What Is the SAND Lab at the University of Chicago?

Updated

The SAND Lab is a research group at the University of Chicago whose name stands for Security, Algorithms, Networking and Data. It is co-directed by Professor Ben Y. Zhao and Professor Heather Zheng, and its work spans security and machine learning, with occasional projects in HCI and data mining. If you are looking for a lab doing adversarial machine learning, wireless and mobile systems, or generative-AI security, this page explains what it is, who runs it, and how to engage with it.

Who runs the lab

  • Co-directors: Professor Ben Y. Zhao and Professor Heather Zheng.
  • Composition: roughly 6–10 PhD, MS, and undergraduate researchers, plus visiting scholars.
  • Home: University of Chicago (the lab site lives at sandlab.cs.uchicago.edu).

What the lab researches

The lab describes its scope as security and machine learning, with occasional ventures into HCI and data mining. Its listed current research areas include:

  • Adversarial machine learning — for example, work on attacks such as Nightshade and Hemlock, and on generative-AI image detection.
  • Wireless and mobile systems.
  • Security and privacy more broadly, including AI-enhanced privacy attacks and defenses.

Recent output cited on the site includes papers at IEEE S&P, ACM CCS, IMC, SaTML, and NeurIPS, along with recognition such as a CCS Distinguished Paper Award, a Chicago Innovation Award for Glaze, and TIME Best Inventions mention.

PhD positions and how to apply

The lab states it is looking to recruit 1–2 students in the 2025–2026 admission cycle. The stated process is:

  1. Fill out the Google form linked from the lab site so you can be kept on a short list of candidates.
  2. In your UChicago PhD application, mention Heather and Ben when checking boxes for faculty.

Note that the form is described as a way to stay on a short list — it is not stated to replace the official UChicago PhD application.

Why the lab is visible beyond academia

Several projects from the lab have reached public attention, including Glaze (a tool for protecting artists' styles from AI imitation) and Nightshade. Lab members have also received external recognition, such as Forbes 30 Under 30 and MIT Technology Review's 35 Innovators Under 35. This matters if you are evaluating the lab for collaboration or press coverage: its work often sits at the intersection of technical security research and public-impact AI issues.

When this lab is a good fit

  • Prospective PhD students interested in security, adversarial ML, or wireless/mobile systems, applying in the 2025–2026 cycle.
  • Researchers or journalists looking for a UChicago group working on generative-AI security and privacy.
  • Collaborators in industry or academia whose interests overlap with adversarial ML or mobile systems.

If your interest is outside security and machine learning — or you need a lab with a different geographic or institutional focus — the SAND Lab is unlikely to be the right match.