Join Us
We are recruiting Ph.D. students and postdocs with strong interest and experience in AI and autonomous vehicles. Visiting scholars, undergraduate researchers, and volunteers are also welcome.
Open positions
Ph.D. students
Fully funded graduate research assistantships with a monthly stipend and tuition waiver. Availability depends on current funding; email us before you apply.
Postdoctoral scholars
Fully funded positions for candidates with first-author work in AI, autonomous vehicles, or another area that matches one of our thrusts.
Visiting scholars
Visiting scholars and students who want to work on a defined project with the lab.
Undergraduate researchers
Penn State undergraduates can join through REU, URIP, WISER, and similar programs, or as volunteers.
How to apply
Email xbhu@psu.edu with:
- Subject line: [Prospective PhD | Postdoc | Visitor] – Your name
- Your CV
- Which of our four thrusts fits you, and why, in two or three sentences
- One piece of work you are proud of (paper, code repository, or project) with a link
- Earliest start date
Ph.D. applicants also apply through the department: CEE graduate admissions.
What working here looks like
Ph.D. students in the lab work on problems that sponsors care about and that can be tested on real hardware: our full-size autonomous vehicle, the LTI test track, and the driving simulator. We ask students to publish the code behind each paper on GitHub using the lab’s repository template, so the work stays citable and reusable after graduation.
Our Ph.D. graduates and postdocs have gone on to tenure-track faculty positions at Old Dominion University, SUNY Alfred State College, and Youngstown State University, and to industry roles in spatial intelligence.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a background in transportation? No. Strong programming skills and a background in AI, robotics, or data science matter more; interest in transportation problems is essential.
Is funding guaranteed? Ph.D. and postdoc positions are fully funded when offered. Openings depend on active grants, so please email first.
Can I visit or talk to current students? Yes. Ask in your email and we will connect you.
Do you accept master’s students? Thesis-option M.S. students are considered case by case, usually when they bring their own funding or fit an active project.