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Join the SysOptiMaL Lab

Multiple Graduate Assistantship Positions at Virginia Tech

Systems Optimization and Machine Learning Lab (SysOptiMaL) at the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) at Virginia Tech seeks a highly qualified and enthusiastic Ph.D. student with a full graduate assistantship, including tuition, stipend, and health insurance for multiple years throughout the Ph.D. studies. The position will start in Spring or Fall 2024. The undergraduate and graduate ISE programs are currently ranked third (3rd) and sixth (6th), respectively, by U.S. News & World Report.

The ideal candidate for the graduate assistantship position should be a highly motivated individual with outstanding writing skills and a strong background in math, algorithms, data science, and computer programming. The prospective student will work on optimization, machine learning, and data science interface. The research projects involve developing data-driven optimization models, stochastic programming, and exact algorithms (e.g., decomposition algorithms) and investigating the connections between machine learning and optimization to solve logistics, healthcare, and environmental resource allocation problems. A background in operations research, data science, computer science, machine learning, applied mathematics, optimization, algorithms,  programming (C++, Phyton, JAVA, etc.) and economics is desirable, although all qualified candidates will be considered.  Strong CPLEX, Gurobi and other optimization/machine learning software skills will be considered a plus. The applicants should seek a Ph.D. degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. Strong candidates without a master’s degree will also be considered should they apply for the Ph.D. program.

Interested candidates should apply to the ISE PhD program at Virginia Tech as soon as possible by marking Dr. Esra Buyuktahtakin Toy’s name in their application package. Candidates are also strongly encouraged to contact Dr. Esra Buyuktahtakin Toy (esratoy@vt.edu) directly and send her an email with (preferably in pdf/jpeg format)

  • A resume
  • An unofficial copy of your graduate/undergraduate transcript.
  • Unofficial copies of TOEFL and GRE scores
  • Three representative publications or reports, if available
  • Read some of our recent publications and mention which one(s) interest you

The position(s) will be open until filled. Note that we cannot make an acceptance or funding decision without a formal application submitted to the ISE department at Virginia Tech (last updated on 9/25/2023)