Research opportunities

Working with me

I dislike pushing people. I work best with highly self-motivated students who enjoy research itself and can take ownership of difficult, uncertain problems.

What I am looking for

• Strong intrinsic motivation and the ability to make progress without continuous prompting.
• Interest in secure and reliable AI agents, AI for security, trustworthy evidence, or closely related research.
• A desire to work on something genuinely interesting where I can contribute intellectually.
• Openness to a brief trial of approximately three months before making a longer commitment.
• Honesty about failures, uncertainty, available time, and what you do not yet understand.

Possible routes

Possible routes include a University of Sydney Capstone, Research Pathway, Thesis, or a short PhD-style trial. Formal eligibility, unit requirements, workload, and deadlines depend on the exact route and must be checked against current official University information.

Before contacting me

Use the research-fit interview to decide whether research — and working with me — is actually right for you. It is intentionally demanding and may conclude that you should prepare more before contacting me.

Initial contact

If the final recommendation is Contact Liyi, email your short application and attach the generated Research Fit Brief. Otherwise, follow the preparation plan before writing.

Preferred public contact: lzhou1110 (at) gmail (dot) com.