Job Opportunities — ACEMS Lab

🎓 Ph.D. and Postdoc Positions in the ACEMS Lab

Opportunities

Dr. Shi plans to recruit 1–2 highly motivated Ph.D. students and one postdoctoral researcher starting in the Fall 2026 semester in the broad area of advanced vehicle technologies and smart cities.

Ph.D. Positions

The Ph.D. positions will be fully funded through research or teaching assistantships or competitive fellowships.

Desired skills and background:

Strong programming skills and computational modeling
Mathematical modeling and large-scale data processing
Problem-solving and critical thinking
Vehicle technologies, especially communication and automation
Related areas in computer science (e.g., sensing, embedded systems, machine learning, control)
Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Applicants with backgrounds in Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) or Electrical Engineering (EE) are particularly encouraged to apply.

How to Apply (Ph.D. applicants)

Interested Ph.D. applicants should send the following as a single PDF file to Dr. Shi as soon as possible:

Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Class ranking and transcripts
1–2 page personal statement
English proficiency test score (TOEFL / IELTS)

GRE is not required, but may be included if available.
Applications will be reviewed immediately, and successful candidates will be invited for a formal application and further interview.

Postdoctoral Position

Interested postdoctoral candidates should send a detailed CV and cover letter to Dr. Shi for review.
The start date for the postdoctoral position is flexible.

About Dr.Shi

Dr. Xiaowei (Tom) Shi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and is also affiliated with the Department of Electrical Engineering and the Institute for Physical Infrastructure and Transportation(IPIT) at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UWM). He directs the Automated, Connected & Electric Mobility Systems (ACEMS) Lab at UWM and serves as a Co-chair of the IEEE Emerging Transportation Technology Testing Technical Committee. This is Dr. Shi’s profile.

His research focuses on evaluating emerging mobility technologies, such as automated, connected, and electric vehicles, and developing novel technologies through the utilization of field experiments and hardware-in-the-loop methodologies. His works have been published in top transportation journals, including Transportation Science, Transportation Research Parts Series(A–F), and IEEE Transactions on ITS.

He is an area editor of Cleaner Logistics Supply Chain and serves on the Editorial Board of Transportation Research Today. He has led numerous externally funded projects supported by the US DOT, Wisconsin DOT, and industry companies.

Over the next six years, his team will participate in a US DOT sponsored national initiative on how automated vehicles can benefit rural communities.

About UWM and Milwaukee

The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UWM) is classified as an R1 Research University (very high research activity) by the Carnegie Classification.
Milwaukee, located on the shores of Lake Michigan, is Wisconsin’s largest city and is home to the Milwaukee Bucks (NBA).