As of January 2022, I will be moving to Brown University. Interested Ph.D. students should apply to Brown University Department of Computer Science or School of Engineering.
PhD Applicants
Students who are interested in multi-robot systems are a good fit. Each academic year, on average, we recruit one or two new PhD students into my Automatic Coordination of Teams Laboratory from the top PhD students accepted into the Computer Science Department. Please read about the USC CS Department PhD program admissions process for more information. Admissions decisions are made by a CS PhD Admissions Committee, not by individual faculty. If you are interested in my lab, I recommend that you list my name as one of the three faculty names you can enter in the application form, and consider describing your interests and relevance to our research as part of your application essay. Once you have applied to the program, if you have questions about the lab, you can email me directly. However, for questions about your admission status, please contact the CS Department directly.
If you are very interested in the ACT Lab but are applying to another USC Viterbi School department, please note that it is simplest to be advised by a faculty member in your own department. However, it is possible to work in the ACT Lab and be a PhD student in another department in the Viterbi School of Engineering. Please note the nature of the research conducted in the lab and be sure that it fits your background and interests. If there is a good fit and you are strongly motivated to make it work, email me.
If you are a PhD student at USC already and interested in getting involved in ACT Lab robotics research, email me.
Postdoc Applicants
Occasionally we will have openings for Postdoctoral Scholars. Postdocs will work closely with Ph.D. students, on existing projects, as well as new projects. Candidates should be knowledgeable in a related research area, which includes a very broad set of domains, including robot control, machine/reinforcement learning for robotics, motion planning, trajectory optimization, planning under uncertainty, multi-agent planning, etc. A PhD degree in a related field (e.g., computer science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, etc.) is expected by the time the candidate joins USC. For an idea of the projects you might get involved in, please see the ACT Lab website. Interested scholars should contact me directly.
Master’s and Undergraduate Students
Motivated Master’s and undergraduates are always welcome in my lab. While all positions are filled for this semester, we may have positions for next semester. Email me to set up a meeting and we can discuss potential projects. Have a resume ready, and be prepared to discuss why you want to get involved.
Please note that I cannot reply to all of the emails I receive from prospective students.