a clear idea of “Why did you do it?”, “How did you do it?”, “What did you find?”, “Why do you think it makes or does not make sense?”
“When have you given a letter of concern? Why?”
A: When a student does not meet the expectation (completing and submitting work in a year) and needs to be on track. Here is the expected progress for a CS Ph.D. student. By the end of the second year, you will publish at least a second-author paper. You are doing well if you publish a first-author paper at that time. By the end of the third year, you are considered behind if you do not publish a first-author paper and are seriously behind if no good submissions were made. A typical student will have 4-5 publications. Some of them would come from internships, and some come from work with the advisor.
“What do you do when students are struggling”?
A: First, identify the problems, e.g., motivation, external obligations, implementation skills, and communication issues. Then, discuss with the student to develop strategies for addressing the problems.
How directly applicable will your future technical skills be to the roles you want after graduating. (If set on industry)
A: Most of the future technical skills in computer vision and machine learning will apply to many (either research or engineering) roles in the industry.
What’ research methods’ does the lab use? (What ‘types’ of papers / contributions / conferences targeted)
A: Our work is often empirically driven and focuses on developing robust algorithms that work under unconstrained environments (e.g., everyday photos/videos). Target conferences are Vision CVPR/ICCV/ECCV; Graphics: SIGGRAPH/SIGGRAPH Asia; Learning: ICLR/NeurIPS. For work we wish to extend, we also publish in journals such as IEEE T-PAMI / IJCV.
“What are some of the projects that you and your students are currently working on”?
A: We are working on various computational photography projects, including view synthesis, 3D photos/videos, and generative models for controllable image/video synthesis. We are also interested in tackling challenging problems with positive societal impacts.
“In general, do you tend to give your students projects or have them select their own”?
A: It depends. I prefer students to develop and pursue their ideas. My research agenda is my students’ agenda. However, this could be challenging for junior students. For junior students, I constrain the project scope a bit so they can focus on developing their core research skills.
“Do you have particular projects that you see me working on”?
A: It depends on your background and interests.
“How much freedom do you think I'd have in selecting my own projects”?
A: We need to brainstorm to find projects or research directions that we are both passionate about. For example, if you select a project that is entirely outside my expertise, I will need more support to provide the support you need. If that's the case, we can discuss several options, such as switching to a different advisor or finding another faculty with the relevant expertise to co-advise your projects.
“Are there other students you are interested in working with? If so, what would they be working on project-wise”?
A: I will be able to answer this after reviewing the pool of applicants.
“Would they have their own line of work or contribute to a bigger project/someone else's project”?
A: It's up to you. Leading a project yourself is the best way to get you started for learning how to do research. Usually a, student has their line of work and 1-2 projects where they collaborate with/support others.
Where does their funding primarily come from? (If military / industry-focused funding bothers you, figure this out)
A: My funding sources are from National Science Foundation and industrial funds (e.g., Facebook, Google, Adobe, Denso, Samsung). I have never received military-focused funding.
What are their constraints from their funding source? (Some restrict research topic and change final deliverables. Some add work — writing progress reports, traveling, preparing presentations for the funding source or engineering overhead for integration)
A: Occasionally I may need your assistance on progress reports and presentations if you are funded through specific grants.
If your advisor made you work on a project in their area that you are least interested in (e.g. for a grant) would you still be excited doing that work? (Useful for choosing between advisors)
A: It depends on your interests, and I will bring this upfront if we are recruiting students with a specific background for a grant.
“If you run out of your primary funding for a student how do you expect the student to handle that” (advisor's responsibility / you’ll have to write a grant with me / dept will cover the student / you have to find their own funding)
A: In general, it's the advisor's responsibility. However, as a fallback, the department can also cover the student with TAship.
“What does the quals process look like”?
A: The department has a very detailed graduate policy manual.
“Is there a TA requirement”? /“How often would I be expected to TA”?
A: I am not aware if there is a TA requirement from the university or the department. Nevertheless, I strongly recommend doing a TA in your first or second year. Teaching is a great way to learn the fundamentals.
[If you are interested] Would the advisor be interested in co-advising?
A: Of course! If co-advising helps your research, why not? Let me know if you find another faculty within UMD with the expertise that can help with your work. Even faculty/researchers outside UMD would work as well. We can reach out and see if there are opportunities for collaboration.
“Are you taking a student” /“Do you have funding to take students in this year (or, for which projects)”
A: We always are looking for new students each year. Our lab is growing. I plan to recruit 2-4 Ph.D. students starting in Fall 2023.
“What factors will affect whether or not you take a student”?
A: Research interests, background, and motivation.
“How do you anticipate your funding to change during my time as a student”?
A: I do not anticipate any changes. Your time as a student will be fully funded either by a research or a teaching assistantship.
“Do you think our research interests are a good match”?
A: Let me know what you like to work on.
“Are there other students in my cohort that you're interested in working with”? (If so, are you taking more than one student?)
A: Not yet. I plan to recruit 2-4 Ph.D. students this year.
“I'm interested in working with you. Do you think I'd have a good chance of working with you if I come to your university”?
A: I would be more than happy to chat! If you come, we can work on a small-scale project and see if this is what you are looking for. In the meantime, feel free to reach out to other faculty and explore different opportunities.
“Are there other faculty you think I'd be a good match for”?
A: Yes! Check out the list of faculty members grouped by area. Here are a couple of areas that overlap with mine.
How much overlap would they have in research?
A: Ask me, and I will let you know.
Have these advisors co-advised in the past? Or worked together in the past?
A: I am currently co-advising students with two other faculty.
How often do grad students get to attend conferences? (Pace + What constraints)
A: I support all the Ph.D. students in my lab to attend conferences (especially CVPR because it does not involve international travel).
Do students mostly work with senior students or directly with professor?
A: Mostly directly with me, but you are encouraged to collaborate with senior students with similar interests.
How many conferences are students expected to target a year? (remember pubs ≠ submissions)
A: One. Either CVPR or ECCV/ICCV. Some students focus on SIGGRAPH or SIGGRAPH Asia and occasionally ICLR and NeurIPS.
How often do students take time off? Are there lab / department outings/events?
A:
Time off: Whenever you feel like you need it.
Lab dinner/gathering: Usually twice a semester (at the beginning and the end of a semester).
Department outings/events: The department hosts “Bring Your Own Mug” social events every Thursday. There are also “Ice Cream Social”, “Fall/Spring GradCo Picnic”, and many other fun events throughout the semester.
Are there snacks in the lab?
A: Sort of. I will refill the bucket of snacks in the lab from time to time (especially before the deadline).
Is the professor in an 80/20 with a company? Are student's research projects tied to industry funding?
A: I am spending one day a week as a research scientist at Meta. Yes, some students’ projects are tied to industrial funding.
Will it be acceptable/encouraged to intern at a company during the summer? (Does this change with seniority?)
A: Yes, doing a summer internship is highly encouraged! Our lab is usually empty during summer. Companies where my students did their summer internships:
Google (Esther 2019/2020; Chen 2020/2021; Yuliang 2020, Hadi 2022),
Facebook (Chen 2019),
Adobe (Yuliang 2018, Badour 2021, Yiran 2022; Yue 2022),
NEC (Jinwoo 2018/2019; Yuliang 2019),
Waymo (Yuliang 2021),
Snap (Yiran 2021, Yue 2021). No, this does not change with seniority.
Do students work together in common space? Is their common space? Do students often get meals together?
A: Sort of. Due to office space limitations, students are sitting in two different offices. The two offices are next to each other tho. There are also advantages as well. You get to interact with more people outside our lab.
Do students often work late? (Often / only before conference deadlines.)
A: Mostly before the conference deadline, but I imagine some students also work late often. Reach out and chat with my students to learn more!
How often are students expected to be contactable by their advisor. (Email, slack, hangouts. Online around the clock?)
A: If I don't know you are off the grid or busy with courses or other obligations,I expect that you will be contactable in a day via slack.