Prospective Students and Postdocs

I am always looking for bright, highly motivated students interested in pursuing a PhD in my group. The first step before we can discuss a position and financial support, however, is to submit your application to the CWRU graduate school. If the application fee is an issue, don't be shy about requesting a waiver! Our department often has plenty of funds set aside for this.

If you are applying for the Fall semester, I highly recommend submitting your application early, by Jan. 31 if possible. In your personal statement, be sure to indicate why you are interested in attending CWRU and working in my group in particular. Also indicate the Fluid and Thermal Sciences track on your application.

Once your application is submitted, please contact me to let me know, and I will have your application forwarded to me. 
 

There are no firm requirements, but I prefer students with Quantitative/Verbal percentiles of 80/60 or 90/50 or higher on the GRE, even if you are a non-native speaker. That being said, the test scores are only a small part of the total application, your GPA, prior experience (if any), and recommendation letters are weighed more heavily.
 

Generally speaking, no, M.S. students are not supported with research assistantships in EMAE at CWRU. I am, of course, always willing to discuss research in my group as part of your M.S. thesis, and if you decide to pursue a PhD we can discuss financial support at that time.

The best way to learn more about our research is to read our publications. If you can’t access a certain publication, please email me and ask for a copy of the paper!

Please send me an email with a copy of your CV. Tell me why you’re interested in my group, about your prior research experience, and how a postdoc position fits in with your future career goals. The earlier you contact me before you intend to start, the better.

The answer depends a bit on where you are in your undergraduate career. Let me preface this by saying that, as I see it, the goal of doing undergraduate research is either to have something to put on your resumé or to see whether you like it so you can decide if you want to go to graduate school. As you will see, there are much better ways to achieve these goals than working in my lab as an undergraduate student.

For first- and second-year students, I do not have research opportunities for students before they finish their third year. To be frank, undergraduate students simply do not have enough baseline knowledge to begin to be useful in my lab. At a bare minimum, you would need to have taken EMAE 359 (Aero/Gas Dynamics), which you will take in the Spring semester of your third year. You will find very quickly that you also don't have the time to do anything meaningful in a research context just yet. My PhD students typically spend 40-50 hours per week in the lab - it's a full time job - and even then they don't produce significant results until they get to about their second or third year. Working 10 hours a week (which would be a lot for an undergraduate), it would take an undergraduate student 4 years to produce the equivalent of 1 year of a PhD student. Undergraduate research in my lab tends to lead to a lot of frustration on both sides, you just won't have enough dedicated time to produce anything that you can be proud of.

What I would encourage you to do instead is join one of the engineering teams, such as Aeronautics (Design/Build/Fly) or the Rocket Team, or even Baja. You will get to work on real-world, hands-on engineering but actually be able to contribute and have something to show for all your effort. It's a much better use of your valuable extracurricular time. You will get essentially the same experience as working in a research lab, but will be far more rewarding. Plus, you will make connections with other, more senior students who can help you find job and other opportunities.

For third and fourth year students, there is a built-in opportunity in the curriculum for you to work in my lab. Some time in your 4th year you will take EMAE 398 (Senior Project). In 398, you will choose from a list of projects sponsored by faculty members in the department, including me. What works best is if you contact me sometime late in the semester prior to taking EMAE 398, and we can work together to come up with a project that we are both excited about. If you want to put in the extra work, I often have students work in my lab the summer prior to that so that they can get a 6-month project out of a single-semester class. I can help you apply for SOURCE funding to support you during the summer, the deadline to apply is in February. This arrangement typically works very well for all parties, and it will get you the taste of research you want for making career decisions and something to put on your resumé. This can also lead into a Master's thesis if you want to go the BS/MS route.

If you still have questions after reading this, or you just want to talk with me about my research, feel free to send me an email and we can set up a meeting.

The Case Western Reserve University campus is located in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland, OH. University Circle is home to the Cleveland Orchestra and several world-class museums. The nearby Uptown and Coventry neighborhoods feature dozens of excellent restaurants and many CWRU faculty, students, and staff (including me) enjoy the wonderful experiences that this part of Cleveland has to offer. CWRU is about a 15-minute drive or train ride from downtown Cleveland, the home of several professional sports teams and the shores of Lake Erie. I was an undergraduate student here and currently live on the near-west side of the city - Cleveland is a great place to work and live!

You will get your best impression of what it’s like to work in my lab from my current students, but I’ll do my best to explain my advising philosophy. Choosing your PhD advisor is one of the most significant decisions you will make, so do it carefully! My ultimate goal is for my students and postdocs to be successful. I am fully aware that working in my group is not the “end goal” for anyone, but hopefully it will be a stepping stone towards something greater. I make my best effort to interact with all of my students personally at least weekly through regular meetings to provide mentoring and guidance to help them develop into confident, independent researchers. I put a strong emphasis on understanding the fundamentals, instead of merely learning some new experimental technique. I also place a high value on social interactions outside of the lab, I enjoy getting to know my students!