Notes to Prospective Students

I am looking for Ph.D. candidates in the areas of wireless networking and mobile computing. Students from both EE and CS backgrounds are welcome to apply. Candidates are expected to possess a solid background in network and mobile systems, a strong motivation towards academic excellence, and should be prepared for years of concentrated work. Familiarity with any of the following areas is highly desirable:

  1. 1. Designing network systems and implementing them on experimental platforms (e.g., software radios, smartphones, network drivers, FPGAs, IoT hardware).
  2. 2. Designing and implementing mobile applications, ubiquitous computing systems, and sensor systems.
  3. 3. Designing and implementing practical signal processing algorithms or communication hardware (baseband, RF, or antennas).
  4. 4. Designing and implementing machine learning models to solve problems in wireless networking and ubiquitous computing.

Please refer to the Research page to get a general understanding of my research topics and style.

Students in our team will build a diverse skill set in both system implementation and theoretical modeling, acquiring broad knowledge in wireless networking, mobile applications, wireless sensing, and related domains. This unique strength enables most of our Ph.D. students to publish top-conference papers in their first year. Our second- and third-year Ph.D. students have received internship offers from renowned research labs, including Microsoft Research, Google, Bell Labs, HP Labs, NEC Labs, and Intel Research, among others.


How to Apply

I am officially affiliated with the Communication Theory and Systems area in ECE. If you are applying to ECE, please select this area accordingly. Note however that my actual research focus is in wireless networking and mobile computing. I also recruit students from the CSE department at UCSD.

Due to the high volume of applications, I cannot review all files. Please email me in advance if you believe you meet the criteria above, and include your CV and a brief description of your background and research interests.


Undergraduate, M.S., and Visiting Students

I also work with a few undergraduate and M.S. students every year, through voluntary contributions, research assistantships, or the Summer Research Internship Program (SRIP) at UCSD. Feel free to contact me if you are interested in our research, but please be prepared to devote at least 20 hours per week.

J-1 Visa visitors: If you plan to visit our team through a J-1 visa, please note that the processing of paperwork alone takes more than 3 months. Please contact me well in advance so we can begin the process in time.
Contact: xyzhang@ucsd.edu