Portrait
Songwei Dong
he/him
Ph.D. Student
University of Virginia
About Me

I am Songwei Dong (董松玮), a third-year Ph.D. student at the University of Virginia, where I am fortunate to be advised by Professor Cong Shen. Previously, I received my B.S. degree in Artificial Intelligence in 2024 from the University of Science and Technology of China.

My research is on augmenting large language models with external knowledge, tools, and memory, spanning LLM agents (multi-agent systems and agent memory) and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). I also work on vision-language models (VLMs), with broader interests in multimodal learning, coreset selection, and LLM efficiency.

Education
  • University of Virginia
    University of Virginia
    Department of Computer Engineering
    Ph.D. Student
    Aug. 2024 - present
  • University of Science and Technology of China
    University of Science and Technology of China
    B.S. in Artificial Intelligence
    Sep. 2020 - Jun. 2024
Experience
  • CableLabs
    CableLabs
    Research Intern
    Jun. 2026 - Sep. 2026
Honors & Awards
  • Excellent Student Scholarship, USTC
    2021 - 2023
Selected Publications (view all )
SpecMind: Enabling Spectrum Intelligence via Multi-Agent Hybrid Retrieval-Augmented Generation
SpecMind: Enabling Spectrum Intelligence via Multi-Agent Hybrid Retrieval-Augmented Generation

Songwei Dong*, Bingyan Lu*, Makayla Kienlen, J. Nicholas Laneman, Cong Shen (* equal contribution)

IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM) 2026

A multi-agent hybrid RAG system that routes spectrum questions to specialised agents over license records, regulations, and proceeding filings, then composes one grounded answer.

SpecMind: Enabling Spectrum Intelligence via Multi-Agent Hybrid Retrieval-Augmented Generation

Songwei Dong*, Bingyan Lu*, Makayla Kienlen, J. Nicholas Laneman, Cong Shen (* equal contribution)

IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM) 2026

A multi-agent hybrid RAG system that routes spectrum questions to specialised agents over license records, regulations, and proceeding filings, then composes one grounded answer.

The Past Is Prologue: A Plug-in Controller for Selective Updates in Sequentially Evolving LLM Memory
The Past Is Prologue: A Plug-in Controller for Selective Updates in Sequentially Evolving LLM Memory

Zihan Chen, Songwei Dong, Chengshuai Shi, Peng Wang, Song Wang, Cong Shen, Jundong Li

Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing (EMNLP), Main Conference 2026

A plug-in controller that decides whether each candidate memory update is worth deploying, adding 2.7 to 4.6 accuracy points on top of existing memory updaters.

The Past Is Prologue: A Plug-in Controller for Selective Updates in Sequentially Evolving LLM Memory

Zihan Chen, Songwei Dong, Chengshuai Shi, Peng Wang, Song Wang, Cong Shen, Jundong Li

Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing (EMNLP), Main Conference 2026

A plug-in controller that decides whether each candidate memory update is worth deploying, adding 2.7 to 4.6 accuracy points on top of existing memory updaters.

Is One Score Enough? Rethinking the Evaluation of Sequentially Evolving LLM Memory
Is One Score Enough? Rethinking the Evaluation of Sequentially Evolving LLM Memory

Songwei Dong*, Zihan Chen*, Chengshuai Shi, Peng Wang, Jundong Li, Cong Shen (* equal contribution)

arXiv preprint 2026

A diagnostic framework for LLM memory that separates online utility, generalization, backward transfer, and forgetting, showing that headline accuracy often hides substantial forgetting.

Is One Score Enough? Rethinking the Evaluation of Sequentially Evolving LLM Memory

Songwei Dong*, Zihan Chen*, Chengshuai Shi, Peng Wang, Jundong Li, Cong Shen (* equal contribution)

arXiv preprint 2026

A diagnostic framework for LLM memory that separates online utility, generalization, backward transfer, and forgetting, showing that headline accuracy often hides substantial forgetting.

All publications