Joining the Lab

Thanks for your interest in the Adaptive Inference Lab. This page covers research positions for people who are already at UW-Madison, postdocs, and remote collaborators. If you are applying to a PhD program, see Advice for Prospective Students instead. PhD admissions go through the department, not through me.

Current status: I have very limited capacity right now. If you can drive a research project mostly on your own, I’m happy to give some advising along the way. If you’re hoping to learn a new area from scratch, this isn’t a good time to apply. I try to reply to every application.

Who can apply

• Research scientists and postdocs
• Undergraduate researchers who are already enrolled at UW-Madison
• Master’s students who are already enrolled at UW-Madison
• PhD students who are already enrolled at UW-Madison
• Remote collaborators

How to apply

1. Fill out the application form.
2. Email your CV to lengerich@wisc.edu.

If you are at UW-Madison, please use your wisc.edu address.

Making your application stand out

The form asks short questions, mostly 1–2 sentences each. Short answers are hard to write well, so they tell me a lot.

• Pick specific projects. Read our current projects and choose the ones that genuinely fit you. Saying why a project fits you is more useful than checking every box.
• Be concrete about your goals. “Learn ML” is hard to act on. “Build a model of X to answer Y, and apply to PhD programs in Z” tells me how we could work together.
• Answer the strengths and weaknesses questions honestly. I’m looking for self-awareness, not a perfect candidate.
• For publications, say what you did. Underline your name and describe your role in a few words.

What to expect

Research takes sustained time. Projects go best when students can commit regular hours across a full semester or more. Plan on at least 10 hours a week for a full semester.

Student positions are for research credit or as a volunteer; we generally can’t offer pay.

See People for current members and alumni.