The Department of Psychological Sciences at Rice University (Houston, Texas) invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor position to begin July 1, 2025.

This position is in Cognitive/Cognitive Neuroscience. We are seeking someone with a broad research portfolio focused on understanding cognition through computational and/or experimental approaches. Example areas of research interest may include (but are not limited to): perception, attention, memory, language, decision-making and cognitive control, and example experimental approaches include (but are not limited to): computational modeling, machine learning, fMRI, TMS, EEG/MEG, and eye-tracking. We are particularly interested in applicants who also consider how theoretical advances from basic research can be used to address real-world problems. Although the area of real-world impact is open, we want to highlight the opportunities with the adjacent Texas Medical Center for research aimed at addressing issues of health and health disparities, research aimed at understanding variation in cognition with clinical or other special populations, and research focused on the challenges of our rapidly aging population. Other areas of interest include advancing our understanding of how basic cognitive and computational constraints impact complex real-world environments (e.g., workplaces, classrooms) and interactions (e.g., human-AI or human-robot interaction).

 Position requires a Ph.D. in a relevant discipline and job duties entail conducting a productive and innovative research program with ability to secure external funding, teaching undergraduate and graduate psychology courses, mentoring graduate and undergraduate students, and providing service to the field, the department, and the university.

 The Department of Psychological Sciences trains doctoral students in HF/HCI (fully accredited by the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society), cognitive and affective neuroscience; health psychology; and industrial-organizational psychology. In the most recent rankings of the U.S. News and World Report (2022), our industrial-organizational psychology program was ranked #1 in Best Industrial and Organizational Psychology Programs. The Department also offers professional master’s programs in both HF/HCI and industrial-organizational psychology.

 The successful candidate will be associated with the Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience area and will join a highly collegial department of internationally recognized faculty in an environment that nurtures research and scholarship. For more details about our department, see https://psychology.rice.edu/. Beyond the department, Rice University has multidisciplinary strengths and ample opportunity for collaborative research in cognitive/cognitive neuroscience, from the Rice Neuroengineering Initiative, to the new Neuro-Policy Program at the Baker Institute for Public Policy, to SafeInsights, led by Rice University’s OpenStax, which is developing a new kind of education research infrastructure that will enable extensive, long-term research on the science of learning in authentic education settings. Rice is situated adjacent to the Texas Medical Center, the world’s largest medical center. Within a 15 minute walk from campus are three major medical research institutions: Baylor College of Medicine, UT-Health Houston, and Houston Methodist. In addition to opportunities for research with clinical or other special populations, each of these institutions has strengths in basic and clinical cognitive/cognitive neuroscience research, and provides access to the tools and techniques of cutting edge cognitive neuroscience research (research-dedicated 3T and 7T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetoencephalography (MEG), patients with implanted electrodes).

 Rice University is a private, comprehensive research university located in the heart of Houston’s dynamic Museum District. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees across eight schools and has a student body of approximately 4,400 undergraduate and 4,000 graduate students. Rice consistently ranks among the top 20 national universities and the top 10 in undergraduate teaching (US News & World Report); its endowment ranks among the top 25 of US universities. In 2023, the Department of Psychological Sciences was ranked 5th in Best Colleges for Psychology in America by Niche. Houston has been characterized as the most diverse city in America.

 We encourage everyone to apply, especially those individuals who have been historically underrepresented in academia: people of color, LGBTQI people, women, people with disabilities, veterans, people of any age or family status. We actively strive to counter prejudice and to create a working environment that is inclusive and equitable.

For full consideration, applications should be received by October 1, 2024. Review will continue until the position is filled. Applicants should use the application portal http://apply.interfolio.com/153086 to provide (1) cover letter, (2) vita, (3) research statement (3 pages max), (4) teaching statement including evidence of teaching effectiveness and courses you could teach at both the graduate and undergraduate level (2 pages max), (5) a description of how you would contribute to the development of a diverse and inclusive learning community at Rice through your teaching, research, and/or service (2 page max), (6) three representative reprints, and (7) three letters of recommendation.

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