About Me

I am a Research Scientist at Adobe Research. I recently graduated with a Ph.D. in Computer Science from University of California San Diego, where I was advised by Prof. Julian McAuley. I received my M.S. in Computer Engineering from New York University and B.S. in Statistics and Computer Science/Engineering from Chongqing University.

My research focuses on large language models, reinforcement learning, multimodal learning, and LLM agents, with an emphasis on reasoning, post-training, personalization, and agentic workflows. I enjoy working at the intersection of language, vision, music, and sequential decision-making. Specifically, my core research interests span:

• 🧠 Reasoning in (M)LLMs: I explore the dynamics and control of language-model reasoning, including chain-of-thought reasoning via latent state-transitions (Ctrls), fine-grained reasoning control with activation steering (Self-Loops), step-aware reasoning energy analysis (How Hard Does It Think?), and online learning via inference-time action adaptation (OLIVIA).
• 🚀 RL & Post-Training for LLMs: I develop rollout-efficient policy optimization methods for LLM post-training, including weakly-supervised group-relative policy optimization (WS-GRPO), reference-relative policy optimization with stratified conditional rollouts (RRPO), multi-negative active sample selection (MASS-DPO), and a comprehensive survey of rollout strategies for LLM reinforcement learning (survey).
• ⚖️ Alignment in (M)LLMs: My work tackles aligning models with human preferences while preserving learned capabilities, spanning in-context ranking preference optimization (IRPO), importance sampling for multi-negative multimodal DPO (IS-DPO), adversarial preference optimization for image difference captioning (IDC-APO), and adaptive modality preference steering (AMPS).
• 🔗 Causal Learning & Inference: I leverage causal interventions to structurally debias chain-of-thought processes for knowledge-intensive tasks (DeCoT), apply information-theoretic causal de-biasing for interactive sequence labeling, and develop deconfounded approaches for explainable vision-language retrieval (DeExpRetrieval) and interactive recommendation.
• 🤖 LLM Agents: I design agents with evolving skills, memory, and deliberate decision-making, including agent skill evolution via reinforcement learning (Skill-R1), multimodal agent skills via conditional information bottleneck (Skill-CMIB), and belief-revising memory for conversational agents (BELIEFMEM).
• 🎵 AI for Music: I investigate computational music understanding and generation through skill-graph symbolic music reasoning (SymSkill), stem-aware automatic DJ transition generation (MixWeaver), compositional music information retrieval (CSyMR), in-the-wild symbolic music reasoning (WildScore), and audio-centric conversational recommendation (MusicRS).
• 🔍 Recommendation & Information Retrieval: I work on personalized and conversational recommendation, including zero-data bootstrapping for conversational recommenders (Zero-Data CRS), collaborative retrieval-augmented long-tail recommendation (CoRAL), neighborhood-based collaborative filtering for conversational recommendation (NBCRS), and agentic paradigms for recommender systems (survey).

You can find my papers on Google Scholar, DBLP, and ACL Anthology.

🌟 Beyond the ML Research

Outside of research, I have a diverse set of passions that keep me balanced:

• 🎻 Classical Music & Opera: I am a passionate classical music fan and a regular concert and opera goer. My absolute favourite symphony is Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 (particularly the recording by Michael Gielen and SWR), and I have a deep appreciation for operas like Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier and Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. 💿 Recommended Recent Recordings (keep updating):

Sebastian Plano
Solo

Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 3
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko

Gustav Mahler
Symphonies Nos. 1–9
Czech Philharmonic, Semyon Bychkov

Franz Schubert
The Complete Symphonies
Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan

Anton Bruckner
Symphony No. 4 'Romantic'
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Nathalie Stutzmann

Bohuslav Martinů
The Complete Symphonies
Bamberger Symphoniker, Jakub Hrůša

• 🪩 Rave & Clubbing: I am drawn to the immersive energy, vibrant communities, and dynamic soundscapes of the electronic music and clubbing scene. Some Techno/Post-rave Recordings:

Charlotte de Witte
b2b ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U
Under the K Bridge Park, Brooklyn

WhoMadeWho
Live
Brooklyn Storehouse, New York

Fred again..
USB

Khrys
Khrysalid

Asco
Symphony of CAOS

Sounds From the Ground
Thru the Ages

• 🥾 Hiking: I am an avid outdoorsman always looking for a rewarding ascent. My trail adventures range from group excursions with the NY Ramblers to tackling challenging, scenic routes like the Ohlone Wilderness Trail, the John Muir Trail, and Mount Diablo. Follow me on Alltrails