How to become involved in our research lab

We welcome highly motivated graduate students and undergraduates who are interested in clean energy, additive manufacturing, advanced materials, and computational design.  Please read below for details on how to become involved in our research lab and follow the instructions for the category that best applies to you.

Ph.D. Students

We consider prospective Ph.D. students for our research group after general admissions decisions have been made. Please apply directly to the UW Mechanical Engineering (ME) department and contact the respective admissions officers for inquiries about ME program requirements and additional questions about the department.  We will be recruiting one new ME Ph.D. student for a Fall 2025 start, so please submit applications by December 15, 2023 based on the instructions here: https://www.me.washington.edu/prospective/grad/app-procedure.  Unfortunately, due to the number of inquires we receive, we do not have the ability to respond to most messages from students who have not yet been admitted to a PhD program at UW.  If you are considering UW and are eligible, we encourage you to apply for an application fee waiver here.

Master’s Students

Prior to Admission: We only consider prospective Masters students for our research group after admissions decisions have been made. Please apply directly to the UW Mechanical Engineering Department and contact the respective admissions officers for inquiries about program requirements. Unfortunately, we will not be able to respond to inquires made before a student has been granted admission to UW.

After Admission: We do not have funded research positions available for Master’s students in our group.  Once you have been admitted to our M.S. program, if you are self-funded and would like to work on a volunteer basis or if you would like to register for ME 598/600/700 research credit under Prof. Cobb’s supervision for one of the following projects here, please complete our lab’s contact form: https://depts.washington.edu/infab/contact-us/  — In the contact form, please provide the information below. In the event there is a potential match with a research project in our group, our lab will follow-up with you to schedule a meeting to discuss potential research opportunities further.

  1. A message (i.e. cover letter) that explains why you want to work with our lab, the research project you are interested in (click here for options), and what, in your opinion, are your strongest skills/traits. Make sure you indicate in your message whether you are interested in a Master’s project (or thesis) or if you want to work on a volunteer basis.
  2. Your current CV or resume
  3. A sample of your writing as lead author—final documentation for an individual class or research project already completed, a lab report, etc.

Undergraduate Students

We are open to qualified UW undergraduates from ME, ECE, CSE, MSE, AA, CE, ChemE, Chemistry and Physics who are interested in batteries and additive manufacturing. We look for undergraduate students who are self-starters and can commit to pursing research in our lab for at least 3 consecutive quarters. If you are interested in doing undergraduate research in our lab, please complete our lab’s contact form: https://depts.washington.edu/infab/contact-us/ — In the contact form, please provide the information below. In the event there is a potential match with a research project in our group, our lab will follow-up with you to schedule a meeting to discuss potential research opportunities further.

  1. A message (i.e. cover letter) that explains why you want to conduct undergraduate research and what your longer term degree and career goals are once you graduate from UW. Be sure to indicate what projects you are interested in (click here for options).
  2. Attach a one-page resume
  3. Attach a writing sample from a class lab report or project where you were the primary author.

Postdoctoral Researchers

We do not have any funded postdoctoral positions open at this time. Candidates who have extensive experimental experience with battery materials and electrode fabrication may be considered if they have their own source of external funding.  Lists of potential postdoctoral fellowship opportunities can be found through WRF, the National Academies and here and here.

If you have your own potential source of funding, send Prof. Cobb an email with the following three items: (1) your current CV, (2) a one-page cover letter that explains why you want to work with our lab, the research project you are interested in (click here for options), and your career goals (also note what fellowship you have or are applying for and its term length), and (3) a list of three references.  Only candidates who meet the criteria outlined here and who are a strong match with our lab research areas will be contacted for an interview.  Candidates who do not meet the criteria outlined here and/or are missing the three requested items in their email will not receive a response.

Visiting Researchers, Visiting Scholars, and Internships

Unfortunately, we do not have the ability to host or support visiting scholars, visiting researchers, students or interns from other schools and institutions at this time.  This includes undergraduate students from other universities and high school students who are looking to volunteer over the summer. Inquires made for these types of positions will not receive a response.