Openings
For both prospective PhD students and postdocs
If you are interested in joining my group after reading the rest of this page, please contact me (naokimas@gmail.com) with your CV (which should include GPA in the case of prospective PhD students). I will answer only if your email is personalized to me.
I individually meet each student and postdoc one hour per week. It is a large commitment because if I have 10 people in my group, this alone means 10 hours a week. However, for me, if I feel I cannot do that, it is the time for me to stop accepting new students/postdocs. Currently, I am doing fine.
Apart from that, I have group coffee/lunch about 3 times a month, which anybody can join. This is not anything compulsory for group members.
Other activities include occasional seminars (inviting external speakers), occasional journal clubs, and so on.
For prospective PhD students
I welcome motivated students to carry out PhD research under my advice in the area of network science, mathematial biology, or a closely related field. Read my research here. I can accept PhD students through (1) Applied Mathematics track of the Department of Mathematics PhD program and (2) Computational and Data-Enabled Science and Engineering (CDSE) PhD program.
Successfully entering Mathematics PhD program basically means that an applicant successfully gets admitted with a teaching assistantship (TA-ship). This is a competitive process and common in the US. Even if you want to come to my group and I want to take you, you need to go through this department-wide competitive process. When applying, you do not need to specify a research advisor but you can. I personally prioritize students who really want to come to my group even before coming to our PhD program. It is because it means you really want to come to my group and because such students tend to be stronger. While I won't discuss research topics too much until you get admitted with a TA-ship (because the TA-ship is by far the biggest thing to worry about), please do contact me beforehand if you are interested. The application deadline is usually January.
I do often have research assistantships (RAs), and some of the PhD students advised by me are supported as RA (with no teaching duty and a bit higher salary). However, for multiple reasons, please consider TA-ship as default. When I have RA budget, I hire my advisee students as RA depending on the fit to the funded project, students' performance, and other factors.
CDSE PhD program will be good fit for those who do not have an undergraduate degree in math or a closely related discipline such as physics, statistics, computer science, or electrical engineering. This PhD program basically requires a master degree for admission. If the application is successful, the first two-years of the PhD study will be supported by a TA-ship, and subsequent years will be supported by either TA, RA, or perhaps by a different means. The applicadtion deadline is usually February, but check the website of the CDSE program.
One can apply for both math PhD and CDSE PhD programs while you need to pay two application fees.
For prospective postdocs
If I get a research grant to be able to hire a postdoc, I ALWAYS announce it on my LinkedIn and Facebook.
The Department of Mathematics has annual openings for Visiting Assistant Professor (VAP), which is basically postdoc with some teaching. Importantly, the teaching load for our VAPs is substantially lower than VAPs in many other universities in the US. It starts in Fall (i.e., August), and the duration of the appointment is 2 or 3 years, depending on the call. The application deadline is usually November or December, and the job ad (with all details) always appears on Mathjobs (as well as on the university's job posting webpage). If interested, please apply and alert to me.