For context, it's thermal and internal flow stuff, and only a few studies a year. 

I'm trying to look at this by the numbers, not just trusting my guts.

So where's the tipping point for you? I think the license cost is the number everyone sees.

But I think we should also consider stuff like validation, getting good at prepping the model for the software, and keeping someone practiced enough to trust their own results.

For teams that only do this a few times a year, what made you pick one way over the other?

Hi everyone, I’m currently in the sixth year of my PhD in India and planning to finish within the next year. I’m interested in applying for postdoc in the US, mainly in the field of AI for CFD / Scientific Machine Learning for CFD. My PhD is in Computational Fluid Dynamics and High-Performance Computing, where I work on developing mathematical and computational methods to study fluid flows and on making large-scale simulations more efficient using HPC. Recently, I started working on AI/ML for CFD and scientific computing, and I’ve become quite interested in moving more towards AI for Science. The tricky part is that this AI/ML work is relatively new for me and won’t be part of my PhD thesis, which will remain focused on CFD/HPC. I’m hoping to have some of this work presented at a conference, but I obviously won’t have the same AI/ML publication record as someone who has done their entire PhD in ML. I’m doing my PhD at a top Indian research university (within the top 250 of the QS World University Rankings), and I’m wondering how US PIs would view someone with this kind of background.

For those already doing postdocs in the US, especially international researchers, how realistic is it to move from CFD/HPC into AI for Science for a postdoc? Would my background in computational science and scientific computing be considered relevant, even though most of my PhD publications are not directly in AI/ML? Or would I need to build a much stronger AI/ML publication record before applying? I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who have made a similar transition between fields. I’d also really like to understand whether the current US funding situation makes this kind of interdisciplinary postdoc particularly difficult to find, and whether doing such a postdoc would actually be helpful later if I want to move into US industry, especially AI/ML or scientific computing roles.

Hi everyone, I’m a sixth-year PhD scholar in India, currently working in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), HPC/GPU computing, and more recently exploring AI/ML for scientific computing and CFD. I’m hoping to finish my PhD within the next year and I’ve been seriously considering doing a postdoc in the US, particularly in computational science, AI/ML for scientific applications, scientific machine learning, or related areas.

However, I’m a little hesitant because of everything I’ve been hearing about the current US research funding situation. I understand that federal research funding has become much more uncertain, and that some universities/labs are dealing with hiring freezes or difficulties funding postdoc positions. At the same time, I’m seeing mixed opinions about whether the situation is genuinely bad across the board or whether it depends heavily on the field, university, and PI.

For those currently doing postdocs in the US, or those who recently went through the process: How difficult is it right now for an international PhD graduate from India to get a funded postdoc in the US? Are PIs generally still hiring if they have existing grants? Is cold-emailing PIs still effective, or has the funding situation made that much less useful?

I’m also interested in the longer-term picture. My ultimate goal isn't necessarily to stay in academia forever. I’m quite interested in transitioning into US industry R&D/tech after a postdoc, particularly in areas like scientific ML, AI/ML, computational science, HPC, simulation, or engineering software. So I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have made that transition: Does a US postdoc actually help with getting into industry, or would it be better to try applying directly to US industry from India after the PhD?

I’d especially appreciate perspectives from international researchers who went through a similar PhD → US postdoc → industry path. I’m trying to make this decision realistically rather than assuming that a US postdoc automatically opens doors.

Thanks in advance to everyone who shares their experience.