As we are moving to the University of Southern California, we are regularly looking for exceptional and self-motivated undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoc fellows, and visiting scholars to join our group.

Science and engineering students, majored in materials science, mechanical engineering, solid mechanics, physics, chemical engineering, astronautics and aeronautics, etc, with a strong research motivation are highly encouraged to apply. Prior related research experience is highly preferred, but generally not required. Students who are interested in our graduate program should follow the graduate school admission procedures at USC.

Below is the information for some openings:

• PhD students. We have full financial supports (RA, TA, fellowships) for a few PhD students starting from Fall 2025. If you are interested in joining our group, please submit an application online and state your interest in working with me in the application system. The requirements for PhD application can be found here.
• Postdoc scholars/fellows. We have financial support for 1-2 postdoc scholars at this moment. In addition, if you have external financial supports or postdoc fellowship, you are encouraged to contact me directly.
• Visiting students/scholars/professors. We welcome visiting students/scholars/professors to conduct collaborative research. Visitors are expected to cover their cost by external funding. Interested applicants are welcome to contact me directly.
• MSc or undergraduate researchers. We can schedule a meeting if you are currently studying at USC and if you are interested in working with our group.

Contact me. You are very welcome to contact me directly. I apologize that I will not be available to respond every email timely. Please indicate your interested research areas and describe very briefly how much you know about those areas. For prospective graduate students, the email title should be Graduate Application + your full name. You are encouraged to provide PDF attachments of or a link to the following documents:

• A full CV (with a list of three references);
• Academic transcripts;
• Research statement describing your previous research experience as well as specific interests in our research;
• Representative publications (if available).

For visiting scholars, a brief research statement (1-2 pages) describing a future collaborative research plan is encouraged.   

How will the PhD application cases be evaluated? Your online application case will be reviewed by a faculty committee based on your educational background, GPA, research experience, recommendation letters, research statement, etc. While there is typically no GRE/TOEFL cut-off scores, an excellent research record (generally shown by good conference/journal publications) can definitely help make your case stand out.

Some Examples of External Financial Supports and Fellowships: NSF Graduate Fellowship, DOE Graduate Fellowship, Marie Curie Fellowship for EU citizens, DAAD Fellowship for German citizens, JSPS Fellowship for Japanese citizens, and other financial supports from the visitors’ own employers or institutions.