"Postdoctoral Fellow - Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering"

Description

The Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University invites applications for the position of Post-Doctoral Fellow in the general area of Mechanical Engineering, with the research area focused on embodied computational neuroscience models of animal intelligence, with emphasis on continual learning mechanisms. The initial appointment is for one year, starting on or near May 1, 2026, with the possibility of extension (contingent on funding).

Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to the following: designing and implementing modular software and hardware systems for real-time control of a legged robot, creating a mechanical simulation of the legged robot for testing control systems, designing and conducting experiments to measure how the developed control systems increase robot mobility, disseminating research results through technical publications, attending research conferences and reading scientific literature to keep abreast of technological advances and current research findings, identifying and assisting with acquisition of funding from public, private, and governmental sources, interacting and collaborating with researchers within a collaborative research project, overseeing and coordinating graduate students, writing and presenting research status reports for review and use of the principal investigator, and preparing the results of research findings for presentation to colleagues and the sponsor.

Qualifications

Eligible candidates must hold an earned doctoral degree in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, neuroscience, or a related field at the time of appointment. Expertise in computational neuroscience, Python and/or C++, and ROS are required.

To apply for this position, visit https://careers.wvu.edu/career-opportunities. Applicants must submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, an example of a peer-reviewed manuscript demonstrating their expertise and contact information for at least three professional references. Only candidates who submit complete documentation will be considered in the review process. For further questions or additional information, please contact Dr. Nicholas (Szczecinski) Szorcinski via email at nss00001@mail.wvu.edu or visit the MAE website at https://www.mae.statler.wvu.edu.