Open positions
Doctoral researcher, ICANN
Dialogue and retrieval modeling, evaluation infrastructure, or large-scale text analysis. Python and a deep learning framework expected.
Doctoral researcher, PAVE
Human-AI interaction, bias auditing, or applied AI in libraries, archives, health information, and education. Mixed-methods training welcome.
Graduate research assistant
Master's students at UofSC, either lab, attached to a funded project where one is available.
Undergraduate researcher
Independent study or research assistantship, available by semester. Past undergraduates have co-authored conference papers.
What working here looks like
Most projects run in pairs: someone builds the thing, someone else works out what it means for the people who will use it. You will read outside your discipline, present work before it is finished, and rewrite a paragraph more times than feels reasonable. Authorship follows contribution, and students are first authors on work they led.
Lab members have presented at ASIS&T, CHIIR, JCDL, SIGIR, HICSS, and iConference, and have published in JASIST, Aslib Journal of Information Management, and Information Research. See the publications page for the record.
Common questions
Which lab should I apply to?
Describe the problem you care about rather than the method you know. If your question is about how a system should behave, how to model dialogue, or how to measure a system's performance, that is ICANN. If your question is about what a system does to the people or institutions using it, that is PAVE. Several projects run across both, and students regularly work in each.
Do I need a computer science background?
For ICANN, some programming is expected, ordinarily Python plus a deep learning framework. For PAVE, no. Students arrive from information science, human-computer interaction, communication, public health, education, and law. What both labs need is the willingness to learn a method you do not already have.
Are there funded positions?
Doctoral students admitted to the School of Information Science are typically supported through assistantships. Research assistantships attached to specific funded projects open as grants are awarded. Ask about current openings when you write.
Can undergraduates join?
Yes. Undergraduate students at the University of South Carolina can join through independent study or as research assistants. Previous undergraduate lab members have appeared as co-authors on conference papers.
What should I put in my email?
For ICANN: the subject line “ICANN Lab inquiry”, a short note on what you want to work on, your CV, and a link to any code you have written. For PAVE: the subject line “PAVE Lab inquiry”, a paragraph on a question about AI and people that you cannot stop thinking about, and your CV. A generic mass email is easy to spot and will not get a reply.
When should I make contact?
Prospective doctoral applicants should write before the application deadline so we can discuss fit before you invest in an application. Current UofSC students can write at any point in the semester.
Write to me
Tell me about a problem, not a method. I read every message that shows someone has looked at what the labs actually do.