Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
College of Agricultural Sciences
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA
Position: This is a nine-month, tenure-track assistant professor position with a 65% research and 35% teaching appointment.
Research responsibilities: The successful applicant will develop a nationally and internationally recognized research program relating to the application of ethical decision making processes to the field of industrial ecology. Industrial ecology is an emergent scientific discipline that applies quantitative analysis (such as Life Cycle Inventory and Assessment, Techno-Economic Analysis, Input-Output Analysis and Materials Flow Analysis) across a range of environmental, economic, and social sustainability indices to inform and improve individual, organizational, and societal decisions. This position will focus on the integration of the ethical dimension of decision-making, i.e., how the private sector, government, and non-government organizations consider the values and tradeoffs associated with various sustainability goals, with other quantitative analyses when approaching business, investing and policy decisions. The candidate will be skilled in the field of industrial ecology and the associated technical and scientific tools used to conduct scientific analyses. Securing external grant support for research projects is imperative. The candidate will advise and mentor undergraduate and graduate students in a diverse, multicultural and transdisciplinary global program. The candidate will maintain high pedagogical standards and contribute to our positive, engaging scholastic community.
Teaching responsibilities: The candidate is expected to teach three courses per year. Potential teaching responsibilities include one course to fulfill teaching needs within the ABE department’s programs, one course focusing on life cycle analysis and one course relating to ethics/industrial ecology. The ABE department fosters a highly collaborative scholastic culture supporting course and curriculum development. Undergraduate and graduate student advising is expected.
The Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department: It is the mission of the ABE department to advance global sustainability through engineering sciences, business, and technical management of biological and agricultural systems. In addition to comprehensive transdisciplinary research, outreach and service activities in bioproducts, food and bioprocessing, natural resource engineering and agricultural systems, the ABE department supports undergraduate and graduate resident education programs in: Biological Engineering (undergraduate), Agricultural and Biological Engineering (M.S. and Ph.D.) and BioRenewable Systems (B.S., M.S. and Ph.D.), and the interdisciplinary Environmental Resource Management major. For more information visit our site at abe.psu.edu.
The Rock Ethics Institute: The successful candidate will hold a 50% appointment in the Rock Ethics Institute as one of a transformative series of tenure-track appointments designed to ensure that Penn State becomes a leader in ethics-informed interdisciplinary research and the integration of ethical literacy throughout the University curriculum. The Rock Ethics Institute seeks candidates who will be effective in working on and leading interdisciplinary teams that embed ethical analysis into research projects and who have experience and interest in integrating ethics into undergraduate and graduate curricula.
Qualifications: A Ph.D. in a relevant discipline is required. One degree (B.S., M.S., Ph.D.) must be from a scientific, engineering, or technology field. Candidate must have performed research or taken coursework related to industrial ecology and life cycle analysis. Formal training or directly relevant experience in ethics, ethical decision-making or ethics education is required. The successful candidate must have completed all degree requirements by the appointment date. Communication, creative leadership, congeniality, and the ability to work cooperatively among a diverse population of students, faculty, staff, industry and agency groups is essential in our department and university.
Application: Job application review will begin on January 1, 2019 and remain open until a suitable candidate is selected. Candidates must provide a single PDF file containing in the following order: 1) cover letter; 2) curriculum vitae; 3) graduate transcripts; 4) statement of research interests; 5) statement of teaching interests; 6) statement of how the candidate’s work is relevant to the Rock Ethics Institute’s mission and how a position within the Institute is likely to augment their own work; 7) 3 relevant publications; 8) list of at least 3 professional references.
To apply for this position, go to: psu.jobs/job/84255
Questions can be directed to search committee chair Dr. Jeffrey Catchmark, The Pennsylvania State University at jmc102@psu.edu.
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