For Prospective PhD Students

• My Research Interest and Publication Venues:

  My research group primarily focuses on human-AI collaboration via interactive visualizations, interactive AI explanations, visualization for biomedical AI, and AI-empowered visualization. If you find alignment with at least two of these areas, we are likely to have a matched research interest. More details can be found at my research and google scholar page.

  As a visualizaiton researcher, I mainly publish my work in the top venues in the VIS community, including IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics (TVCG), IEEE VIS Conference, and ACM CHI Conference. I would also expect my students to shoot for one of those top venues.

  At the same time, a significant portion of my research intersects with other disciplines and I have a few papers published at bio/ML venues. I am open to discussions about alternative publication venues beyond visualization, such as ACM CSCW, Oxford Bioinformatics, ICML, some Nature family journals, etc.

• What is a good PhD student (in my mind)

  What follows is merely my personal view, based on my own experiences and years of observation. These thoughts capture my expectations from a PhD student and hopefully can serve as a guide to your PhD journey.

  The most crucial aspect, in my mind, is finding joy and excitement in your research. While you may dislike or even hate certain elements of your PhD journey, there should be moments where you find yourself fully immersed in the sheer thrill of knowledge discovery, whether that’s through reading papers, brainstorming ideas, or delving into coding. As your PhD mentor, I’m here with you to unearth these bursts of joy and excitement, as we push the boundaries of research to deliver impactful and high-quality research.

  Good communication skills are another key factor. This isn’t about being extroverted (I can personally vouch for this, as I’m not particularly outgoing myself), but about being able to articulate your thoughts, present your ideas, and share your progress with clarity. It’s also about the willingness and ability to listen actively and empathize with others. These skills not only boost your individual research endeavors but also enhance teamwork and collaborative projects. If you also appreciate the value of effective communication, I’m more than willing to guide you on enhancing this skill set.

  Often, success in academia is just “showing up” persistently and consistently, even for difficult or unpleasant tasks. Consistency matters, be it in establishing a regular schedule, dedicating consistent time in the lab, keeping detailed records of meeting notes and agendas, and ensuring steady weekly progress (no matter how small it may be). These are the primary expectations I would have of you.

  Even you have done all the right things, being a PhD student still involves a fair share of rejections (e.g., paper rejected, interview failed). Learning to cope with rejections and not internalize them as personal failures is crucial, particularly as many PhD students have been top performers in their undergraduate classes and aren’t used to facing such setbacks. I will be there with you to help you tackle these tough spots, and yes, complain together about some unfair paper reviews. Remember, these are valuable learning opportunities and stepping stones on your academic journey.

  Finnally, having a strong GPA, excellent programming skills, and a CS-related background (either at the bachelor’s or master’s level) are indeed valuable. But it’s the qualities I’ve mentioned above that truly shape your PhD journey. I’ve witnessed students (myself included) from non-typical backgrounds succeed in their research because of these traits. So, even if you feel like you don’t ‘tick every box’, don’t be discouraged.

• My suggestion for a PhD Journey:

  • Year 1: Dedicate time to coursework, reviewing literature, and identifying research interests. Contribute to a senior researcher’s project and submit a co-author a paper.

  • Year 2: Complete PhD coursework. Undertake an TA duty in the first two years. Mentor undergraduate students. Initiate and lead your own research projects. Preliminary Oral and Written Examinations.

  • Year 3: Conduct an industry internship. Mentor undergraduate/master students. Thesis Proposal Examination. Persist in leading your research projects, aiming for at least one first-author paper submission annually.

  • Year 4: Continue leading your own research projects/papers. Undertake another TA duty in either the 3rd or 4th year. Start helping with junior PhD students. Complete the proposal defense.

  • Year 5: Wrap up your research projects. Help mentor students. Write and defend your dissertation. Apply for jobs.

  The above timeline outlines a potential PhD trajectory and is commonly adopted across many respected academic labs. It is possible that students’ journeys will naturally diverge from this path (e.g., more TAs if you are aiming for a faculty job after graduation, shorter than 5 years if you make great progress). However, this suggested pathway helps illustrate a balanced progression of responsibilities and milestones during your doctoral studies. I strongly encourage you to consider adhering to it when feasible.

• What to expect during the summer?

  • The best thing to do during the summer is to conduct a research internship in industry, which will usually lead to a paper submission. The internship allows you to do get new recommendation letters and higher salaries. I recommend you start by networking with industry researchers at conferences and then follow up in January to express your interest and check for available opportunities. I can definitely help you through my personal network, but taking the initiative to reach out yourself leaves a more positive impression.

  • It is common that you choose to stay at UMN during the summer and make some research progress. If that is the case, we should discuss in advance whether you want to be funded by me or a summer TA.

  • Another option, although less common, is to simply take the summer off if you feel it’s really necessary. You wouldn’t be paid though.

• Academic lineage?

  Academic lineage relates researchers based on advisor-advisee relationships. You can think of your advisor as the “parent” and their other advisees as your “siblings.”

  My advisor is Huamin Qu (your grand-advisor), and his advisor is Arie E. Kaufman. Within this lineage, you’ll find a network of academic “grand-aunts/uncles,” “aunts/uncles,” and “cousins” you might encounter at conferences, such as Hanspeter Pfister, Claudio Silva, Baoquan Chen, Yingcai Wu, Nan Cao, etc.

  However, research is not about having prestigious names in your academic lineage, but about the quality and impact of the work you produce.