Faculty Search in Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering at UMBC

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) seeks to fill a new tenure-track position at the assistant professor level as part of a strategic initiative to expand its research and academic leadership in environmental sustainability. As part of this initiative, the Department of Chemical, Biochemical & Environmental Engineering (www.umbc.edu/cbe) merged on July 1, 2011 with Environmental Engineering (www.umbc.edu/engineering/cee/) to form a larger Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering Department and hired two new faculty in 2011. The merger is bringing together core areas of expertise in chemical/biochemical engineering, environmental engineering, and hydrologic science to develop innovative solutions responsive to society and to address some of the major challenges of the 21st century: environmental protection, green engineering, water sustainability, and climate change.

Candidates for the tenure-track position must hold a doctoral degree in chemical or environmental engineering or a related discipline. Desired areas of core expertise include, but are not limited to, environmental microbiology, environmental chemistry, environmentally sustainable energy processes, biofuels, multi-scale modeling, and water quality. Successful candidates will demonstrate strong potential to build an externally supported research program along with the ability to address novel and ever-changing challenges in environmental engineering and sustainability. Candidates must also be able to further the teaching mission of the merged department by offering core chemical and environmental engineering courses. Favorable consideration will be given to candidates who demonstrate strong promise of interdisciplinary research and the capacity to work effectively with a diverse faculty and student body. The anticipated start date is July 2012 for this position. Electronic submission of applications is required at cbe-search@umbc.edu. All applications must include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, a statement of research and teaching interests/plans and the names and addresses of 5 referees as a single pdf file. Review of applications will begin November 1, 2011 and continue until the position is filled.

The Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering Department is a vital part of the College of Engineering and Information Technology with 225 undergraduate and 50 graduate students, 13 tenure-track faculty, one full-time lecturer, and one Professor of the Practice. The Department has a strong research focus with expenditures exceeding $233,728 per tenure-track faculty member in 2010. Current departmental research focuses on biochemical, biomedical and bioprocess engineering as well as water sustainability, stormwater management, contaminant fate and transport, water/wastewater treatment, and environmental remediation. Faculty actively participate in major interdisciplinary research centers at UMBC including the Center for Advanced Sensor Technologies (www.umbc.edu/cast), the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education (www.umbc.edu/cuere), the Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology www.jcet.umbc.edu), the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center (www.gest.umbc.edu), and the Department of Marine Biotechnology (www.umbc.edu/cnms/Department_of_Marine_Biotechnology.html).

At the undergraduate level, the merged department has initiated a track in Environmental Engineering and Sustainability to complement existing Traditional and Biotechnology/Bioengineering tracks leading to the B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering. UMBC is a public research university with 13,000 students that has been ranked the number one “Up-andComing” national university for the past two years by US News and World Report. The campus is located on 500 acres in the Baltimore-Washington corridor within an hour’s drive to many federal facilities including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Defense and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park, a 71-acre community housing over 50 companies engaged in research, entrepreneurship and economic development, sits adjacent to the UMBC campus. BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport is five minutes away, as are AMTRAK and light rail stations. UMBC’s close proximity and easy access to a wide variety of research facilities provide numerous opportunities for collaborative interdisciplinary research. UMBC is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer, minorities, women, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.