Prospective Ph.D. Students

I have funded Ph.D. positions in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing at Penn State University starting Fall 2023 (submission deadline December 1st, 2022). I'm seeking students who have strong interests in human cognition and behavior, human-interface design, human-AI interaction (connected and automated vehicles, CAV), and human performance modeling/machine learning models.

The desired qualifications include:

(1) A Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Psychology, Computer Science, or other related fields, or a Master's degree with a concentration in Human Factors related fields.

(2) Necessary technical skills to conduct empirical research, such as experiment design and statistical analysis.

(3) Experience in human factors/human-automation interaction research is a plus.

(4) Skills in programming, eye-tracking devices, VR/Simulator applications are a plus.

(5) Research experience and skills in machine learning are a plus.

Interested applicants could contact Dr. Yiqi Zhang via yuz450@psu.edu. Please include the following information in the email: (1) your CV; (2) a copy of your transcripts; (3) a brief description of your research interests and background; and (4) representative publications or writing samples if available.


Master and Undergraduate Students

I'm seeking M.S. students who are interested in choosing the M.S. thesis options and could engage in research for at least three semesters continuously. We generally do not offer research assistantships to M.S. students unless they have spent one semester working with us on a research project.

I'm actively seeking undergraduates to engage in our research projects. I have continuously mentored undergraduate students via the REU programs, independent studies, and honor thesis. Female students and sophomore and junior students are strongly encouraged to apply.

Master/Undergraduate students interested in the following projects are welcome to contact me.

  • Ongoing projects:

    • Drivers-AV interaction behavior with a focus on AV interface and driving style designs: Driving simulator experiments and web-based experiments.

    • Driver situation awareness in connected and automated vehicles: Driving simulator experiments and web-based experiments.

    • Driver distraction in conventional vehicles and ADAS systems: Driving simulator experiments, web-based experiments, online surveys.

    • The social impact of automated vehicles & mobility inequality: Web-based experiments, online surveys.

    • Modeling human performance, decision-making, and trust in complex engineering systems: Cognitive computational models (QN-MHP).

    • Modeling driver performance and decision-making in CAVs: Machine learning models.

  • Exploration projects:

    • Nurses' situation awareness and alarm fatigue in ICUs: Cognitive interviews and survey study.

    • Cognition and gaming performance in Esports: Lab/Web-based experiments and survey study.

If you are interested in working with us, feel free to email me at yuz450@psu.edu with the title “Prospective Undergraduate/Master Student” and include the following information: (1) your CV; (2) a copy of your transcripts; (3) a brief description of your background and research interests. I will set up a follow-up meeting if there is a potential good fit.