Join Us
Always recruiting 🚀
Want to teach AI how the road really works? Come build it with us!
We are always recruiting Ph.D. students, master’s students, postdoctoral researchers, visiting scholars, undergraduate researchers, and summer interns. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Photo: Invictus323, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Openings
Hi there, and thanks for stopping by! 👋 I’m Chenxi, and you can also call me Dylan.
My lab teaches AI to understand the road: to see what is really happening at an intersection, to make decisions people can actually trust, and to work with drivers and travelers as a teammate instead of a black box. The goal is simple to say and fun to chase: transportation that is safer, more efficient, and more resilient.
We are always recruiting, and every role matters to our team. We welcome:
- Ph.D. students
- Master’s students
- Postdoctoral researchers
- Visiting scholars
- Undergraduate researchers
- Summer interns
Passion is all you need. You do not need a specific background, and you do not need any papers to apply. Plenty of great researchers wrote their first paper in graduate school, and yours can be written here with us. Bring a question you cannot stop thinking about, whether it comes from AI or from a real traffic problem, and we will explore it together: reading, building, testing, and learning side by side, with real agencies, real data, and real sensors on real roads.
And the perks? Powder days ⛷️, five national parks 🏜️, and a lab that works hard and plays hard (we have the go-kart photos to prove it 🏎️). Let’s join forces, make some impact, and enjoy the ride!
Chenxi (Dylan) Liu
Chenxi (Dylan) Liu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Utah
Pictured with Lucky and Kane 🐾
What we are working on
Cyber-physical cooperation
AI that perceives the physical environment, shares knowledge across vehicles and infrastructure, and turns that understanding into coordinated action on the road.
Trustworthy AI
AI decisions that are dependable, verifiable, and transparent enough for safety-critical transportation settings.
Human-AI interaction
Mutual understanding between people and AI, so that drivers, travelers, and operators can work with AI as partners.
What We Look For
A strong academic record
A GPA of 3.5 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) is required.
A genuine passion for transportation and AI
We want people who are excited by the intersection of the two, whether you are drawn to AI methods themselves or to the transportation problems they can solve, such as safer intersections, smarter traffic operations, and connected and automated vehicles.
Real enjoyment of research
Research means open questions, failed experiments, and long stretches of reading, coding, and testing before something works. We look for curiosity and persistence: people who enjoy that process and want to see a question through to an answer.
Active teamwork
Our projects are collaborative, with lab mates, agency partners, and industry collaborators. We value people who share ideas, help each other, and take ownership of their part of a team project.
About the Lab
Here is what you will have to work with when you join us: hands-on equipment, serious computing power, and partners who put real problems and real data on the table.
Facilities
Roadside sensing units
Edge AI sensing units deployed on poles in the field: our own LiDAR sensing unit with edge computing (left) and AIWaysion’s MUST edge AI sensor (right).
Right photo: AIWaysion
Driving simulator
A multi-screen driving simulator for human-in-the-loop experiments on driver behavior and human-AI interaction.
Onboard units
V2X onboard units (OBUs) and in-vehicle displays for testing connected-vehicle warnings and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication.
Edge computing facility
Our own edge computing facility, built on NVIDIA Jetson platforms such as the Jetson AGX Orin, for running AI models in real time on the roadside and in vehicles.
Representative photo: Auledas, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
VR equipment
Virtual reality equipment for immersive experiments on how people perceive and respond to AI and traffic.
Representative photo: Roy.wonder.cohen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
UDOT data access
Access to UDOT data, including statewide crash records through UTAPS-CDI, the University of Utah’s crash data partnership with UDOT and the Utah Highway Safety Office.
Image: UTAPS-CDI, TransAnalytics Group, University of Utah
Computing resources
9,200
GPU hours
From the NSF National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot
2× H200
Our own CHPC node
A lab-owned node at the Center for High Performance Computing with two NVIDIA H200 GPUs
80
Shared NVIDIA GPUs
One-U Responsible AI Initiative GPUs at CHPC, available to our lab
RTX 5090
Local workstations
NVIDIA RTX 5090 cards in the lab for everyday training
OpenAI
API access
Researcher Access Program credits for large language and multimodal models
Support for graduate students
💵
Stipend
Funded Ph.D. students are appointed as graduate research assistants and receive a competitive stipend, paid semi-monthly.
🎓
Tuition covered
Tuition is waived through the Graduate School’s Tuition Benefit Program, so your stipend goes to living, not to fees.
🩺
Health, dental, and vision
The Graduate Student Health Insurance Program subsidizes your student health insurance, which comes with dental and vision coverage.
👶
Parental leave
The University’s graduate student parental leave policy provides up to eight weeks of leave after a birth, adoption, or foster placement, paid for eligible appointments.
🚆
Free transit
Your UCard is a free pass on UTA buses, TRAX light rail, and FrontRunner commuter rail, and TRAX stops right on campus.
🏋️
Free gym and museums
Free access to the Student Life Center gym, pool, and climbing wall, plus free entry to campus museums and Red Butte Garden.
Connections
Our students work directly with the agencies, cities, universities, and companies that sponsor and collaborate on our research.
Sponsors
Collaborators
About the University of Utah
Utah’s flagship research university since 1850
The University of Utah was founded on February 28, 1850, as the University of Deseret, and it is the oldest state university west of the Missouri River. Today it is Utah’s flagship research university, a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), and an R1 university for very high research activity, set on the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains overlooking Salt Lake City.
Top 7%
of universities worldwide
U.S. News Best Global Universities, 2025–26
$733M
in research expenditures
Fiscal year 2025
38,000+
students
Fall 2025, including about 8,900 graduate students
AAU · R1
research university
Association of American Universities member
Highlights
Rankings and recognition
No. 5
public university for entrepreneurship
U.S. News undergraduate entrepreneurship, 2026 (No. 8 overall)
Investing in the future
🤖
$100 million for responsible AI
The One-U Responsible AI Initiative, launched in 2023 and led by the SCI Institute, invests $100 million in AI research that serves society.
🧠
New state investment in AI
In 2026, the Utah Legislature provided the U with $15 million for AI research infrastructure and $18.6 million for a Utah Health AI Vault.
🏥
Record health research
University of Utah Health reached a record $531 million in research funding in 2025.
Campus life
Graduate school is more than the lab. Here is what is waiting for you on (and just off) campus.
Work out for free
The CORE, the main fitness floor of the George S. Eccles Student Life Center, plus four group fitness studios and racquetball courts, all free for U students.
Photo: University of Utah Campus Recreation Services
Swim laps, or just float
The Crimson Lagoon has a 50-meter lap pool, indoor and outdoor leisure pools, and a 35-person spa for the day after a deadline.
Photo: University of Utah Campus Recreation Services
Climb the walls, literally
The Summit has a 54-foot climbing wall for lead and top-rope climbing, plus a 13-foot bouldering wall with fresh problems set by staff.
Photo: University of Utah Campus Recreation Services
Ski days, sorted
Rent skis, snowboards, and backcountry gear at a student discount from Outdoor Adventures, then head up Little Cottonwood Canyon to Snowbird and Alta.
Photo: Don Ramey Logan, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Walk among dinosaurs
The Natural History Museum of Utah, right next to campus, is home to a famous wall of horned dinosaur skulls, and your UCard gets you in free.
Natural History Museum of Utah →
Photo: Jens Lallensack, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Stroll a botanical garden
Red Butte Garden, the University’s botanical garden in the foothills, has themed gardens and trails with views over the valley, free with your UCard.
Photo: Red Butte Garden
Art on campus
The Utah Museum of Fine Arts, on campus, shows art from around the world, and admission is always free for U students.
Photo: Utah Museum of Fine Arts
Game days at Rice-Eccles
Cheer on the Utes in the Big 12 at Rice-Eccles Stadium, the campus stadium that hosted the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Photo: Byarin, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Life in Salt Lake City & Utah
Salt Lake City offers something rare for a major research university: a young, fast-growing metro area with world-class mountains at the edge of town. Utah consistently ranks among the best places in the country to live, work, and study.
#1
Best State in America
U.S. News & World Report, three years in a row (2023–2025)
Top 5
Safest state
WalletHub, 2025 (No. 5)
#1
Work environment and community
WalletHub Happiest States, 2025 (No. 6 overall)
32.4
Median age, the youngest state
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024
Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Range
Photo: Invictus323, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
University of Utah campus in the fall
Photo: MrSchmidt, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Alta Ski Area, Little Cottonwood Canyon
Photo: Sbvr6, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Delicate Arch, Arches National Park
Photo: Ymaup, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park
Photo: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Capitol Reef National Park
Photo: dconvertini, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bryce Canyon National Park
Photo: Jean-Christophe Benoist, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Angels Landing, Zion National Park
Photo: Óðinn, CC BY-SA 2.5 CA, via Wikimedia Commons
Great Salt Lake from Antelope Island
Photo: D Sharon Pruitt, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Cecret Lake trail, Albion Basin
Photo: Jeffrey McGrath, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
TRAX light rail in downtown Salt Lake City
Photo: Garrett, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Utah State Capitol
Photo: Kiranedara, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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A thriving, young community
Utah is the youngest state in the nation and one of its strongest economies, with fiscal stability, economy, and infrastructure among the top categories in the U.S. News Best States rankings. Utah led all states in tech job growth in 2025, and the Salt Lake City and “Silicon Slopes” corridor is home to a growing community of technology companies and startups, which opens doors to internships and careers after graduation.
Mountains at your doorstep
The Wasatch Range rises directly behind campus, and the Bonneville Shoreline Trail runs along the foothills above the University. Utah has 15 ski resorts, and ten of them are roughly 40 to 70 minutes from the Salt Lake City airport, so a powder day can start right after class. Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics and will host the Winter Games again in 2034.
The Mighty 5 and beyond
Utah’s five national parks, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, and Zion, are each within a few hours’ drive, along with more than 40 state parks, the Great Salt Lake, and red-rock canyons that make every long weekend an adventure.
Safe, happy, and easy to get around
Utah ranks fifth among the safest states (WalletHub, 2025) and first in both work environment and community in WalletHub’s happiest-states ranking. Salt Lake City International Airport was the most on-time large airport in the U.S. in 2024 and the only U.S. airport in AirHelp’s 2025 global top 10. On campus, your UCard is a free pass for UTA buses, TRAX light rail, and FrontRunner commuter rail.
Fun in the city
Big-league nights out
Catch the Utah Jazz (NBA) or the Utah Mammoth (NHL) at the Delta Center in downtown Salt Lake City.
Photo: Abel Cheung, cropped by Noble Story, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Soccer under the mountains
Real Salt Lake (MLS) and the Utah Royals (NWSL) play at America First Field in Sandy, with the Wasatch Range as the backdrop.
Photo: Ray Terrill, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Eat your way around
Explore Salt Lake City Chinatown in South Salt Lake for Asian groceries, bakeries, and restaurants, then visit Utah’s first H Mart and the Downtown Farmers Market at Pioneer Park on summer Saturdays.
Salt Lake City Chinatown →Downtown Farmers Market →
Photo: CatOnMars, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Life in the lab
Lab members spend plenty of time together outside the lab, from the TRB Annual Meeting and the Utah Transportation Conference to ski days, summer and winter hikes, go-kart racing, Topgolf, archery, and summer research programs on campus.
Welcoming visitors from Seattle
At the Utah Transportation Conference
The lab at the TRB Annual Meeting
Riding the gondola on a ski day
A summer hike to a mountain waterfall
A winter hike on an icy red-rock trail
Swinging away at Topgolf
Taking aim at the archery range
Out on the go-kart track
Go-kart racing with the ITE student chapter
Summer interns at the Block U
Lab members on campus
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Ready to apply?
All positions use the same application form. Please have your CV and any required transcripts ready as PDF files.
Sources
- U.S. News & World Report, Best States 2025
- WalletHub, Safest States to Live In (2025)
- Deseret News on WalletHub’s Happiest States (2025)
- U.S. Census Bureau, median age by state (2024)
- Utah tech job growth, 2025 (BLS data via Voronoi)
- Visit Utah: ski resorts and national parks
- ESPN: Salt Lake City awarded the 2034 Winter Games
- Deseret News: SLC led the U.S. in on-time performance in 2024
- FOX 13: SLC in AirHelp’s 2025 global top 10
- UTA: University of Utah transit pass
- University of Utah: Best Global Universities ranking
- University of Utah Research: FY2025 facts and figures
- University of Utah: facts and figures
- SCI Institute: CHPC adds 80 NVIDIA GPUs
- UDOT V2X fact sheet (2025)
- University of Utah: about the U (founded 1850)
- Utah History Encyclopedia: University of Utah
- University of Utah Office of Budget and Institutional Analysis: Fast Facts 2026
- @TheU: the University of Utah and the birth of the internet
- IEEE Spectrum: how the computer graphics industry got started at the University of Utah
- University of Utah: top 10 for research commercialization (AUTM 2025)
- University of Utah Graduate School: Tuition Benefit Program
- Campus Recreation: facilities at the Eccles Student Life Center
- Campus Recreation: Outdoor Adventures trips
- Campus Recreation: Outdoor Adventures snow equipment rental
- Red Butte Garden: general information (free with UCard)
- KSL: H Mart opens its first Utah store (2024)
- Salt Lake City Chinatown
- Visit Utah: Downtown Farmers Market at Pioneer Park
- KSL: University of Utah graduates have the best odds of launching a $1B company (2026)
- KSL: University of Utah launches $100M AI research initiative (2023)
- KSL: University of Utah ranked top 5 among public schools for entrepreneurship
- Nobel Prize: Mario R. Capecchi, facts
- Visit Utah: Utah Mammoth
- University of Utah CEE: student spotlight, Xuewen Luo
- Price College of Engineering: UDOT Rotational Engineering program posting
- @TheU: the U ranks #1 for unicorn startup odds (Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute)