BIOLOGICAL CONTROL SYSTEMS

October 18, 2019 in News & Media

  • Title of project: BIOLOGICAL CONTROL SYSTEMS
  • Funding agency (Optional): Multiple (including NASA, Department of Defense, etc.)
  • Description: Talented and capable graduate students are always sought to help realize SYBORGS, which are SYstems/SYnthetic Biological Optimization, Regulation, or Generation Systems. The SYBORGS lab engineers novel regulation and autonomy into biological processes for medical and science applications. We use modeling, system identification, control, and optimization methods to address open problems in the fields of systems biology and synthetic biology, thereby developing robotic biological systems (cybernetic organisms or cyborgs). We are looking for two students. One open position is in evolutionary processes; this position balances stochastic control theory, biosecurity, and wet lab experiments. A second position is in synthetic biology, and is primarily wet lab. Overlap with space synthetic biology is possible.    
  • Restrictions/Constraints: None.
  • Knowledge and skills needed: Because the SYBORGS lab is multidisciplinary, we seek and cultivate all skill-sets. Routes to the lab are not just mechanical or aerospace engineering, but also biomedical engineering and agricultural and biological engineering. Experimentalists will gain an appreciation for theory and computation, while theorists will experience the wet lab. Our students enjoy intellectual challenges, work hard to solve tough problems, drive towards independent thought and inquiry, and delight in team successes. They display leadership abilities and strong communication skills, participate in extracurricular activities, and always apply for awards, scholarships, and fellowships. As an undergraduate, our students typically participated in research during academic terms or over summers, and are past Amgen Scholars, iGEM competitors, etc.
  • How to apply: Please email a CV, a transcript, and available GRE and TOEFL scores to Prof. Menezes (amormenezes@ufl.edu). Please explain your interest in a SYBORGS lab research area and associated papers. Please also explain how your unique skills can advance our ongoing efforts in that research area, especially suggesting a new direction that you could potentially champion.
  • Faculty contact/webpage: Dr. Amor Menezes, amormenezes@ufl.edu, https://syborgs.mae.ufl.edu/