At the Frontier of Research Independence: The CDS Faculty Fellow Position
Newly graduated PhDs often face a choice between the rigid structure of traditional postdocs and the high-pressure demands of junior faculty roles. The Faculty Fellow position at CDS, which is accepting applications now through November 25, carved out a different path. We talked with two current fellows to learn more about the role.
“The job gives you the resources you need to execute on your vision,” CDS Faculty Fellow Umang Bhatt said. “It gives you the time and space to think clearly, find good collaborators, whether they’re at NYU, in New York City, or abroad.”
The role emerged from CDS’s successful Moore-Sloan Fellows program, designed to develop outstanding researchers in data science. Recent fellows have gone on to faculty positions at institutions including the University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins, the University of Michigan, and the University of Amsterdam.
CDS Faculty Fellows work at the boundaries between data science methods and domain sciences, leading original research projects of their choosing. The position comes with a competitive salary, benefits, research funding, potential faculty housing, and a light teaching load of one course per year.
CDS Instructor Tim G. J. Rudner found the independence particularly valuable for building cross-institutional collaborations. “I’ve maintained and started new collaborations at Oxford, where I did my PhD. Since leaving Oxford, I’ve started co-advising some of the PhD students there with my former advisors,” Rudner said.
The position offers unusual flexibility in pursuing research directions. Fellows can align closely with faculty members like traditional postdocs or operate more independently. Bhatt took full advantage of this freedom, traveling extensively to share his work. In 2024 alone, he gave talks across Europe, South America, Africa and the Middle East, logging over 97,000 miles.
For prospective applicants, Bhatt emphasized the importance of ambitious proposals that connect clearly to CDS’s expertise: “Be very ambitious in what you want to work on, but also understand why NYU is the right fit. Ideally, tie your proposal to specific faculty who inspire you.”
The 2025 fellowship seeks researchers in machine learning, cognitive science, theory, responsible AI, natural sciences, social sciences, NLP, and healthcare. Applications are due November 25, 2024.
“The reason they’re hiring you is because no one else works on things that you work on,” Bhatt added. “If there was someone working on the thing you’re working on, then you would be a postdoc. That’s what sets this role apart.”
For those who secure the position, both fellows stressed the importance of engaging broadly across NYU’s machine learning ecosystem. “Look at ways to expand your research program, as opposed to just building on what you’ve already done,” Rudner said. “Even as early as when applicants are preparing their applications, it’s worth scoping out who might be potential collaborators — folks who can both share your research interests and complement your research strengths.”
By Stephen Thomas
