Open Positions

Bridge to Faculty Postdoctoral Research Associate in Materials Engineering

Hiring Department: Civil, Materials and Environmental Engineering
Location: Chicago, IL USA
Requisition ID: 1022234

About the University of Illinois Chicago
UIC is among the nation’s preeminent urban public research universities, a Carnegie RU/VH research institution, and the largest university in Chicago. UIC serves over 34,000 students, comprising one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation and is designated as a Minority Serving Institution (MSI), an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPSI) and a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Through its 16 colleges, UIC produces nationally and internationally recognized multidisciplinary academic programs in concert with civic, corporate and community partners worldwide, including a full complement of health sciences colleges. By emphasizing cutting-edge and transformational research along with a commitment to the success of all students, UIC embodies the dynamic, vibrant and engaged urban university. Recent “Best Colleges” rankings published by U.S. News & World Report, found UIC climbed up in its rankings among top public schools in the nation and among all national universities. UIC has nearly 260,000 alumni, and is one of the largest employers in the city of Chicago.

Description:
The Department of Civil, Materials, and Environmental Engineering (CME) at the University of Illinois Chicago invites applicants for a Bridge to Faculty Postdoctoral Research Associate position in Materials Engineering beginning on August 16, 2024.

The Bridge to Faculty (B2F) Scholars Program is a university-level initiative that aims to attract and retain promising scholars to UIC as well as diversify our faculty, with an emphasis on scholars from groups who are underrepresented in their field. To achieve this, the program operates through recruitment of postdoctoral scholars, with the goal of transitioning them to tenure-track faculty positions after two years.  For more information on the B2F program, please visit https://diversity.uic.edu/faculty/bridge-to-faculty/.

Our goal is to attract world-class scholars to enrich the educational experience of our bright and motivated students. We believe that our department’s scholarship and teaching is enhanced through the inclusion of diverse perspectives. UIC is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse faculty, committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment, and we strongly encourage applications for this position from women and members of underrepresented identity groups. For more information about diversity at UIC, please visit https://oae.uic.edu/resources/diversity-resources/.

Duties & Responsibilities

The successful candidate will spend the duration of their postdoctoral appointment working in a lab in the Department of Civil, Materials, and Environmental Engineering (CME) that is closely aligned to their research interests. During this time, the candidate will be mentored by a team of faculty members to support a successful transition to the tenure-track position. To prepare for this transition, specific duties and responsibilities include:

• The establishment of an independent research program that will support competitive proposals to major federal funding agencies, peer-reviewed scholarly publications, and presentations at professional conferences.
• Teaching one course in each year of the appointment. To support their instructional duties, the successful candidate will be paired with an instructor from our faculty pool.
• Co-supervision of graduate students in partnership with a CME faculty member
• Perform other related duties and participate in special projects as assigned.

In addition to CME faculty mentorship, the successful candidate will have institutional support for the development of their research and teaching through programs administered by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (https://research.uic.edu/) and the Center for the Advancement of Teaching Excellent (https://teaching.uic.edu/). The successful candidate will also benefit from mentoring and programming through the Office of The Vice Chancellor of Diversity, Equity, and Engagement (https://diversity.uic.edu/), where they will interact with their campus peers in the Bridge to Faculty program.

Subject to satisfactory performance in the 2024-2025 academic year, and University approval, the scholar may be re-appointed for one additional year (2025-2026 academic year). Successful postdocs in the Bridge to the Faculty program may have the opportunity to transition to the tenure-track faculty position starting in the 2026–2027 academic year.

Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications
Candidates must have received a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering or a closely related field no earlier than August 16, 2019 and no later than August 16, 2024. All applications within the areas of experimental, computational, and theoretical materials science and engineering will be considered. Topics that are of particular interest include materials for decarbonization, decarbonization of materials extraction, production and/or processing, materials protection, materials for extreme environments, and functional materials. In addition to the Materials Engineering program, the CME department is home to UIC’s Civil and the new Environmental Engineering program, which provides a rich environment for cross-disciplinary research activities and collaboration.  Candidates may learn more about CME research activities from the department webpage (https://cme.uic.edu/).

Applications must include the following documents:

• A cover letter (maximum 2 pages)
• A research statement outlining their research achievements and future research plans (maximum 2 pages). It is not a requirement that candidates identify a CME faculty mentor in their submission.
• A teaching statement (maximum 1 page). Candidates with limited teaching experience may instead describe their philosophy and long-term plans for teaching at UIC.
• A statement on the candidate’s current and future contributions to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (maximum 1 page).
• A curriculum vitae
• Contact information for at least three professional references.

Applicants should submit their application online to https://jobs.uic.edu on or before February 15, 2024. Review of applications will begin on January 16, 2024 and continue until the position is filled. Questions regarding this position may be sent to Professor Matthew Daly (mattdaly@uic.edu) or Professor Didem Ozevin (dozevin@uic.edu).

The University of Illinois System is an equal opportunity employer, including but not limited to disability and/or veteran status, and complies with all applicable state and federal employment mandates. Please visit Required Employment Notices and Posters to view our non-discrimination statement and find additional information about required background checks, sexual harassment/misconduct disclosures, COVID-19 vaccination requirement, and employment eligibility review through E-Verify.

The University of Illinois System is an equal opportunity employer, including but not limited to disability and/or veteran status, and complies with all applicable state and federal employment mandates. Please visit Required Employment Notices and Posters to view our non-discrimination statement and find additional information about required background checks, sexual harassment/misconduct disclosures, COVID-19 vaccination requirement, and employment eligibility review through E-Verify.

The university provides accommodations to applicants and employees. Request an Accommodation