Posting Number:

F1401P

Working Title:

Open Rank Faculty - Infectious Disease Dynamics and Modeling

Department:

ENGR-Chem Material & Biomed

About the University of Georgia:

Since our founding in 1785, the University of Georgia has operated as Georgia’s oldest, most comprehensive, and most diversified institution of higher education (https://www.uga.edu/). The proof is in our more than 235 years of academic and professional achievements and our continual commitment to higher education. UGA is currently ranked among the top 20 public universities in U.S. News & World Report. The University’s main campus is located in Athens, approximately 65 miles northeast of Atlanta, with extended campuses in Atlanta, Griffin, Gwinnett, and Tifton. UGA employs approximately 1,800 full-time instructional faculty and more than 7,700 full-time staff. The University’s enrollment exceeds 40,000 students including over 30,000 undergraduates and over 10,000 graduate and professional students. Academic programs reside in 18 schools and colleges, as well as a medical partnership with Augusta University housed on the UGA Health Sciences Campus in Athens.

About the College/Unit/Department:

The UGA College of Engineering currently enrolls over 4,000 engineering majors and has over 125 full-time faculty across 15 degree programs. The College of Engineering is comprised for four interdisciplinary schools: The School of Environmental, Civil, Agricultural, and Mechanical Engineering, The School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The School of Chemical, Materials, and Biomedical Engineering, and The School of Computing — an innovative joint-program shared with Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, which launched this year.

College/Unit/Department website:

engr.uga.edu

Posting Type:

External

Retirement Plan:

TRS or ORP

Employment Type:

Employee

Benefits Eligibility:

Benefits Eligible

Anticipated Start Date:

08/01/2023

Job Posting Date:

09/22/2022

Open until filled:

Yes

Special Instructions to Applicants:

Selected applicants will be required to submit transcripts and a background investigation demonstrating eligibility for employment with the University of Georgia.Applicants are asked to submit the following information along with their application:

• A detailed curriculum vita.
• A cover letter (not to exceed one page) addressing the candidate’s experience relative to the responsibilities of the position.
• A statement describing the candidate’s commitment to diversity and the creation of an equitable and inclusive professional environment.
• A teaching statement not to exceed 2 pages.
• A research statement not to exceed 2 pages.
• The names, titles, and contact information for three professional references.

Questions related to the position may be directed to Dr. Melissa Hallow at hallowkm@uga.eduAll applications received by October 30, 2022 will receive full consideration.

Location of Vacancy:

Athens Area

EEO Statement:

The University of Georgia is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, genetic information, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation or protected veteran status. Persons needing accommodations or assistance with the accessibility of materials related to this search are encouraged to contact Central HR (hrweb@uga.edu).

UGA Statement:

PLEASE NOTE: On December 7, 2021, the federal District Court for the Southern District of Georgia issued a preliminary injunction against enforcing the vaccine requirement for
Federal Contractors pending further review. As a result, the requirements of the Executive Order and associated guidance, including the vaccination requirement for covered contractor employees, are currently not in effect.

The University of Georgia is a Federal Contractor as defined by Presidential Executive Order 14042 and subject to the requirement that Federal Contractors must ensure that all covered employees, including those working remotely, are fully vaccinated by January 4, 2022. You may be required to show proof of your fully vaccinated status at the time of your start date, or have received a medical or religious exemption from the fully vaccinated requirement at the time of your start date. For more information regarding the Federal Contractor fully vaccinated employment requirement please visit https://coronavirus.uga.edu/executive-order/ or call (706) 542-2222.

Classification Title:

Open Rank

Faculty Rank:

Open Rank

Contract Type:

Academic (9 mo.)

Tenure Status:

Tenure Track

Minimum Qualifications:

Ph.D. in any engineering discipline, or closely-related discipline, with expertise relevant to the field of infectious disease modeling.

Position Summary:

The College of Engineering at the University of Georgia is seeking to grow and diversify its programs through investments in faculty with expertise in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, and Modeling of Infectious Disease Dynamics. The position seeks to identify highly qualified candidates with expertise at the intersection of data science and biomedical engineering, and will be centered in the School of Chemical, Materials, and Biomedical Engineering.
The College invites applications for one open rank, 9-month tenured or tenure-track faculty position at the Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor level. This position will start on August 1, 2023, and is an academic year appointment (9 months) with an opportunity to supplement salary during the summer. Candidates considered for the associate or full professor rank must have qualifications and academic credentials that are commensurate with the promotion and tenure guidelines at the University of Georgia. These guidelines can be found at the College of Engineering Criteria for Promotion and Tenure.

UGA seeks to strengthen and expand UGA’s position as a global leader at the cutting edge of infectious disease science, building scientific capacity for pandemic prevention and preparedness and developing an integrated basic and translational scientific paradigm for understanding epidemics. Through this cluster hire, UGA seeks to build on its existing core strengths in modeling infectious disease. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to: epidemic forecasting, biosurveillance, applications of artificial intelligence to infectious disease research, and nonparametric, agent-based, and multi-scale modeling of disease transmission.
The hiring is part of a campus-wide Presidential Interdisciplinary Faculty Hiring Initiative in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, which aims to recruit 50 faculty members who will educate students and advance research in data science and AI. Rather than being housed exclusively in a single department, however, the majority of UGA’s newly recruited faculty will focus on the fusion of data science and AI in cross-cutting areas such as biomanufacturing, infectious diseases, integrative precision agriculture, ethics, cybersecurity, resilient communities, and the environment.

This position is specifically part of the infectious disease cluster hire, which includes additional positions in other units across campus, including Statistics, Ecology, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Public Health, and Arts and Sciences. To facilitate interaction among these researchers, each faculty member will have membership in the Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases (CEID) and/or the Institute of Bioinformatics (IOB). Collectively, these new faculty members will help position UGA to contribute to anticipated national networks of centers for molecular epidemiology, predictive intelligence for infectious diseases, and infectious disease forecasting, modeling, and analytics.
The successful applicant will be expected to:

1. Establish an outstanding research program recognized both nationally and internationally.
2. Foster partnerships within and outside the University of Georgia as well as industry.
3. Exhibit a strong commitment to teaching excellence at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
4. Compete successfully for extramural funding to support research and companion graduate and postdoctoral training programs.

The UGA College of Engineering will utilize this initiative to demonstrate our commitment to diversifying our faculty and ensuring that we maintain and grow the culture of equity and inclusivity in our College. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values of the University and the College of Engineering’s Strategic Plan, and this hiring initiative will make use of the best practices to ensure an inclusive search process. The Diversity and Inclusion Plan for the College of Engineering identifies priority areas for our investments and through the 2022-2023 academic year we are working to finalize a Diversity Strategic Plan. The college offers structured mentoring programs for all faculty that support professional development. Several programs exist to enhance the inclusiveness of our College, including a student-led Engineering Equity Council and facilitated dialogue that promotes discourse on topics in diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Faculty hired as part of this initiative will join a rapidly growing engineering college that combines interdisciplinary research and scholarship with excellent instruction and service. The UGA College of Engineering currently enrolls over 4,000 engineering majors and has over 125 full-time faculty across 15 degree programs. The College of Engineering is comprised for four interdisciplinary schools: The School of Environmental, Civil, Agricultural, and Mechanical Engineering, The School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The School of Chemical, Materials, and Biomedical Engineering, and The School of Computing — an innovative joint-program shared with Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, which launched this year.

Significant investments in infrastructure have resulted in an expansion of laboratory facilities for research and scholarship and new classrooms and instructional labs. College of Engineering faculty will have space in two major capital projects on campus to create interdisciplinary research facilities. Our main instructional facility, Driftmier Engineering Center, has also undergone complete renovation to create flexible classrooms that enable a range of teaching modalities and the incorporation of interdisciplinary instructional labs. The common instructional facilities also foster diversity by allowing faculty, staff, and students to interact and collaborate in a single facility.

For more information on the cluster hiring initiative and all currently open positions for this year, visit ceid.uga.edu/idd.

Relevant/Preferred Education, Experience, Licensure, and/or Certification:

• A strong record of research, scholarship, and instruction that is commensurate with the stage in their professional career and aligned with the areas of research and scholarship associated with this position.
• Successful candidates will have an excellent creative research record at the interface of data science, artificial intelligence, and infectious disease, in areas such as: Nonparametric models or nonlinear dynamical models of infectious disease transmission, identification of nonlinear dynamical systems with neural nets, reinforcement learning for control of disease outbreaks, functional data analysis, or similar related areas.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and/or Competencies:

• Evidence of a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through scholarship, teaching, and/or service endeavors.
• A focus on interdisciplinary scholarship that addresses critical societal challenges.
• A demonstrated record exhibiting leadership traits, effective communication, and ability to develop innovative programs is desired.

Is this a Position of Trust?:

No

Does this position have operation, access, or control of financial resources?:

No

Does this position require a P-Card? :

No

Is having a P-Card an essential function of this position? :

No

Is driving a responsibility of this position?:

No

Does this position have direct interaction or care of children under the age of 18 or direct patient care?:

No

Does this position have Security Access (e.g., public safety, IT security, personnel records, patient records, or access to chemicals and medications):

No

Credit and P-Card policy:

Be advised a credit check will be required for all positions with financial responsibilities. For additional information about the credit check criteria, visit the UGA Credit Background Check website.