We welcome students and postdoctoral researchers who want to develop physics-informed AI methods for complex polymers, soft materials, macromolecules, biomacromolecular systems, and molecular interfaces. Prior experience in polymer science is preferred but not required; we especially welcome candidates with strong backgrounds in applied mathematics, physics, statistics, machine learning, or scientific computing.
Ph.D. students
The group currently has two to three fully funded Ph.D. student positions available for Spring 2027 and Fall 2027. Prospective students interested in generative models, language models, AI for science foundation models, graph learning, complex polymers, and protein/RNA ensemble dynamics are encouraged to apply through UToledo Chemical Engineering graduate admissions and contact the group.
Applicants with an active GitHub account are encouraged to include the link in their email.
Undergraduates
Students with genuine research interest, reliability, and a clear motivation to explore AI for polymers, biomacromolecules, and scientific computing are welcome to reach out. In addition to Chemical Engineering students, we also welcome students from other engineering fields, computer science, applied mathematics, physics, statistics, and related areas.
Current undergraduate opportunities are primarily structured as mentored research projects, including projects developed through the UToledo Office of Undergraduate Research and its funding mechanisms. We encourage and support motivated students in developing concrete research ideas and applying for undergraduate research funding.
Postdocs
Experience in generative AI is strongly preferred for postdoctoral candidates, who are expected to contribute to AI method development. Applicants with backgrounds in machine learning, polymer science, soft matter, biomolecular modeling, or computational materials are welcome to reach out with a CV and GitHub profile link.
Applicants do not need to have a chemical engineering background. We welcome candidates from AI, computer science, statistics, chemistry, materials science, physics, applied mathematics, and related fields. Candidates with strong training in AI, computer science, statistics, or scientific computing are especially encouraged to apply.
The group places strong emphasis on AI, applied mathematics, statistics, open-source scripts, and reproducible research. Postdoctoral applicants should include at least one first-author machine-learning paper and the corresponding GitHub repository that can reproduce the reported results. If relevant code is in a private repository, company account, or otherwise restricted by confidentiality, please explain this in the email.