Postdoctoral Position
Graduate Students (Ph.D)
Description: One PhD position is available in the Biological Systems Engineering Program in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis). The ideal candidate will work at the Controlled Environment Engineering (https://ceelab.ucdavis.edu/) Lab at UC Davis and will receive financial support from winter 2025 over the next three/four years. The research will focus on energy-efficient design and optimization of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, techno-economic performance evaluation of renewable energy systems, and modeling the energy systems of controlled environment agricultural facilities with more focus on indoor vertical farming.
The ideal candidate should have a strong background in thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer, and renewable energy systems. Familiarity with thermal environment modeling and energy simulation tools, as well as experimental experience with HVAC systems, are preferred.
Minimum Requirements: The following are the requirements for the position:
- Education: A student with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, or a closely related engineering program (Minimum GPA 3.5 and must have a bachelor's program in Engineering) is preferred.
- Programming and Computer Skills: A strong background in energy and HVAC systems with programming (MATLAB, Python) skills and experiences in modeling and simulation are required. Familiarity with data acquisition systems like LabVIEW is preferred.
- English language testing requirement (if applicable): The candidate needs to meet the minimum English Language Requirement for admission at UC Davis. Please visit the following site (https://grad.ucdavis.edu/english-language-examinations) for English proficiency requirements.
- Excellent in writing and oral communication.
Supervisor and Contact Person: Dr. Shamim Ahamed is currently serving as an Assistant Professor at UC Davis, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering. He completed his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, and he holds a Master's in Farm Power and Machinery and a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering from Bangladesh Agricultural University. Dr. Ahamed's research revolves around agrivoltaics, optimization, modeling, precision control, and monitoring indoor microclimates and fertigation systems of controlled environment agricultural (CEA) facilities. Additionally, his research covers the application of machine learning-based algorithms for automated fault detection and diagnosis of CEA sensing and control systems. The overarching objective of CEE Lab is to enhance economic sustainability and reduce the environmental impact of indoor farming by minimizing energy and labor costs.
Contact: Please send a CV, transcripts, research statement (max two pages), and inquiries to Dr. Shamim Ahamed (mahamed@ucdavis.edu)
Visiting Scholars/Students
Our lab welcomes motivated visiting scholars/students to join UCDAVIS. I would be happy to host the scholars if your own institutions or other sources can fund them. Please send me your CV and research plan for further discussion.