Join the Lab

Open Positions for Fall 2026

I am actively recruiting 1–3 fully funded PhD students to join my new lab at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). I can advise students through ECE (Electrical & Computer Engineering) and CS (Siebel School of Computing and Data Science).

⚠️ Important Deadlines:

  • CS (Siebel School): December 15, 2025
  • ECE (Final): January 15, 2026

Who I Am Looking For

I am looking for self-driven, quantitatively strong students who enjoy opening the black box of neural computation. You are a good fit if:

  • You think in equations and code. You are comfortable with dynamical systems, linear algebra, and probability, and you prefer writing custom simulation code (JAX, Julia, Python) over just using high-level APIs.
  • You bridge fields. You have a background in Physics, Mathematics, CS, or Engineering, but you are driven to understand the brain.
  • You want to understand why. You care about mechanistic interpretability, stability analysis, and the fundamental principles of learning, not just leaderboard metrics.

Research Themes

Our work combines large-scale simulations with rigorous mathematical analysis. Current project directions include:

1. Learning Dynamics & Mechanistic Interpretability Understanding how brains and neural networks learn over time: how synapses change, how activity patterns evolve, and how useful internal representations emerge, with an eye toward opening the black box of both biological and artificial systems (PLoS Comput Biol 2022, NeurIPS 2022).

2. Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs) at Scale Exploring how network structure and inputs shape complex activity patterns, including chaotic regimes, and how these patterns can be harnessed for computation in both brain-inspired and artificial networks (Phys Rev Research 2023).

3. Dynamical Systems & AI Safety Developing new ways to train spiking neural networks so that they are both efficient and easy to optimize, building on ideas like Gradient Flossing and fast event-based simulation methods such as SparseProp (NeurIPS 2023: Gradient Flossing, SparseProp).

How to Apply (PhD Candidates)

Step 1: Formal Application You must apply through the official UIUC portals.

Crucial: In your application, list Dr. Rainer Engelken in the “Faculty of Interest” field and mention our specific research alignment in your Statement of Purpose.

Step 2: Informal Inquiry If you think you are a strong fit, you are welcome to email me directly.

  • Email: engelken@illinois.edu
  • Subject: PhD Inquiry 2026: [Your Name]
  • Attach: Your CV and Transcripts.
  • Body: A brief note on your background (math/physics/CS) and which of the research themes above excites you most.

Postdocs & Undergraduates

Postdoctoral Fellows I am always interested in hearing from high-caliber postdocs with expertise in theoretical neuroscience, dynamical systems, or machine learning. Please email me your CV, a representative publication, and a cover letter outlining your proposed research direction.

UIUC Undergraduates If you are a current UIUC student with strong math/coding skills interested in research:

  1. Consider auditing my course ECE598RE on Dynamical Systems and Neural Networks.
  2. Read 1–2 of my recent papers.
  3. Email me with your CV/Transcript and a paragraph explaining what specific topic you want to work on.