PhD Positions in AI, Robotics, and Precision Agriculture at Cornell University Cornell University in United States

PhD positions in AI, robotics, and precision agriculture are open at Cornell University. Manoj Karkee’s AgRobotics lab is seeking two highly motivated PhD students to work on autonomous robotic systems for fruit crop production in complex, unstructured field environments.

The research sits at the intersection of computer science, robotics, agriculture, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering. Core topics include multimodal sensing and machine vision for crop perception, machine learning and deep learning for detection/tracking/3D reconstruction, robotic manipulation for harvesting and thinning, motion planning and control, and AI-enabled decision-making for sustainable agriculture.

Eligible applicants should have an MS or BS/BE for a direct PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering/Science, Agricultural Engineering, or a related field. The post highlights strong preparation in robotics, AI/ML, machine vision, autonomous systems, Python/C++, ROS/ROS2, field robotics, mechatronics, or agricultural systems, plus strong analytical, algorithmic, and experimental skills.

The position offers a competitive stipend, a well-resourced lab, a trans-disciplinary team environment, and access to large-scale field experiments, including commercial farms. Students may also collaborate with research groups at Cornell, Stanford, and Carnegie Mellon University.

To apply, interested candidates should contact Manoj Karkee directly by email with a CV and transcripts. No deadline is stated in the post.