Positions

We have positions available for enthusiastic students and postdocs with background experience in engineering and/or physics.

Postdoctoral Researchers

We welcome interest from potential postdocs. However, at this time, we can only consider applicants who have already secured external funding.

Graduate Students

Prospective students interested in this area of research should apply to the Doctoral Program in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. We highly encourage you to apply for scholarships and fellowships to support your graduate education. A list of those is available below.

Undergraduate Students

UCLA undergraduates interested in summer or academic year research opportunities should contact Prof. Vialetto with their CV and transcript.

Fellowships & Scholarships

We strongly encourage students to pursue external fellowships and scholarships to support their research with the lab. Outside funding gives you more freedom in choosing your research direction, and we are glad to help you prepare an application. Reach out early to talk through your interests and we can advise on fit and drafts.

If you are an undergraduate planning to go to graduate school, the NSF GRFP is the place to start: apply in the fall of your senior year. If you’re already in your first year of graduate school, you may still be eligible.

• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program: three years of support for graduate study in NSF-supported fields; open to U.S. citizens, nationals, and permanent residents.
• Hertz Foundation Fellowship: up to five years of support for PhD work in the applied physical and biological sciences, mathematics, and engineering.
• National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship: three years of support for doctoral study in DoD-relevant science and engineering fields.
• DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship: up to four years of support for students using computing to solve science and engineering problems.
• GEM Fellowship: fellowship plus paid internships for students from groups underrepresented in engineering and science.
• Amelia Earhart Fellowship: for women in PhD programs in aerospace-related science and engineering.
• NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunities (NSTGRO): up to four years of support for space-technology research aligned with NASA’s priorities; includes a Visiting Technologist Experience at a NASA center. Applications are submitted by the faculty advisor through NSPIRES, typically due late January. Contact us by early January if you want to apply. U.S. citizens, nationals, and permanent residents at U.S. institutions.

Eligibility rules and deadlines change year to year. Always check the program’s own site before you plan around them.

Summer Research Support

UCLA undergraduates who want to do research with the lab over the summer have several funding options. Most deadlines fall between January and March, and nearly all of them require you to have a faculty mentor lined up before you apply. So talk to us in the fall or early winter, not in the spring.

• URC-Sciences Summer Program: the main option for most students. Ten weeks of full-time research with a UCLA faculty mentor, up to $6,000 (full-time) or $2,000 (part-time, alongside Summer Sessions). UCLA undergraduates only, 3.0 GPA, must already have a faculty mentor and completed lab safety training, must intend to pursue a PhD, and cannot be receiving other summer funding for lab work. Applications are submitted through MyUCLA; the 2026 window ran January 12 – March 2.
• UC LEADS: a two-year fellowship, not a summer program — up to $6,000/year for academic-year research plus a $5,000 summer scholarship. Nine UCLA students per cohort. Physical sciences or engineering majors only (UCLA’s program no longer admits life science majors), rising juniors, educationally or economically disadvantaged, U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or AB-540. Note that the second summer is spent at a different UC campus. Deadline was March 1, 2026.
• SURP (Summer Undergraduate Research Program, Samueli): a structure, not a funding source — SURP does not place or fund students in labs. It wraps a cohort experience (workshops, progress reports, poster symposium) around students who are new to research and have already joined a lab, where the faculty mentor supplies the stipend. If you want to do this, we have to enroll you and fund you; the student’s part is an interest form. Ten-week commitment; in 2026 it ran June 22 – August 28.
• UCLA Research Programs (master listing): central directory of UCLA undergraduate research programs, scholarships, and awards across disciplines. Worth browsing for program-specific options not listed here.

Program details and deadlines change every year. Always confirm on the program’s own site, and contact us early — for most of these, we need to be involved before you apply.