Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Position Description
Mississippi State University is inviting applications for a M.S. level Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA) in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (https://www.abe.msstate.edu/). The GRA is a 2-year position funded with stipends, tuition and insurance, and the anticipated start date for the position is Fall 2021 (negotiable). The successful candidate will work with Dr. Yuzhen Lu, on original research broadly within the field of non-destructive sensing, data analytics and automation for agriculture-food systems. Potential research topics include but are not limited to spectroscopy and imaging, inspection and sorting of agricultural and food products, machine learning and robotics for plant phenotyping and precision management, and artificial intelligence (AI) and internet of things (IoT) in plant/animal production. The successive candidate will be organized, self-motivated and has a strong desire to learn new skills and collaborate in a multidisciplinary environment.
Qualifications Sought
• Students should earn a B.S. or M.S. degree in Agricultural/Biological/Food Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or other fields with relevant research experience, with a 3.0 or higher GPA
• Students should have demonstrated excellence in English writing and communication skills
• Students with non-English credentials must obtain a TOEFL score of 79 iBT or IELTS score of 6.5 or higher (GRE may be waived)
• Students proficient in programming (e.g., Matlab, Python, C++/C, Qt, etc.), computer vision or image analysis, machine learning (e.g., Keras and TensorFlow) are highly encouraged to apply
Application Procedures
Please contact Dr. Yuzhen Lu (email: yzlu@abe.msstate.edu; website: yuzhenlu.com), if you are interested in or have any questions regarding this position. A full application for an official offer to be made should include a cover letter describing the applicant's research interest, a CV, transcripts, test score(s), writing examples, and a list of three references including names, email, address and telephone number. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Video conference interviews will be requested for potential candidates. Successful applicants will need to apply to the Graduate School of Mississippi State University. The application deadline for 2021 fall enrollment is May 1 (international) or August 1 (domestic).
Please visit the website https://www.grad.msstate.edu/students/admissions for application details.
