Two Fully Funded PhD Positions in CFD and Scientific Machine Learning Vanderbilt University in United States

Prof. Ahmad Peyvan’s research group in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt University is inviting applications for two fully funded PhD positions in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), scientific machine learning (SciML), and high-performance scientific computing.

The group develops computational and data-driven methods for reliable modeling of complex fluid-flow systems. Students will receive interdisciplinary training spanning computational mechanics, applied mathematics, and artificial intelligence, with opportunities to work across two complementary tracks:

Track 1: CFD with Scientific Machine Learning — high-order numerical methods, discontinuous Galerkin spectral element methods (DGSEM), nonlinear conservation laws, compressible and high-speed flows with shocks, adaptive and high-performance computational methods, and ML-assisted solvers, simulation analysis, and reduced-order modeling.

Track 2: Scientific Machine Learning for Fluid Dynamics — neural operators, geometry-dependent surrogate modeling for PDE systems, physics-informed and structure-aware ML, reduced-order modeling, scientific foundation models, robustness and interpretability, and integration of learned models with numerical solvers.

Eligible applicants may come from mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, applied mathematics, computational science, computer science, data science, or related fields. Desired experience includes fluid mechanics, numerical methods, PDEs, scientific computing, and programming in Julia, C++, C, Fortran, Python, PyTorch, TensorFlow, or JAX.

The positions are fully funded and include a stipend starting at $40,000/year, full tuition support, paid individual health insurance, relocation allowance, and covered student activity and recreation fees. Competitive supplemental fellowships may also be available.

Interested students should first email Prof. Ahmad Peyvan with a CV, unofficial transcripts, a one-page research statement, and optionally one representative publication, thesis, project report, or software repository. In the subject line, use: Prospective PhD Student – [CFD Track or SciML Track] – [Your Name]. After an initial email exchange and online meeting, strong-fit candidates will be encouraged to apply formally to the PhD program in Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt University by 2026-10-15.

International applicants are welcome. Please check the official application website for current degree, testing, English-language, and application-fee requirements.