PhD Openings on Multiscale Materials Modeling in University of Kentucky

Greetings from Lexington, Kentucky! We are an interdisciplinary research group in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Kentucky. We specialize in the modeling, computation and simulation of materials across multiple length- and time-scales. Our missions include advancing fundamental understanding of materials under different operating environments and making contributions to material design and discovery for diverse applications. The impact of our work lies in materials in extreme conditions, sustainable energy, batteries, aerospace/ocean/civil structures, among others.

Our research group has a couple of fully-funded openings for PhDs and several openings for MSs, starting from Fall 2024. The deadline of application is April 15th. Experience in the related areas is NOT a must. However, solid backgrounds in materials science, mechanics, mathematics and programming are strongly preferred. Specifically, students with experience or strong interest in one of the following areas are highly encouraged to apply:

•   Atomistic modeling and simulation;

•   Finite element analysis;

•   Structural optimization;

•   Uncertainty quantification;

•   C++/MATLAB/Python programming.

The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering is the largest in the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering with 34 tenured and tenure-track faculty members, over 1,000 undergraduate students, and over 120 graduate students. The Department offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in mechanical engineering, manufacturing systems engineering, and aerospace engineering. The Department is engaged in federally funded research projects from agencies such as NSF, NIH, NASA, DOE, DOD, DARPA, FAA, NIST, and USDA. The Department’s externally funded research currently averages over $11M/year in new awards.

For inquires, please contact Prof. Xingsheng Sun via email (xingsheng.sun@uky.edu). More details about our research interest and expertise can be found at our group website xingshengsun.wixsite.com/index.