I am starting as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at North Carolina State University (NC State) in Fall 2025 and am currently recruiting Ph.D. students for Spring 2026 and Fall 2026. I am looking for students who:
Are self-motivated, have a passion for research, and are interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in the general areas of robotics, controls, and autonomous systems;
Have a strong grasp of mathematical fundamentals (e.g., linear algebra, calculus, differential equations, probability, etc.);
Have a strong programming background and are comfortable coding in a language of choice (e.g. Python, Julia, MATLAB, C/C++, etc.);
Have hands-on research and/or industry experience in robotics, controls, machine learning, and/or autonomous systems.
If you feel that you meet most of the above criteria and are interested in potential opportunities, please feel free to reach out to me via email at mhcohen2@ncsu.edu with the subject line "Prospective PhD Student" and include:
Resume/CV;
A short paragraph detailing your research interests and what aspects of my research you are interested in;
Optional: A short paragraph detailing your background and experience in robotics, control systems, and/or machine learning. If applicable, please include your background and experience with Python, Julia, MATLAB, C/C++, ROS, and/or working with hardware. Please note that prior experience in these areas is not strictly necessary, but any experience you do have would be helpful for better understanding your background and skills.
Optional: Any supporting materials (e.g., publications, project portfolios, GitHub repos) that highlight your background and skill set.