Jobs

NEW PhD HIRE!!! Starting @ August, 2026

Welcome to apply for a funded Ph.D. student position with starting date in August 2026!

1 Ph.D. position in the field of “Grain Boundary Engineering” at San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA

One five-year Ph.D. position with starting date in August 2026 is available in the Multiscale Modeling of Materials (M3) laboratory at the Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME) at San Diego State University (SDSU), San Diego, California, USA, under the supervision of Dr. Wenwu Xu (https://mmm.sdsu.edu/) and a co-advisor at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).

We welcome talented, self-motivated candidates with a solid background in materials science and engineering or closely related majors. Experience in Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations, Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations, Programming (any languages), and Electron Microscope are highly desired.

The goal of this project is to develop a new strategy to manipulate the grain boundary (GB) structures of polycrystalline metals by using electro-nano-pulsing (ENP) processing – a new technique developed in our laboratory.

For consideration, applicants should possess the following (both) qualifications:

  • GRE (Quantitative 159; Verbal 153; Analytical Writing: 3.5)
  • fulfill either TOEFL 80, IELTS 6.5, or PTE 58 for applicants who did not earn a degree from an English-speaking university.

If you meet the above requirements and are interested in this position, please provide by email (wenwu.xu@sdsu.edu) a detailed CV, a short personal statement explaining your scientific and research interests (less than one page), and contact information for two referees in support of your application (all in one PDF document). The review process will start right away until December 15, 2025. You will be contacted for Zoom/Phone/Skype/In-person discussions if passed the screening process.

For more details about our Ph.D. program please refer to:

https://www.engineering.sdsu.edu/admissions/jointdocprogram.aspx

Undergraduate Research Opportunity

The M3 group is seeking enthusiastic undergraduate students who are interested in computational modeling and microstructure characterization of materials, such as Finite Element Methods, Molecular Dynamics, Quantum Mechanics, and so on. If interested, please contact Prof. Xu at wenwu.xu@sdsu.edu for the opportunity at any time.