Open PhD Position for Fall 2023

Our research group at University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML) is inviting prospective PhD students to apply for two funded PhD positions to work on a sponsored project on Robot Learning and Reinforcement Learning.

Job Description

We are looking for one prospective PhD student with interest and expertise in Robot Learning and Reinforcement Learning. The selected candidate will need to collaborate with team members outside their immediate 'discipline', so some degree of comfort with diving into and learning new fields of study will be expected of applicants.

Supervisor:
Prof. Reza Ahmadzadeh, Director Pearl Lab

Benefits

The assistantship includes a tuition waiver and a graduate student stipend. UMass Lowell is a Carnegie Doctoral High Research (RU/H) university ranked in the top tier of US News' National Universities and is located 30 miles northwest of Boston in the northeast Massachusetts high-tech region. There are over 120 robotics companies in the local area.

The successful candidate will have access to the PeARL lab (Persistent Autonomy and Robot Learning Lab) and several robotic platforms including manipulator, mobile, walking, and mobile manipulator robots.

Your Skills

In addition to the above-mentioned expected expertise you should have:

• Background in robotics, modeling, mathematics, programming and abstract thinking

• Excellent written and spoken English skills

• A master's degree in Robotics, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related fields.

• A strong background in Linear Algebra, Calculus, Probability and Statistics, and Algorithms

• (Preferable) Strong programming skills in Python, C++, and/or MATLAB

• (Plus) Familiarity with tools such as ROS, Gazebo, MoveIt, YARP, Tensorflow, Pytorch, and OpenCV

• We do care about grades and letters, at least to some extent. Same for TOEFL/GRE scores.

Start Date

The evaluation of the received applications starts immediately and will continue until the positions are filled. Interested students are strongly encouraged to apply early, as the hire of successful candidates will take place on the first-come-first-served basis. The desired start date is as early as summer 2023.

To Apply

Please send, as a single PDF document:

• A detailed Curriculum Vitae (please include: your nationality for visa requirements, date of birth, your English level, scientific publications if any, programming skills, and hobbies)

• While submitting your resume/CV, please include all areas that you are applying for in the resume header - choose one or more from following list: robotics, reinforcement learning, artificial intelligence, sociology, neuroscience, trust formation, network science, game theory, or collective behavior.

• A copy of academic records/transcript and most recent diploma

• A copy of applicant's relevant publications (if any)

• List of at least 2 referees (support-letter writers). Support letters will be requested only if your application is considered. So you don't need to upload them now.

• Your homepage and link to videos and code if available.

The application files should be sent as a single PDF file to: reza@cs.uml.edu