Graduate Research Assistantship at Mississippi State University in Dr. Xin Zhang’s group

Scholarship: Fully-Funded
Degree: B.S. or M.S.
Nationality: International Students
Location: USA
Application deadlines: Fall 2022 or Spring 2023


Scholarship Description:

The successful candidate will work under the supervision of Dr. Xin Zhang (https://sites.google.com/msstate.edu/xin-zhang/home) on original research broadly within the field of remote/proximal sensing, agricultural robotics, machine/deep learning, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs), and advanced data science and feature engineering for AI-driven agriculture-food systems. Potential research topics include but are not limited to 3D crop perception and reconstruction, real-time machine vision system, robotic control system, optimal path planning, comprehensive modeling for crop yield forecasting, non-destructive sensing for biotic/abiotic stressors and nutrition deficiency quantification. The successful candidate needs to be creative, self-motivated, and has a strong desire to learn new skills and collaborate in a multidisciplinary environment. She/he will be expected to communicate research results through peer-reviewed journal or conference publications and give presentations at national or international meetings. Students from historically underrepresented groups are welcome.

Available Subjects:

Computer science/eComputer Science/Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical/Mechatronics Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mathematics & Statistics, Agricultural & Biological Engineering, Crop Science

Eligibility criteria:

The successful GRA candidate:

  • Must earn (or about to within 3 months) a B.S. or M.S. degree in Computer Science/Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical/Mechatronics Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mathematics & Statistics, Agricultural & Biological Engineering, Crop Science, or other closely related fields, with a 3.0 or higher GPA;
  • Must be proficient in at least one of the computer programming languages (e.g., Python 3.X, C/C++, R, ROS, MATLAB, etc.) and should be familiar with computer vision, robotics, machine/deep learning packages, libraries, and models (e.g., OpenCV, TensorFlow 2.0, Keras API, CNNs, RNNs, LSTM, GANs, attention mechanism, etc.) with demonstrable evidence (e.g., peer-reviewed journal publications, online competition records);
  • Should have demonstrable excellence in scientific writing and communication skills;
  • (with non-English credentials) must obtain a TOEFL score of 79 iBT or IELTS score of 6.5 or higher. GRE may be waived.

Application Procedure:

Please visit the website (https://www.grad.msstate.edu/students/admissions) for more application details.