Join us
Come and build marine robots
We welcome students curious about AI, control theory and hydrodynamics — and willing to take an idea from a whiteboard to a field trial.
Openings
Current positions
All funded positions in the group are advertised here. Please read what we expect before applying.
Read the expectations for joining the guild →
To apply, email abhilash@iitm.ac.in with your CV and a short note on which position interests you and why.
What we expect
What we look for
Our research group is a guild with no hierarchy. You learn as much by hanging around with the guild, working on projects, and interacting with the group as you do from formal supervision. Typical work includes designing and building autonomous marine vehicles, developing programs to simulate their dynamics, and developing and implementing control strategies on those vehicles.
Building or working with autonomous vehicles in the marine environment needs ideas from ocean, mechanical, structural, electrical, electronics and computer science engineering. Students from all disciplines are welcome.
We look for someone who:
- can demonstrate familiarity with our work
- has a history of excellence and is passionate about getting involved
- enjoys connecting the dots between disciplines
- is ready to get their hands dirty on a practical problem
- is willing to work as part of a team
- will be grounded in artificial intelligence, control theory and naval architecture — or is motivated to learn, even without prior experience in those areas
Expectations
These expectations apply to everyone in the guild.
- Produce one paper a year (journal or conference) after the first semester. Initially assist as a co-author. After the first year, serve as first author.
- Meet at least once every two weeks (once a week is recommended) to discuss research progress and challenges.
- Meet all requirements of the institute and the department.
- Serve as a mentor to newer students in the guild.
- Work together as a team toward the common goals of guild projects.
Everyone is expected to support the guild internally and externally, and to maintain high standards of scientific rigor and personal integrity. Plagiarism in paper publication is treated as a serious offence.
Funding
MS and PhD students looking to join can either:
- Apply through the regular channel at research.iitm.ac.in
- Join through one of the funded positions and later (after at least six months) convert into an MS or PhD programme
Postdocs are funded through projects depending on availability. Funding is conditional on maintaining satisfactory performance in the Department of Ocean Engineering and in the group.