Interested in joining the SciML Research Group?  Please carefully read the instructions below (all the way to the bottom of the page).

Brown undergraduates

Brown undergraduates are welcome to contact Prof. Bergen about getting involved in research. 

• Students interested in joining the group should have basic programming experience, preferably in Python.  
• Funding opportunities are available for undergraduate students through the UTRA program.  

Brown Master’s students

Current Brown Master’s students interested in gaining research experience or looking for a supervisor for a research practicum may contact Prof. Bergen.

• In your introductory email, please include a copy of your CV/resume and indicate some data science topics or application domains of interest.
• Master’s students are encouraged to propose working together on a small group project. 
• Students are advised to reach out well in advance of the beginning of the practicum semester

Prof. Bergen is not involved in admissions for the Data Science Master’s program and can only respond to inquiries from students currently enrolled at Brown. Prospective students for the Data Science program should apply directly via the Brown Graduate School website.

Prospective Ph.D. students

New for Fall 2024:  Prospective Ph.D. students should fill out the SciML Group Ph.D. Interest Form.

Prospective graduate students interested in joining the SciML group can apply to the doctoral programs in Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences (EEPS) or Computer Science (CS) at Brown. Students should apply through the Brown Graduate School website. A Master’s degree is not required for admission to the Ph.D. program.

Prospective Ph.D. students should email Prof. Bergen to discuss the alignment of their research interests and goals with the work of the SciML group. Your (brief) introductory email should include:

• Your research interests and your motivation for applying to graduate school.
• Whether you intend to apply to the graduate program in EEPS or CS (or undecided).
• Why you are interested in working with Prof. Bergen and the SciML group. 
• A copy of your CV/resume, including your coursework and/or project experience in mathematics, statistics, and computing (including GitHub page, if applicable).

Prospective graduate students are encouraged to apply for external graduate fellowships (if eligible). 

Note:  Prof. Bergen is recruiting graduate students with a primary research interest in Data Science and SciML (see What is SciML? page). The SciML Group may have some projects involving the analysis of seismic data, but the group is not recruiting students wishing to pursue a Ph.D. in Seismology or Geophysics.

Prospective postdoctoral fellows 

Postdoctoral candidates should apply to the Brown Data Science Initiative Postdoc search  which opens in the fall, with review of applications taking place in January.

Postdoctoral candidates may also consider applying to the Brown Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship, with review of applications beginning October 15th, 2023.

• Postdoctoral candidates who are interested in applying for external funding (e.g. fellowships) should contact Prof. Bergen to discuss their interests well in advance of their desired start date.
• Inquiries should include a CV and cover letter explaining your specific research goals and why you are interested in joining the group. 
• Postdoctoral candidates are expected to have a Ph.D. in a core data science field (e.g. Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science) or in another STEM discipline with significant experience (e.g. publication) in machine learning, large-scale data analysis and/or high performance computing prior to their anticipated start date.
• Postdoc candidates are advised to reach out at least 6 months in advance of the desired start date.

Contact 

Inquiries should be directed to Prof. Karianne Bergen  (email: karianne_bergen@brown.edu) 

Please use the following email subject line:   “[–] interested in joining SciML Group! *~*~*~ “,  where [–] should be replaced with: Brown undergrad, Brown master’s student, Prospective Ph.D. student, or Prospective postdoc, as appropriate. This will indicate to me that you have read this page and will prevent your email from ending up my in spam folder (which has been an issue for some prospective student emails sent from non-.edu domains).

• Emails from individuals seeking a position that do not contain the requested information (outlined above) are unlikely to receive a response.
• Prospective students are strongly encouraged to send emails from .edu domains. Due to security concerns, attachments (CVs, transcripts, etc.) from non-.edu domains will not be opened.
• Current Brown students: if you don’t get a response within a week or two, please follow-up again (your request probably just got pushed down my to-do list).  Also be aware that certain types of requests are easier (and thus quicker) for faculty to respond to (e.g. advice) than others (a promise of a job/position in the research group).

Some advice (not written by me) on how not to email prospective grad school advisors. 

Data science is a new, multidisciplinary field which benefits from the perspectives and contributions of those from diverse disciplinary and personal backgrounds. We encourage anyone who shares our interests, including members of historically underrepresented and marginalized groups, women, LGBTQ+ folks, and people with disabilities, to consider joining us in the SciML group @ Brown!