Professor - Paros Chair for Atmospheric Research - Engineering/College of Natural Sciences

About UMass Amherst

UMass Amherst, the Commonwealth's flagship campus, is a nationally ranked public research university offering a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, and offers a rich cultural environment in a bucolic setting close to major urban centers. In addition, the University is part of the Five Colleges (including Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College), which adds to the intellectual energy of the region.

As a campus with an increasingly diverse student body, we are looking for candidates who can operate effectively in a diverse faculty and student community, and who value collegiality, collaboration, achievement, and integrity. We encourage applications from women, minorities, and individuals with a commitment to mentor under-represented demographics within STEM fields. We are also interested in candidates who have had non-traditional career paths, those who have paused their careers for family or pandemic reasons, or who spent time outside of academia. We are committed to helping all constituents reach their full potential, creating best-in-practice operations to support faculty scholarship and fostering excellence in student experiences inside and outside our colleges.

UMass Amherst is a leader in providing institutional supports for faculty to combine work and family/personal responsibilities, and was listed among the Chronicle of Higher Education's "Great Colleges to Work For," UMass is in the top 10% of public research-intensive universities in the COACHE survey for making having and raising children compatible with the tenure-track. For more information on work-life balance at UMass Amherst, see https://www.umass.edu/prospective-faculty/work/balance

In addition, UMass Amherst is one of the consortium members of the Massachusetts High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC), a world class facility that offers computing and storage resources to more than 20,000 faculty and students. Supporting research in societally important areas such as Climate, Energy, Medicine, Materials, Health, Space, and Computing.

Job Description

The Colleges of Engineering and Natural Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst invite applications for the Paros Chair of Atmospheric Research, an endowed, tenured faculty position at the full Professor level in support of the new Paros Center for Atmospheric Research (PCAR, https://www.umass.edu/paros-atmospheric-center) The appointment is expected to begin September 1, 2024. This position offers the opportunity to grow and shape a well-funded research center currently in its early stages.

The mission of PCAR is to translate atmospheric research into improved hazardous weather predictions and information systems that result in societal benefits. PCAR will revolutionize the nation's ability to forecast, plan and respond to climate and weather. To achieve this mission the center will conduct research and education in Atmospheric Sciences, Distributed Geophysical Sensing, and Hazard Mitigation. The center will seek funding opportunities to support these activities with the goal of creating a platform for continuing innovation in its target research areas. This will go hand-in-hand with new educational opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students. Finally, the center will have a goal to create a diverse, equal, and inclusive environment to attract members and collaborators from all backgrounds.

The position is defined broadly in the area of Atmospheric Science, including areas such as meteorology, climate dynamics, atmospheric chemistry, sensing, and modeling. The successful candidate is expected to lead the Paros Center for Atmospheric Research (PCAR) which includes the development of new research avenues in collaboration with faculty members from the College of Engineering and the College of Natural Science. Long-term, it will be the goal of the successful candidate to develop an Atmospheric Science program at UMass Amherst. The successful candidate is also expected to teach graduate and undergraduate courses in Atmospheric Science. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of this position the successful candidate will have a 50/50 appointment in the College of Engineering and the College of Natural Sciences, and the tenure home department will be based on the candidate's credentials/experience.

As the #1 public college of engineering in New England and a top 30 public engineering program nationally, the College of Engineering at UMass Amherst strives for excellence in education, research, and innovation. The college's 150+ faculty members work across five academic departments and are dedicated to research, with research expenditures reaching over $51 million, and effective teaching and mentoring of the college's 2,200+ undergraduate and 700+ graduate students. From world class research opportunities at the lab bench and in the field, to a breadth of academic and experiential offerings including hands-on design projects, innovation competitions, and co-op opportunities, the College of Engineering prepares students to lead, innovate and succeed. It is also home of the nationally recognized Microwave Remote Sensing Lab (MIRSL) and graduated NSF Engineering Research Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA).

The College of Natural Sciences currently has about 400 full-time faculty members, who work across thirteen departments and two schools and are routinely listed among the world's leading scientific minds in Thomson Reuters surveys. The college's student population consist of approximately 1000 graduate students and 7000 undergraduates. It houses several centers like the Northeast Climate Adaptation Center (NE CASC) and the Climate-Cryosphere (CliC) International Project Office of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). In addition, UMass Amherst is a member of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.

Requirements

• Applicants must have an outstanding track record in one or more fields in Atmospheric Science, and hold a Ph.D. in a field related to this field (e.g., Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Environmental Science, etc.)
• Applicants must have demonstrated scholarly excellence and have developed an outstanding externally funded research program.
• Applicant should have demonstrated experience growing and operating a research center, and be able to talk about a vision for the new Paros Center for Atmospheric Research. Individuals with similar experience in a leadership role will also be considered.
• Candidates will also be expected to teach existing and/or new undergraduate and graduate courses.
• Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Additional Information

The steps of the hiring process are as follows:

• A minimally qualified pool is identified from the applicants, ideally by the end of January 2024.
• All remaining candidates are evaluated, and a "long list" is identified, which will be interviewed via video conference. Candidates invited to these interviews will be emailed at least one week before the scheduled date.
  
  
  
  • For candidates advancing to the long list: references will be contacted, and candidates will have an opportunity to submit 1 or 2 representative scholarly works.
  
  
  
  
• A "shortlist" is developed from the long list, and these candidates will be invited to interview on campus. Shortlisted candidates will be asked to provide materials that demonstrate the candidate's eligibility and qualifications to show they meet the criteria and standards for tenure at the University of Amherst. https://www.umass.edu/provost/resources/all-resources/academic-personnel/policy-and-labor-contracts/academic-personnel-policy-red

Application Instructions

Candidates must provide the following in their application package addressed to "Paros Chair of Atmospheric Research Search Committee." Applications will be reviewed starting on September 15, 2023 and continue to be reviewed until the search is completed. All files must be provided in .pdf format.

• A cover letter, addressed to "Paros Chair of Atmospheric Research Search Committee". The cover letter should a) introduce yourself, b) briefly describe your research interests, and c) describe your vision for this position. Page limit: 2 pages
• A research statement. Candidates should situate their past research in a broader scholarly context and give their research vision for this position. Candidates are specifically asked to describe the types of scholarship they will perform, how that scholarship will be disseminated, and the expectation for how that scholarship will be funded. Statements will be evaluated based on assessment of demonstrated excellence and demonstrated promise of future excellence. Page limit: 5 pages
• A teaching statement. Candidates should describe their past teaching experience and articulate their teaching vision for this position. Candidates are specifically asked to highlight existing courses they are qualified to offer and also indicate classes they are interested in developing. Candidates should address both undergraduate and graduate classes. Statements will be evaluated based on assessment of demonstrated excellence and demonstrated promise of future excellence. Page limit: 2 pages
• A vision statement for the Paros Center based on the stated goals of the center, and key strategies for achieving those goals in the next 5 years, and the candidate's qualifications for leading the center towards those goals. Page Limit: 2 pages
• A statement of vision for the candidate's role in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. Candidates should list past and planned future actions to support the diversity mission of the College of Engineering and UMass. Page limit: 2 pages
• A current curriculum vitae. The CV should be ordered as follows: 1) education, 2) employment, 3) awards and honors, 4) sponsored research (if any), 5) peer reviewed publications, 6) service, and 7) other sections as considered appropriate by the candidate.
• Contact information, (name, title, email address, institution) for 3 professional references. References will not be contacted until the second phase of the search.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst, as a public land-grant institution, has a responsibility to provide access and opportunities for all people, while demonstrating our commitment to inclusion of historically underrepresented groups. We believe that a culturally diverse campus is integral to academic excellence and that our students, faculty, and staff should reflect the diverse world in which we live.

The University is committed to active recruitment of a diverse faculty and student body. The University of Massachusetts Amherst is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer of women, minorities, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities and encourages applications from these and other protected group members. Because broad diversity is essential to an inclusive climate and critical to the University's goals of achieving excellence in all areas, we will holistically assess the many qualifications of each applicant and favorably consider an individual's record working with students and colleagues with broadly diverse perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds in educational, research or other work activities. We will also favorably consider experience overcoming or helping others overcome barriers to an academic career and degree.