Position Description: The Plant Phenomics Lab at the University of Florida’s IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC), led by Dr. Xu (Kevin) Wang, invites applications for a Ph.D. Graduate Research Assistant to join our team starting Spring 2027. This position is supported by a USDA NIFA-funded project and focuses on AIpowered plant phenomics, including plant digital twins, multimodal data fusion, and knowledge-aware prediction models, to accelerate specialty crop breeding and production decision-making. The lab specializes in high-throughput plant phenotyping through smart sensing, computer vision, and predictive modeling across strawberry, tomato, and ornamental plants, combining field-deployed sensing systems with deep learning pipelines to extract actionable plant traits for breeders and growers. The position includes full support: competitive stipend, tuition coverage, and benefits.
Minimum Qualifications
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Agricultural Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related engineering field.
• Minimum GPA of 3.0 for undergraduate and 3.25 for graduate coursework. • For applicants whose native language is not English: TOEFL iBT overall score of 4.5+ with subscore minimums of 4.0 in all subsections (Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing), or IELTS minimum score of 6.5.
• Strong motivation for independent, interdisciplinary research and willingness to work in both lab and field environments.
