If you want to join my research group, please email me your updated CV, the degree you intend to pursue, and your research interests.
I am always looking to recruit creative, ambitious, and hard-working undergraduate and graduate students.
Assistantship (funded) positions are usually reserved for Ph.D. students since research funding is primarily for long-term research projects.
Students pursuing M.S. usually work on shorter projects for their MS thesis and are expected to produce enough research for a few conference papers.
Undergraduate research usually involves very short-term projects. The most important skill I am looking for in undergraduate students is programming experience and/or hands-on building skills.
Please read before contacting a faculty member
Short version (TLDR): Do your homework before you make the first contact. Get a rough idea of the professor’s research and ask yourself if there is sufficient overlap in research interests.
Long version: Finding a good advisor is crucial for your academic career. So please do not rush yourself. Most professors fund their research from their research grants, which they acquire by refining their research ideas over a long time and going through a highly competitive grant process. Therefore, most professors will likely not want to work on your ideas and research interests. That does not mean you should completely ignore your gut feeling and do whatever your research advisor asks. Instead, you should find an advisor whose work closely matches your interests. If you start working with someone whose work does not fit your interests and skills, both sides lose precious time. But more importantly, the value of lost time is much larger for you than for your advisor!
Ph.D. Position Requirements
If you are looking to pursue Ph.D. in my group, then you must have
- a strong background in differential equations, linear algebra, feedback control, linear systems theory
- familiarity with Matlab and Simulink
- basic electronics experience (soldering, Arduino)
Your application will be stronger if you have
- completed advanced control courses such as nonlinear systems and control, optimal control, real analysis, etc
- programming experience in C, C++, Python, etc
- published a research paper
Most importantly, you should be self-motivated and passionate about your research interests! Producing high-quality research requires complete commitment and passion for your work. Therefore, it should be considered a full-time job.
If you satisfy the criteria listed above,
- Write an email to me introducing yourself, your background, and your research interests. Use this excellent resource to draft your email.
- If I see a good fit, I would be happy to talk with you to evaluate your research interests and capabilities; and explain current research opportunities in my group.
- If we both see a fit, I will assign you a project. The objective of this project is to assess your skills, research capabilities, communication and writing style, and teamwork. The length of the test project is inversely proportional to your capabilities and the time you invest in it. Upon successful completion of the project, I would be happy to support your application to the UMBC graduate program.