Joining VDEL

We welcome Post-doc, Ph.D., M.S., and undergraduate applicants who have a strong background in:

  • Mechanical engineering (solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, manufacturing)
  • Linear algebra and vector calculus
  • Numerical methods
  • C/C++ or a similar scientific programming language
  • Python and/or Matlab

Experience in some or all of the following fields is highly desirable:

  • FEA / CFD
  • Optimization
  • Machine learning
  • Physics simulations
  • Computer graphics
  • Geometric 3D modeling
  • Computer vision

Graduate Students and Post-Docs

Candidates must be demonstrably proficient in oral and written communication (prior publications, presentations etc.).

If you are interested in joining, please contact Prof. Kara with your CV. We strongly encourage you to apply if you have prior research experience (and ideally publications) in the above or related fields.

Graduate student applicants: In addition to sending your CV to Prof. Kara, please visit the Graduate Admission site for more info and to access the application portal.

Undergraduate Students

Research positions in the above areas are available for highly motivated and capable undergraduate students. Please contact Prof. Kara to set up a meeting.

What courses should I take after joining CMU?

We strongly recommend the following courses in support of your research projects. The course descriptions and schedules can be found on the Schedule of Classes page.

24755       Finite Element Method in Mechanics I (computational solid mechanics)
24703       Numerical Methods in Engineering (fundamentals in numerical computation)
24787       Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence for Engineers
24788       Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence for Engineers - Project
10601/701       Introduction to Machine Learning
24785       Engineering Optimization
10725       Convex Optimization
11785       Introduction to Deep Learning
10703       Deep Reinforcement Learning and Control
16720       Computer Vision (good for deep understanding of convolutional neural network)
24771       Linear System (Advanced linear algebra; count towards math requirement)
24780       Engineering Computation (C++ / Fundamental coding skill)
15462/662       Computer Graphics
15351/650       Algorithms and Advanced Data Structures (theory)