PhD position on machine vision and AI for harvest automation of specialty crops

A PhD position (reposted for qualified individuals) is immediately available in Dr. Yuzhen Lu’s group (AgFood Sensing & Intelligence) in the Department of Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering at Michigan State University (Top 100 Globally, Public Ivy, the first Land-Grant University and AAU member in the U.S., Top 15 in Agriculture & Forestry globally). The selected candidate will work primarily on automated or robotic harvesting of specialty crops (details can be provided upon request for serious students). Successful candidates need to be creative, interest-driven, adaptive, focused, and collaborate in multidisciplinary environments. The student will be expected to communicate research outcomes actively and in time through high-quality, peer-reviewed publications and deliver presentations at conferences (e..g, two national/international conferences per year).  

The selected candidate is expected to assist with leading efforts in leveraging advanced machine vision, and artificial intelligence (AI)/robotics technologies to develop automated, selective harvesting systems for specialty crops towards real-world application/implementation. He or she will meet regularly with Dr. Lu to discuss best practices in engineering design, experiments, prototyping, algorithm development and testing, manuscript preparation, and mentoring. The selected candidate may also engage in activities such as grant proposal development and class teaching assistance as needed for their professional development. The PhD training is expected to prepare the candidate towards his or her professional growth and succuess.

Minimum Requirements

• The successful candidate must have a MS/BS degree in Biosystems/Agricultural Engineering, Computer Science/Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Automation, or closely related fields.
• Successful candidates are expected to have demonstrated research experience evidenced in publication records in machine/computer vision, mechanization, and or AI/robotics.
• Strong computer programming skills are necessary in C++, Python, and or Matlab.
• The candidate is expected to have demonstrably strong scientific writing and communication skills.
  
  

Desired Qualifications

• Skills in machine vision, hardware prototyping, and system integration are desirable.
• Experience in developing a machine vision-based automation system for specialty crop harvesting is an advantage.
  

APPLICATION
If interested in this position, please contact Dr. Yuzhen Lu (luyuzhen@msu.edu) [for serious students, send a follow-up email if you don't receive responses, but unserious emails without addressing qualifications will not get replies :)] with a description of how you meet the qualifications. A full application for an official offer to be made should include a cover letter describing the applicant's research interest, a CV, transcripts, test score(s), journal publications, and a list of three references including names, email, address, and telephone number. Review will begin immediately and continue until positions are filled. Video interviews will be requested for potential candidates. Successful applicants will need to apply to the MSU Graduate School. Please visit https://grad.msu.edu/apply and https://www.egr.msu.edu/bae/graduate/application-instructions for details.

The position is available for Spring 2026

Note that non-engineering students may not be suitable for this position unless there is strong evidence demonstrating technical qualifications.

There is another associated position available, posted at https://www.1point3acres.com/bbs ... ead&tid=1140551, but these two positions are different.

Application instructions are given here https://www.canr.msu.edu/bae/graduate/be-application-instructions. You may need to apply an very soon if you target Spring 2026

See also position posts here https://agriculture-m.academickeys.com/job/l584adwi and https://engineering-m.academickeys.com/job/szy8t5gm