Working Title:

Director, Nebraska Transportation Center & Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Department:

Civil & Environmental Engr-Lincoln-1059

Requisition Number:

F_210186

Posting Open Date:

11/03/2021

Application Review Date: (To ensure consideration, please submit all application materials before review date):

01/31/2022

Open Until Filled:

Yes

Description of Work:

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln invites applications for the Director of the Nebraska Transportation Center (NTC). Established in 2006, NTC is the umbrella organization for transportation and infrastructure research at the University of Nebraska and represents a unique partnership between university researchers, industry leaders, and government entities. NTC integrates transportation research, education, and technology transfer programs across the four NU campuses, making it one of the largest university transportation centers in the region.

The Nebraska Transportation CenterSince its inception, NTC’s research portfolio consists of over $95 million from over 380 projects. Active research is approximately $26 million from 40 projects. More than 65 faculty researchers representing over a dozen disciplines across the NU system are affiliated with NTC. NTC has provided funding for over 250 graduate student research assistants and almost 180 undergraduate students and interns to date. The NTC umbrella includes the Mid-America Transportation Center (MATC, the USDOT Region 7 UTC), UNL’s Midwest Roadside Safety Facility (MwRSF), and technology transfer programs. Other NTC partners include the University of Nebraska Kearney’s Nebraska Safety Center and the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s high-fidelity driving simulators and naturalistic driving tools.

NTC continues to lead and expand the Midwest Roadside Safety Pooled Fund Program, the longest running transportation pooled fund, that currently includes 21 sponsoring states. This research program is a national and international leader in the development and implementation of roadside safety devices that reduce the number of fatal and serious injury crashes. A recent regional partnership under NTC is the collaboration with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on the Rural Railroad Safety Center. A highlight of NTC’s international portfolio is its collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras in developing a Joint Intelligent Transportation Systems Research Center of Excellence sponsored by the Indo-US Technology Forum.

In addition to NTC’s strengths in research, NTC maintains signature education and outreach programs with a strong focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, including after-school programming, STEM summer camps, and the MATC scholars program, all of which support educational and professional development opportunities for students traditionally underrepresented in STEM. Additionally, information about NTC research, educational, and technology transfer programs can be found at ntc.unl.edu.

University of Nebraska-LincolnThe University of Nebraska–Lincoln was chartered as a land-grant university on February 15, 1869, to create opportunity for the state of Nebraska. A proud member of the Big Ten Conference, the Big Ten Academic Alliance, and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), Nebraska is classified within the Carnegie “R1: Doctoral Universities – Highest Research Activity” category. Since its earliest days it has been open to all people of any “age, sex, color, or nationality,” in the words of its founding documents. Now, as then, this university welcomes all.

The UNL College of Engineering is committed to increasing the diversity of its faculty and seeks to attract and retain a high performing and diverse workforce in which employees’ differences are respected and valued to better meet the varying needs of the diverse populations we serve. The college fosters a diverse and inclusive work environment that promotes collaboration so that all individuals can participate and contribute to their full potential.

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering consists of approximately 31 tenured/tenure-track faculty, 500 undergraduate students, and 130 graduate students with an ABET/EAC accredited undergraduate curriculum and advanced programs leading to M.S. and Ph.D. degrees on the Omaha and Lincoln campuses. Additional information about the Department and College of Engineering can be found at https://cee.unl.edu and https://engineering.unl.edu. The successful candidate will be primarily located on City Campus in Lincoln with teaching responsibilities on both the Lincoln and Omaha campuses.

The NTC Director RoleThe Director is responsible for the administration and leadership of the operations of the Nebraska Transportation Center (NTC). The Director shall provide leadership to successfully manage and operate NTC’s personnel and students. This position is a critical faculty leadership role with responsibility for ensuring that NTC has the strategic vision, facilities, research infrastructure, extramural funding, and key personnel essential to increasing the impact of research and creative activity at UNL and fostering innovative, interdisciplinary endeavors and solving challenges critical to Nebraska and the nation. It is critical that the NTC Director build and maintain strong alliances with transportation researchers and professionals within the University of Nebraska system, the state of Nebraska, regionally, and nationally.

Major ResponsibilitiesThe major responsibilities and primary duties include, but are not limited to:

• Oversee the infrastructure, research portfolio, and financial and operations enterprise of NTC.
• Promote collaborative growth of interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and transdisciplinary research that builds on and expands current NTC areas of excellence including transportation safety, resilient transportation infrastructure, multi-modal freight, surface transportation systems, transportation systems analysis, traffic engineering, connected and autonomous vehicles, and smart infrastructure.
• Serve as a regional and national leader in transportation research, including actively pursuing large-scale collaborative opportunities.
• Deepen efforts to strengthen professional development and retention of top research and administrative talent.
• Interact with state, national, and international partners.
• Work closely with the UNL leadership and the nearly 100 NTC research sponsors in both the public and private sectors.
• Perform research, teaching, and service activities commensurate with the rank of full professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering.

As an EO/AA employer, qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and/or political affiliation. See http://www.unl.edu/equity/notice-nondiscrimination.

Minimum Required Qualifications:

1. A PhD or equivalent in engineering or a related transportation field.
2. A strong record of scholarly achievement in transportation operations, traffic engineering, transportation policy, multimodal transportation, freight transportation, transportation/geometric design, transportation safety, transportation data science, connected and autonomous vehicles, or smart infrastructure or other transportation related field.
3. A strong record of obtaining and managing individual and collaborative extramural funding from federal and state agencies, private foundations, and/or corporations.
4. A strong record of research leadership and collaboration.
5. Qualifications to be tenured at the rank of Professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering.
6. Demonstrated skills and abilities necessary to undertake the responsibilities of the Director.
7. Candidates must demonstrate a commitment to contributing to a culture that supports diversity and inclusion.

Preferred Qualifications:

1. A PhD or equivalent in civil engineering.
2. A BS or equivalent in civil engineering.
3. An accomplished leader in the transportation research arena with a national reputation and a track record of securing and/or managing funding.
4. Qualifications to be appointed as a chaired Professor with tenure in the College of Engineering.
5. Experience managing research and administrative staff.
6. Experience creating and/or using effective metrics to support fact-based decision-making to drive results.
7. Experience in recruiting, hiring, developing, coaching, and mentoring others, as well as developing growth career paths for research faculty.

Criminal History Background Check Required:

No

How to Apply:

Click “Apply to this Job” and complete the information form. Attach the following documents:

1. Cover letter.
2. CV.
3. Research, teaching and diversity statements. Combine into a single pdf document and attach as “Other Document.”
4. List of three references.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the rubrics used by our search committees to evaluate candidate statements: https://engineering.unl.edu/candidate-statements/. After review of applications begins, those with any missing required statement may not be given full consideration.
Please contact Dr. Libby Jones, Search Committee Chair, at 402-554-3869 (libby.jones@unl.edu) for assistance.

For questions or accommodations related to this position contact:

Please contact Dr. Libby Jones, Search Committee Chair, at 402-554-3869 (libby.jones@unl.edu) for assistance.

Job Category (old):

Faculty Tenure/Tenure Leading

Job Type:

9 Month

Position funded by grant or other form of temporary funding?:

No