Faculty Position – Rice University, Mechanical Engineering

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Rice University invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position effective as early as July 2023; exemplary candidates at higher levels will also be considered. We seek a faculty member who will develop a dynamic and innovative independent research program and will show distinction in teaching at the graduate and undergraduate levels while embracing Rice’s culture of excellence and diversity. Strength and scholarship in research and teaching are the primary selection criteria for a search across all areas related to Mechanical Engineering, including solid and structural mechanics, robotics, design, controls, dynamics, heat transfer, and fluids.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering is ranked 24th by U.S. News & World Report. It is one of nine academic departments in the George R. Brown School of Engineering, which generates over $110 million in annual research expenditures. The department has seventeen faculty members teaching and conducting innovative research in areas such as aerospace, robotics, biomedical systems, thermal fluids, mechanical design, tribology, machine learning, and dynamics and controls to address a range of societal issues and challenges. In addition to numerous collaborations across departments and schools, a cornerstone of the Rice research ethos, partnerships with other local institutes include work with NASA to develop the next generation of space vehicles, and research with the Texas Medical Center to create haptic devices for rehabilitation and new orthopedic materials. The successful candidate for this position will benefit from the resources, support, and multidisciplinary environment fostered by Rice University’s strategic research directions in Engineering and Medicine, Future Computing, Advanced Materials, Engineering and the Environment, and Cities of the Future.

Rice University is a private, comprehensive research university located in the heart of Houston (recently ranked the most diverse city in America), adjacent to the Museum District and Texas Medical Center. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees across eight schools and has a student body of approximately 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Rice consistently ranks among the top 20 national universities and the top 10 in undergraduate teaching (U.S. News & World Report); its endowment ranks among the top 20 of US universities. The George R. Brown School of Engineering ranks among the top 20 of undergraduate engineering programs and is strongly committed to nurturing the aspirations of faculty, staff and students in an inclusive environment, with rankings of #8 for percent URM faculty, #14 for female faculty, and #4 for underrepresented undergraduate students among AAU institutions.

Applicants must have received a  PhD/ScD in Mechanical Engineering or a related field by August 15, 2023.

Applications must be submitted electronically in Interfolio. Application review will begin on November 1, 2022, and the deadline for submission is December 31, 2022. Candidates should submit the following materials: 1) a curriculum vitae; 2) a statement of research interests (1- 2 pages); 3) a statement of teaching philosophy (1- 2 pages); 4) a statement of diversity, equity, and inclusion philosophy and activities (1-2 pages); and 5) the contact information for at least three references. Recommenders will be contacted at the discretion of the search committee, not upon application submission.

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