Virginia Tech Seeks Assistant Professor in Industrial Ecology

The Department of Sustainable Biomaterials at Virginia Tech invites applications for a Collegiate Assistant Professor in Industrial Ecology. This position is a long-term full-time, nine-month, non-tenure track position with a renewable three-year contract and the opportunity for promotion (for more information on the Collegiate Professor ranks, see https://faculty.vt.edu/faculty-handbook/chapter05.html). The candidate will advance the instructional mission of the department by teaching courses, engaging in curricular development and course transformations, adopting innovative and inclusive pedagogical practices, and enhancing undergraduate research and/or outreach opportunities.

 

We seek a dynamic candidate with expertise in the field of industrial ecology, including the methods, tools, and software used to analyze the flows of materials within the industrial ecosystem (e.g., material flow assessment, or MFA), and the development, use, and application of analytical tools to assess the environmental characteristics and impacts associated with products, processes, the service industry, and urban infrastructures (e.g., life cycle assessment or LCA, cumulative energy demand or CED, and input-output analysis). The candidate will have a strong background in the theory and practice of industrial ecology, and the framework for the study of the interactions of the modern technological society with the environment. This position will teach the following topic areas to enhance student competency in relevant, nascent, and emerging expectations of sustainability education: thinking in systems, introduction to industrial ecology, sustainability performance and assessments, sustainability performance indicators, and sustainable design strategies focusing on design under constraint.

 

The Department of Sustainable Biomaterials values diversity and continually strives to maintain and promote an inclusive learning and research environment that embraces all students, faculty, and staff. We welcome applications from persons identifying with groups underrepresented within our discipline, including but not limited to, Black, Indigenous, people of color, first generation, and underrepresented genders.

 

The Department of Sustainable Biomaterials is committed to creating an inclusive environment that promotes the success of a diverse student body and is actively engaged in efforts to build inclusive educational practices within the curriculum. The Department of Sustainable Biomaterials is also an active participant in Virginia Tech’s cross-campus, multi-year Inclusive Excellence grant program, funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (see more at: https://ie.vt.edu).

 

Accordingly, candidates with experience teaching, mentoring, and/or advising students from underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply. The position responsibilities also include a scholarly component, which may involve scholarship of teaching and learning and/or sustainability science related research by undergraduates. The candidate will be expected to serve on departmental, college, or university committees as a contributing member of the department and the broader university community.