MultiScale Mechanics LabIIT Madras
Join Us

Join MultiScale Mechanics Lab

We are looking for enthusiastic MS, PhD and postdoctoral candidates. A grounding in solid mechanics and a willingness to learn are the prerequisites.

PhD

3 openings

Phase-field modelling of hydrogen embrittlement in steels

Multiscale modelling of deformation behaviour in materials

Scientific machine learning for inverse design of materials

MS by research

2 openings

Multiphysics finite element investigation of hydrogen embrittlement

Scientific machine learning for mechanical behaviour across scales

Postdoctoral

No current openings

Candidates intending to apply for a fellowship of their own — IPDF, NPDF or equivalent, described below — are welcome to write with a CV.

Funding routes

These terms recur throughout the IIT Madras admission process, so they are worth knowing before you write.

HTRAHalf-Time Research Assistantship
The institute assistantship that supports most PhD and MS-by-research scholars. It requires a valid GATE or UGC/CSIR-NET score, and carries about eight hours a week of departmental teaching or laboratory duties.
Project HTRA
The same assistantship, paid from a sponsored research grant rather than from institute funds. The degree, the laboratory, the supervision and the stipend are identical; the only difference is where the money comes from.
PMRFPrime Minister’s Research Fellowship
A national fellowship for outstanding PhD applicants, with direct and lateral entry routes. It carries a higher stipend and an annual research grant, and is applied for separately from the institute admission.
IPDFInstitute Post-Doctoral Fellowship
IIT Madras’s own postdoctoral fellowship, applied for through the institute with a faculty host. This is the usual route for a postdoctoral candidate who does not hold a national fellowship.
NPDFNational Post-Doctoral Fellowship
A national postdoctoral fellowship, applied for by the candidate and held at a host institution with a mentor. Write before applying, so the proposal is one the group can host.

Stipend amounts change from cycle to cycle, so none is printed here. The IIT Madras admissions brochure and each scheme’s own website carry the current figures.

How to apply

  • Write to ilaksh.adlakha@iitm.ac.in.
  • Subject line: PhD application — <opening> or MS application — <opening>.
  • Attach a CV and your academic transcripts, as PDFs.
  • Say briefly why the opening interests you and what relevant work you have done.

Admission to the PhD and MS programmes runs through the formal IIT Madras process, via the Department of Applied Mechanics and Biomedical Engineering. An email is not a substitute for that application.