Join the group
The group takes students through both EECS and Mechanical Engineering. Work here usually spans an algorithm and something physical, so say which end you want to start from.
What the work looks like
Most projects here end in something that has to work outside the computer: a material, a device, a robot, or a controller running on one. That shapes what the work asks of you.
No single background is required. People arrive here from graphics, machine learning, mechanical engineering, chemistry, and materials science. What we look for is depth in at least one of them, plus a willingness to learn a field you have not worked in before, because the domains change often and the method is what carries over.
If that sounds right, read the three open problems and say in your note which one you would want to work on, and why.
How to apply
Apply to the MIT graduate program in EECS or Mechanical Engineering and name Wojciech Matusik as a potential advisor. Admission is by the department, not by individual faculty, so the application itself is what matters. Admitted PhD students are normally fully funded, through some combination of research assistantships, fellowships, and teaching appointments, subject to departmental policy. Deadlines and requirements are on the MIT graduate admissions site.
Email Wojciech directly with your CV, two or three representative papers, and a short note on the research you would pursue here and why this is the right place for it. Say what equipment, materials, or collaborations it would need; that detail tells us quickly whether the group can support the work.
UROP positions run every term, including summer. A first project is usually scoped to one term and ends in something real: a device, a dataset, or a tool a paper later builds on. Several UROPs here have ended up as coauthors. Email Wojciech or any current group member with your background and what you would like to learn.
Visiting students and researchers are considered case by case; write with your dates and your funding situation.
Where we are
Computational Design & Fabrication Group
MIT CSAIL, Stata Center, 32-D333
32 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA 02139
wojciech@mit.edu