Master’s Research Projects for International Students – 2026
International master’s students completing their final project requirement may choose from research opportunities across all Illinois Tech departments.
Program Options
- 597 Project: Required when home institution needs letter grades (A, B, C, etc.)
- 594 Project: Available when letter grades not required (Pass/Fail acceptable)
- Timeline: Projects may start in first or second semester based on program requirements
Application Process
- Contact Faculty: Email potential project instructors with your name, IIT CWID, degree program, background, and project interest
- Get Approvals: Obtain permits from your IIT academic advisor, home university research advisor, and IIT project instructor
- Register: Declare project on Degree Works via eforms after receiving approvals
Armour Engineering Faculty
Biomedical Engineering
Keigo Kawaji – kkawaji@iit.edu
MRI Technology, Medical Imaging | Research Lab
Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering
Mohammad Heidarinejad – mheidarinejad@iit.edu
Building Systems, Indoor Air Quality, Smart Controls | Research Group
Ali Oskouie – oskouie@iit.edu
Environmental Engineering, Water Systems | Department Website
Laurence Rohter – rohter@iit.edu
Geospatial Data, LiDAR Technology | Research Labs
David Lampert – dlampert1@iit.edu
Environmental Engineering, Water Quality | Faculty Profile
Boyoung Jeong – bjeong1@iit.edu
Geotechnical Engineering, Soil Mechanics | Faculty Profile
Chemical & Biological Engineering
Mohammad Asadi – masadi1@iit.edu
Renewable Energy, Electrochemical Systems | Research Lab
Hamid Arastoopour – arastoopour@iit.edu
CO2 Utilization, Chemical Processes | WISER Institute
Sohail Murad – smurad1@iit.edu
Molecular Modeling, Gas Separation | Department Website
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Lin Cai – lcai11@iit.edu
Wireless Networks, IoT Systems | Research Page
Joohee Kim – jkim61@iit.edu
Computer Vision, Autonomous Driving | Research Lab
Yu Cheng – cheng@iit.edu
Wireless Communications, Machine Learning | Faculty Page
Ian Brown – ibrown1@iit.edu
Electric Motors, Power Electronics | Research Page
Mechanical, Materials & Aerospace Engineering
Francisco Ruiz – ruiz@iit.edu
Automotive Technology, Advanced Propulsion | Department Website
Chen Wei – wchen66@iit.edu
Materials Design, Machine Learning | Research Group
Carrie Hall – chall9@iit.edu
Engine Control, Renewable Fuels | Research Lab
Heng Wang – hwang184@iit.edu
Thermal Energy Storage, Medical Devices | Research Page
Ankit Srivastava – asriva13@iit.edu
Neural Networks, Metamaterials, Fluid Dynamics | Faculty Page
Louis Cattafesta – lcattafestaiii@iit.edu
Flow Imaging, Data Assimilation | Faculty Profile
Lewis College of Science and Letters
Biology
Oscar Juarez – ojuarez@iit.edu
Antiviral Drug Development, Antibiotic Research | Research Lab
Chemistry
Yuanbing Mao – ymao17@iit.edu
Nanomaterials, Optical Information Storage | Faculty Profile
David Minh – dminh@iit.edu
Computational Chemistry, Machine Learning, Drug Design | Research Page
Rong Wang – wangr@iit.edu
Biosensors, Medical Diagnostics, Wearable Technology | Sensor Science Program
Physics
Ali Khounsary – akhounsa@iit.edu
Thermal Systems, X-ray Instrumentation, Medical Devices | Faculty Profile
Carlo Segre – segre@iit.edu
Battery Materials, X-ray Structural Studies | Research Lab
College of Computing
Computer Science
Gruia Calinescu – calinescu@iit.edu
Algorithms, Combinatorial Optimization | Department Website
Duan Yue – yduan12@iit.edu
Blockchain Security, Smart Contract Testing | Department Website
Wang Binghui – bwang70@iit.edu
Graph Learning, Federated Learning, AI Security | Research Page
Anthony Kougkas – akougkas@iit.edu
High-Performance Computing, Storage Systems | SCS Lab
Xian-He Sun – sun@iit.edu
Machine Learning, Computer Architecture | SCS Lab
Nik Sultana – nsultana1@iit.edu
Programmable Networks, Resource Virtualization | Faculty Page
Next Steps
Ready to start your research project?
Contact faculty directly using the email addresses above, then work with your
IIT academic advisor to complete the application process.
Note: Project information updated for 2026. Specific research opportunities vary by semester and faculty availability.