- Prospective Ph.D. Students: Students interested in Ph.D. studies with full financial aid at PEESE are encouraged to apply for one of the following Cornell graduate programs:
- Ph.D. program in Systems
- Ph.D. program in Computer Science
- Ph.D. program in Applied Mathematics
- Ph.D. program in Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Ph.D. program in Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Ph.D. program in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
- Ph.D. program in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Ph.D. program in Operations Research and Information Engineering
- The Ph.D. programs are typically very competitive and selective, so interested applicants might consider the following M.S. programs as possible options before transitioning to the Ph.D. program:
- Prospective M.S. Students: PEESE always welcomes self-funded M.S. students dedicated to high-caliber thesis research. Our M.S. students generally advance to one of the above-mentioned Ph.D. programs after completing their M.S. studies with us. We understand that some M.S. students may opt for different trajectories post-graduation, such as transitioning into the industry. Nonetheless, we expect that their research progress will align with that of their counterparts, who are at a similar academic stage in a concurrent Ph.D. program. Here is the list of PEESE M.S. alumni, excluding those continuing for Ph.D.
- PEESE M.S. students who demonstrate significant research progress after a semester or a year could be supported by partial to full financial aid from our research fund. Notably, some of our exceptional M.S. students have received stipends, due to their remarkable achievements, that significantly exceed the Ph.D. assistantship rate.
- Our research projects are fundamental and practically significant. We frequently collaborate with industries and NGOs on various research projects. PEESE Ph.D. students did summer internships with our industrial partners/collaborators, such as JP Morgan, Amazon, Microsoft, Intel, Meta/Facebook, ExxonMobil, Dow Chemical, among many others.
- Due to the interdisciplinary nature of our research, PEESE Ph.D. and M.S. students typically take a few graduate courses on operations research, artificial intelligence, and/or computer science. In particular, our Ph.D. and M.S. students take ORIE 6336 Integer Programming or CS 6780: Advanced Machine Learning, in addition to SysEn/ChemE 6800 Computational Optimization and SysEn/ChemE 6880: Industrial Big Data Analytics & Machine Learning. Other courses offered by PEESE, SysEn 6888: Deep Learning and SysEn 5860: Quantum Computing and Artificial Intelligence, are not required.
- Ph.D. and M.S. are research degree programs and require performing original and innovative research. Students interested in earning a master’s degree focusing on coursework only (i.e., non-thesis option) should pursue a professional degree instead, such as CBE M.Eng. or ECE M.Eng. See below for further details.
- Prospective M.Eng. Students: We are excited to offer design project opportunities to CBE M.Eng. and ECE M.Eng. students at Cornell. Our M.Eng. projects covers a variety of topics, including data science, AI, software engineering, app/web development, sustainability, energy systems, computational modeling, manufacturing, process/product design, and bio-/pharmaceutical engineering. CBE and ECE M.Eng. students interested in PEESE are very welcome to contact Prof. You for M.Eng. projects through CHEME 5650 or ECE 6930/6931. We are particularly proud of the M.Eng. awards won by former PEESE students.
- Postdoctoral Positions: We are currently looking for multiple postdoc associates on research topics related to our research. Applicants with independent financial support or third-party funding are strongly encouraged to inquire about possible openings. We sponsor candidates with suitable background and strong publication records to compete for some Cornell internal postdoc fellowships, including Schmidt AI in Science Postdoc Fellowship, Ezra Systems Scholars, and Cornell Atkinson Postdoc Fellowship. These postdoc fellowships offer competitive salaries, in addition to the full Cornell-employee benefit plans.
