Postdoctoral Research Scholar

Essential Job Duties

The Department of Electrical Engineering (College of Engineering) is searching for a Postdoctoral Research Scholar to join the Optical Sensing Lab (OSL). The position will be focused on advancing remote sensing technologies and environmental optics.

The ideal candidate will drive interdisciplinary research at the intersection of polarimetric imaging, environmental science, and statistical analysis, with opportunities to contribute to faculty-mentored projects and proposal development under a interdisciplinary team spanning the College of Engineering and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (primary supervisor: Dr. Michael Kudenov with collaborators spanning fields of crop modeling, AI-based decision support, plant pathology, crop improvement, plant physiology, and plant breeding within NC State’s Plant Science Initiative).

This position aligns with our long-term goals of expanding polarization-based remote sensing tools and methods for applications in ecological monitoring, tissue analysis, and agricultural systems while supporting career development toward an academic or industry leadership role.

Duties and Responsibilities include:

• Develop methodologies for Mueller matrix-based analysis of biological tissues (e.g., plant canopies, post-harvest produce) to assess structural properties such as sugar/starch distribution and necrosis versus healthy tissue states.
• Investigate polarization metrics in remote sensing under varying atmospheric/sky conditions to optimize canopy health assessment algorithms.
• Partner with faculty and researchers across engineering, optics, agriculture, and environmental science to integrate polarization data into predictive models for ecological monitoring or agricultural applications.
• Co-lead and co-author proposals and institutional seed grants, leveraging experience in securing competitive funding.
• Help to lead projects and mentor junior researchers
• Publish research findings in reputable journals and conferences.