Join Our Innovative Research Team! We are on the lookout for exceptional PhD candidates who are driven by curiosity and innovations and have strong interests in sustainable mobility, resilient infrastructure, feedback control, quantum computing, and human-AI interactions. Launch your fully-funded PhD journey with us in January or September 2026, where you will not only contribute to cutting-edge research but also shape the future of technological and societal development. 

​

McGill University ranks 29th according to the QS World Rankings 2025. For why Montreal is considered a top student city in the world, see here and here.

​

PhD Position 1 on Planning, Design, and Control of Future Mobility Systems

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in civil/electrical/mechanical engineering, operations research, or a related field. 

• Research interests in automated on-demand mobility, transport electrification, and infrastructure resilience.

• Mathematical and system thinking and hands-on experience related to: reinforcement learning, generative artificial intelligence, model-predictive control, system dynamics, agent-based simulation, event-based simulation, foundation models, and/or network/geospatial analytics.

• Skills in Python, Java, VBA, and/or cloud computing. 

• Excellent command of English for academic writing and communication.

​

PhD Position 2 on Applications and Advancements of Quantum Computing for Network Optimization and Agent Behavior Simulation

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in civil engineering, applied mathematics, applied physics, mathematical psychology, quantum computing, or a related field. 

• Research interests in applying quantum computing in prescriptive or descriptive decision-making for transportation systems planning and engineering

• Familiarity with deep learning architectures, reinforcement learning, and Bayesian models, particularly in transportation systems applications.

• Basic experience or knowledge in quantum computing frameworks such as IBM Qiskit, Google Cirq, or PennyLane. Understanding of variational quantum algorithms, quantum neural networks, and hybrid quantum-classical models. 

​

PhD Position 3 on Human Behaviors & Human-AI Interactions in Transportation Systems

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in transportation science, human factors, cognitive/behavioral psychology, bioengineering, human-computer interactions, urban design, or a related field.

• Research interests in surveys and interviews, discrete choice modeling, and human-AI interactions.

• Systematic and hands-on experience related to one or more of the following areas: survey analysis, preference elicitation, human-computer interactions, and large language models. 

• Skills in Power BI, Qualtrics, SQL, Python, R, VBA, Unity, and/or QGIS.

• Excellent command of English for academic writing and communication. Basic proficiency in French is an added advantage.

​​

How to Apply

Please ensure you are eligible to apply based on the information on the McGill Admission Portal and the departmental admission details and deadlines. Before apply, please consider notifying Prof. Jiangbo Yu with an email titled “PhD Applicant-[Last Name, First Name].”