Weijia Shi defended her PhD at the University of Washington on May 28 2026 under advisors Luke Zettlemoyer and Noah Smith, presenting a thesis that targets the constraints of single large language models by testing modular architectures and training methods that split capabilities instead.
Defended my PhD recently!
Grateful to my advisors @LukeZettlemoyer and @nlpnoah, committee members Colin and @lucyluwang, and the many mentors, collaborators, and the @uwnlp community for all the support and friendship along the way ❤️
Slides: Break the language model monolith (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1na8ofUeQUsDqj9RuOG16qlt5uBrfez7p/view?usp=sharing)
No specific models, datasets, or performance numbers from the defense have surfaced publicly, so the concrete gains over monolithic systems stay unclear for now.
Shi appears on the list of outgoing UW PhDs open to tenure-track faculty or industry research roles, yet no next affiliation or offer has been confirmed.
Many users congratulated Weijia Shi on her successful PhD defense examining how to break language model monoliths, expressing support and noting they will miss her at UW.
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@WeijiaShi2 @LukeZettlemoyer @nlpnoah @lucyluwang @uwnlp Congrats!
Defended my PhD recently!
Grateful to my advisors @LukeZettlemoyer and @nlpnoah, committee members Colin and @lucyluwang, and the many mentors, collaborators, and the @uwnlp community for all the support and friendship along the way ❤️
Slides: Break the language model monolith (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1na8ofUeQUsDqj9RuOG16qlt5uBrfez7p/view?usp=sharing)
@WeijiaShi2 @sewon__min @LukeZettlemoyer @nlpnoah @lucyluwang @uwnlp Congrats!! 🎉🎊🎈🍾
Defended my PhD recently!
Grateful to my advisors @LukeZettlemoyer and @nlpnoah, committee members Colin and @lucyluwang, and the many mentors, collaborators, and the @uwnlp community for all the support and friendship along the way ❤️
Slides: Break the language model monolith (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1na8ofUeQUsDqj9RuOG16qlt5uBrfez7p/view?usp=sharing)
@WeijiaShi2 @LukeZettlemoyer @nlpnoah @lucyluwang @uwnlp Congrats!!! 🥳🥳🥳
Defended my PhD recently!
Grateful to my advisors @LukeZettlemoyer and @nlpnoah, committee members Colin and @lucyluwang, and the many mentors, collaborators, and the @uwnlp community for all the support and friendship along the way ❤️
Slides: Break the language model monolith (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1na8ofUeQUsDqj9RuOG16qlt5uBrfez7p/view?usp=sharing)
@WeijiaShi2 @LukeZettlemoyer @nlpnoah @lucyluwang @uwnlp Congratulations! 🎉
Defended my PhD recently!
Grateful to my advisors @LukeZettlemoyer and @nlpnoah, committee members Colin and @lucyluwang, and the many mentors, collaborators, and the @uwnlp community for all the support and friendship along the way ❤️
Slides: Break the language model monolith (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1na8ofUeQUsDqj9RuOG16qlt5uBrfez7p/view?usp=sharing)
@WeijiaShi2 @LukeZettlemoyer @nlpnoah @lucyluwang @uwnlp Congrats Weijia!!!
Defended my PhD recently!
Grateful to my advisors @LukeZettlemoyer and @nlpnoah, committee members Colin and @lucyluwang, and the many mentors, collaborators, and the @uwnlp community for all the support and friendship along the way ❤️
Slides: Break the language model monolith (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1na8ofUeQUsDqj9RuOG16qlt5uBrfez7p/view?usp=sharing)
@WeijiaShi2 @LukeZettlemoyer @nlpnoah @lucyluwang @uwnlp Congrats!!
Defended my PhD recently!
Grateful to my advisors @LukeZettlemoyer and @nlpnoah, committee members Colin and @lucyluwang, and the many mentors, collaborators, and the @uwnlp community for all the support and friendship along the way ❤️
Slides: Break the language model monolith (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1na8ofUeQUsDqj9RuOG16qlt5uBrfez7p/view?usp=sharing)
@WeijiaShi2 @LukeZettlemoyer @nlpnoah @lucyluwang @uwnlp Big congrats 🍾🎈🎊 Dr. Shi!
Defended my PhD recently!
Grateful to my advisors @LukeZettlemoyer and @nlpnoah, committee members Colin and @lucyluwang, and the many mentors, collaborators, and the @uwnlp community for all the support and friendship along the way ❤️
Slides: Break the language model monolith (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1na8ofUeQUsDqj9RuOG16qlt5uBrfez7p/view?usp=sharing)
@WeijiaShi2 @LukeZettlemoyer @nlpnoah @lucyluwang @uwnlp Congrats Weijia!!
Defended my PhD recently!
Grateful to my advisors @LukeZettlemoyer and @nlpnoah, committee members Colin and @lucyluwang, and the many mentors, collaborators, and the @uwnlp community for all the support and friendship along the way ❤️
Slides: Break the language model monolith (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1na8ofUeQUsDqj9RuOG16qlt5uBrfez7p/view?usp=sharing)
@WeijiaShi2 @LukeZettlemoyer @nlpnoah @lucyluwang @uwnlp Congrats!
Defended my PhD recently!
Grateful to my advisors @LukeZettlemoyer and @nlpnoah, committee members Colin and @lucyluwang, and the many mentors, collaborators, and the @uwnlp community for all the support and friendship along the way ❤️
Slides: Break the language model monolith (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1na8ofUeQUsDqj9RuOG16qlt5uBrfez7p/view?usp=sharing)
@WeijiaShi2 @LukeZettlemoyer @nlpnoah @lucyluwang @uwnlp Congrats!
@WeijiaShi2 @uwnlp @LukeZettlemoyer @nlpnoah @lucyluwang Congratulations!!
Defended my PhD recently!
Grateful to my advisors @LukeZettlemoyer and @nlpnoah, committee members Colin and @lucyluwang, and the many mentors, collaborators, and the @uwnlp community for all the support and friendship along the way ❤️
Slides: Break the language model monolith (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1na8ofUeQUsDqj9RuOG16qlt5uBrfez7p/view?usp=sharing)
@WeijiaShi2 @Xinyu2ML @LukeZettlemoyer @nlpnoah @lucyluwang @uwnlp Congratulations Weijia 🎉
Defended my PhD recently!
Grateful to my advisors @LukeZettlemoyer and @nlpnoah, committee members Colin and @lucyluwang, and the many mentors, collaborators, and the @uwnlp community for all the support and friendship along the way ❤️
Slides: Break the language model monolith (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1na8ofUeQUsDqj9RuOG16qlt5uBrfez7p/view?usp=sharing)
@WeijiaShi2 @sewon__min @LukeZettlemoyer @nlpnoah @lucyluwang @uwnlp congrats Weijia!!
Defended my PhD recently!
Grateful to my advisors @LukeZettlemoyer and @nlpnoah, committee members Colin and @lucyluwang, and the many mentors, collaborators, and the @uwnlp community for all the support and friendship along the way ❤️
Slides: Break the language model monolith (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1na8ofUeQUsDqj9RuOG16qlt5uBrfez7p/view?usp=sharing)
@WeijiaShi2 @LukeZettlemoyer @nlpnoah @lucyluwang @uwnlp Congrats!!
@WeijiaShi2 @LukeZettlemoyer @nlpnoah @lucyluwang @uwnlp Congratulations 🎉
@WeijiaShi2 @LukeZettlemoyer @nlpnoah @lucyluwang @uwnlp Congratulations!!! We will miss you at UW!
@WeijiaShi2 @LukeZettlemoyer @nlpnoah @lucyluwang @uwnlp Congrats!!!
@WeijiaShi2 @LukeZettlemoyer @nlpnoah @lucyluwang @uwnlp Congrats Weijiaaaa!
@WeijiaShi2 @LukeZettlemoyer @nlpnoah @lucyluwang @uwnlp Congratsss Dr. Shi! 🎉
@WeijiaShi2 @LukeZettlemoyer @nlpnoah @lucyluwang @uwnlp Congratulations, Weijia!! 🥳
