2027 春 PhD Position at MSU: Optical Imaging with AI for Online Inspection

A NEW PhD position fully funded by a competitive program is immediately available in Dr. Yuzhen Lu’s group (AgFood Sensing & Intelligence) in the Department of Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering (BAE) at Michigan State University (MSU).

MSU is ranked 85th globally by TIME, recognized as a Public Ivy, a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), and the first Land-Grant University in the United States. Particularly, it is ranked among the Top 15 institutions worldwide in Agriculture & Forestry. The graduate program in BAE at MSU is nationally competitive and highly regarded.

The selected candidate will assist with leading efforts to develop a real-time structured-light imaging system (Lu & Cai, 2023) by integrating (digital/programmable) lighting, advanced signal processing and AI (e.g., generative, supervised/self-supervised), hardware prototyping, and system integration toward online quality (defect) inspection (and sorting) of fresh produce (e.g., Yeafi & Lu, 2026). He or she will meet regularly with Dr. Lu to discuss best practices in optical instrumentation, prototyping, AI algorithm development, experimental testing, manuscript preparation, and mentoring. Successful candidates need to be creative, self-motivated,  focused, and collaborative in multidisciplinary environments. The students will be expected to communicate research outcomes actively through high-quality, peer-reviewed publications and deliver presentations at conferences (e.g., two national/international conferences per year in optical sensing and agricultural engineering areas).  

Minimum Requirements

• The successful candidate must have an MS/BS degree in Biosystems/Agricultural Engineering, Optical Engineering/Instrumentation, Automation, Electrical Engineering, or closely related fields.
• Successful candidates are expected to have demonstrated research experience evidenced by publication records relevant to optical sensing, real-time imaging, and applied AI.
• Demonstrated experience in engineering design and prototyping, and hardware-software integration, as well as programming proficiency (e.g., C++, Python, and or Matlab).
• Demonstrably strong scientific writing and professional communication skills.

Desired Qualifications

• Skills in structured-lighting imaging, real-time machine vision, hardware prototyping, and system integration are desirable.
• Experience in developing an AI-based optical imaging system for online inspection

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.