The George R. Brown School of Engineering at Rice last year named 10 Future Faculty Fellows from eight departments to support Ph.D. and postdoctoral researchers who plan to apply for tenure-track faculty positions.
The fellows attended faculty panels, workshops, one-on-one coaching sessions and a mock interview designed to support them as they prepare for faculty interviews. A monetary award of $1,000 supported each fellow for attending conferences and university seminars. Learn more about one of our fellows:
Fan Yang ’23
Ph.D. computer science
What position will you be starting?
I’ve accepted a position as assistant professor of computer science at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Tell us about your research interests.
My focus generally lies in the areas of data mining and machine learning. More specifically, I focus on the broad range of topics related to trustworthy AI, with particular emphasis on interpretable learning and model explainability. My overall research goal is to make AI auditable, comprehensible, ethical, fair, responsible, robust, safe and verifiable.
What would you like to accomplish in your career?
I would like to conduct high-impact research in the AI community and deliver high-quality CS education for students.
What impact has the Future Faculty Fellowship had on your career plans?
The fellowship program helped me better prepare my application materials and provided me with opportunities in mock-up interviews with the Rice Search Committee.
Who was your adviser at Rice?
Xia (Ben) Hu, associate professor of CS and director of the Data to Knowledge Lab (D2K), was my adviser.