Opportunities

The LIMBS Laboratory is a highly interdisciplinary research group at the nexus of robotics, neuroscience, and integrative biomechanics. Our students and postdoctoral scholars perform cutting-edge research in engineering, integrative biology, and neuroscience and publish in top field-specific journals and interdisciplinary journals. We are fortunate to collaborate with some of the best scientists in the world, many of whom are right here at JHU. Our students and postdocs go on to successful academic and industrial careers and become thought leaders in their fields. If you are interested in becoming a member of this research group, please read below.

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Post-Doc Positions

General requirements: Applicants should have a PhD, a strong publication record for their career stage, be curious, and excited to learn. Postdocs will receive training in cutting-edge techniques in robotics, dynamical systems, control theory and neuroscience, drawing on our team’s diverse and complimentary expertise in animal behavior, physiology, and control theory. 

While we have no active searches at this time, we are always interested in hearing from prospective postdocs. If interested, please send your CV, contact information for 2–3 references, and a brief description of research achievements and interest to Prof. Cowan.

Prospective Graduate Students

Graduate recruiting is idiosyncratic and varies between universities, graduate programs and/or departments within a university, and labs within a program or department. The purpose of this text is to explain how things work in several programs at Johns Hopkins, and in my laboratory in particular, as well as give you information about how to apply to become a part of the LIMBS laboratory working with Prof. Cowan as a thesis advisor.

At Johns Hopkins, some graduate programs (such as the Biomedical Engineering Department and Neuroscience Graduate Program) admit a cohort of students in a “pool” who then perform research rotations. This model has its advantages for the students in terms of flexibility: your advisor is not “assigned” to you at the time of matriculation. I have advised multiple students to successful PhDs in these programs. Other programs, such as my primary department Mechanical Engineering Department’s PhD program, typical admit students  directly to a lab, or in some cases create an offer letter that includes a handful of possible advisors, based on a conversation between the student and potential advisors. These conversations generally occur after the student has applied so all of her or his applications materials have been reviewed by the appropriate faculty members.

Prof. Cowan maintains a research group of 3-6 PhD students, and therefore recruits 0-2 graduate students per year for research. While many of his projects involve biology no prior training in biology or neuroscience is expected. We are unique in our approaches to applying dynamical systems and control theory to biological systems and you will learn the necessary concepts from biology along the way.

Prospective graduate students interested in admission (typically for Fall enrollment cycle) must submit a complete official application for consideration; Prof. Cowan cannot “pre-evaluate” graduate applications. You may, of course, reach out to Prof. Cowan directly before applying but he is unable to respond to every such inquiry.

Where to apply? You may apply through Prof. Cowan’s primary department of Mechanical Engineering or through another graduate program that he is a member of, such as Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, or the Neuroscience Graduate Program. Your undergraduate field of study need not be one of these disciplines; for example, physicists, applied mathematicians, and biologists with a strong mathematical and/or computational background are strongly encouraged to apply.

Prior training in biology or neuroscience is absolutely not necessary but please highlight any such training, no matter how small, in your application or inquiry!

If you are interested in working in the LIMBS laboratory be sure to mention your interest in Prof. Cowan’s laboratory in your written statement. You may also send Prof. Cowan a brief personal email, either before or after you have applied to one of the above programs. Unfortunately, Prof. Cowan is unable to pre-evaluate your application and may not be able to respond to all pre-application email inquiries.

JHU Graduate Program Rotations

In addition to Prof. Cowan’s primary appointment in Mechanical Engineering, he also participates in the graduate programs of several programs, including Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Neuroscience. Prof. Cowan routinely provides rotation projects for students in these programs. Some of these projects have evolved into thesis projects. If you are currently a student at JHU in one of these programs, a simple email to Prof. Cowan is all that is needed to apply. Please include a bit of information, such as CV and a list of courses you’ve taken at JHU (or an unofficial transcript), as well as a brief description of your research interests.

Prospective MSE students (already at JHU)

Prospective MSE students who are already enrolled at JHU should [email protected] email Prof. Cowan their resume, unofficial JHU transcript, and (unofficial) undergraduate transcript. Prof . Cowan does not direct admit MSE students into his lab before matriculation to our program. If you are a new MSE student, please email Prof. Cowan to meet him during your first semester (or later) to discuss the possibility of MSE research.

Undergraduate Student Positions

We usually have several undergraduate student researchers working in the LIMBS Lab each year. We look for students who are proactive, responsible, independent, good “lab citizens”, and have a strong academic record. We have to limit the number of undergraduate student researchers due to the availability of mentors, but we always have a lot of ideas for undergraduate research projects.

Prospective undergraduate researchers from JHU should [email protected] email Prof. Cowan their resume and unofficial transcript. Prof. Cowan’s website has more information on working in his lab.

Teaching Assistant Positions


This is only for current JHU graduate and undergraduate students; the ME Department does not admit new graduate students as TAs. Each of Dr. Cowan’s classes uses one or more teaching assistants. However, currently all positions are filled.