Welcome to the FLAIR Lab (Frontier Language AI Research Lab). We develop language AI agents and address fundamental challenges in robustness, reliability, safety, fairness, and adaptability to ensure that large language models (LLMs) and vision-language models (VLMs) are reliable and socially responsible. We are actively looking for self-motivated students!

Our recent research directions include:

  • Robustness of LLMs and VLMs: Investigating the robustness challenges that lead to unpredictable behaviors in LLMs and VLMs, including vulnerabilities to adversarial inputs, inconsistencies across domains, and sensitivities to semantically irrelevant variations, with the goal of improving their reliability and stability in real-world applications.
  • Multimodal Reasoning: Exploring how AI systems can effectively integrate, align, and reason over information from multiple modalities, such as text, images, and videos, to achieve a deeper and more coherent understanding of multimodal concepts and relationships.
  • Multilingual Understanding: Studying how models acquire and represent shared knowledge across languages to enhance cross-lingual comprehension, facilitate knowledge transfer, and support equitable language understanding in globally diverse contexts.

Additional information is provided below.

For PhD Applicants

We are looking for candidates who:

  • Are highly passionate about research and resilient in the face of challenges
  • Have at least one year of research experience in NLP/ML
  • Typically have at least one first-author or co–first-author publication in top-tier conferences, though exceptions may be considered

Application process:

  • Submit your application via the official portal and mention my name in your application
  • Complete this Google form to provide more information about your background
  • Selected candidates will be contacted during the interview season

For MS Students and Undergraduates at Texas A&M

Application process:

  • First take one of my courses (CSCE 638 or CSCE 689). Undergraduates should consult their academic advisor regarding enrollment in graduate-level courses
  • After that, complete this Google form to provide more information about yourself
  • You will be contacted if there is a research fit

For Research Interns

We are looking for candidates who:

  • Are highly motivated by research and comfortable with learning from failure
  • Have at least six months of research experience in NLP/ML
  • Are currently based in the United States

Application process:

  • Open to both in-person and remote candidates, with flexible start dates
  • Complete this Google form to provide more information about your background
  • You will be contacted if there is a research fit

For Postdoc Applicants

We currently do not have planned postdoctoral positions. However, if you have your own funding, you are welcome to contact me via email.

Due to the large number of requests, I might not be able to respond to every email. However, I do read them and will follow up when there are open positions.