Assistant/Associate Professor of Environmental Security and Global Change

Virginia Tech•Blacksburg, VA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Department of Geography at Virginia Tech invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant or Associate Professor with expertise in environmental security in the context of global climate and environmental change. We define environmental security broadly to encompass interactions among environmental processes, human populations, resources, infrastructure, and societal vulnerability and resilience. We are particularly interested in candidates who bridge environmental or climate science with human–environment perspectives and employ advanced geospatial, computational, or data-intensive approaches, such as spatial and spatiotemporal modeling, machine learning and artificial intelligence, sensor or mobility data, and high-performance computing, as well as qualitative, participatory, or integrated methods that complement these approaches. The position is intended to strengthen research productivity while expanding high-demand undergraduate and graduate instruction in environmental security, geospatial analysis, and climate-societal interactions.

Requirements

Ph.D. in geography or a closely related discipline by appointment start date.
Research expertise in environmental or climate science with human-environment perspectives using advanced geospatial, computational, or data-intensive approaches, such as spatial and spatiotemporal modeling, machine learning and artificial intelligence, sensor or mobility data, and high-performance computing, as well as qualitative, participatory, or integrated methods that complement these approaches.
Evidence of excellence or strong potential in university teaching, including a large introductory course, and graduate mentoring.
Evidence of excellence or strong potential for competitive external funding and high-quality peer-reviewed scholarship.
Must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for current or future sponsorship.
Must have a criminal conviction check.

Nice To Haves

For Associate Professor, a strong record of externally funded research, graduate student support, and scholarly impact commensurate with rank.
Experience leading or contributing to large interdisciplinary proposals and research teams.
Expertise that connects environmental security or climate challenges with advanced geospatial modeling.
Ability to contribute to high-enrollment undergraduate instruction and experiential or international education.

Responsibilities

Teach a two-course load in year one and a three-course load in years two through six for Assistant Professor; teach a three-course load during year one for Associate Professor with a longer-term teaching load informed by research productivity.
Teach a high-enrollment introductory geography, environmental geography, or climate course, an introductory geospatial course, and a course focused on environmental security and/or climate change.
Potentially teach a specialty course or graduate seminar around expertise.
Contribute to existing study abroad courses.
Mentor graduate students in support of the M.S. Geography and Ph.D. Geospatial and Environmental Analysis degree programs.
Establish or continue a competitive externally funded research program.
Pursue proposals annually as principal investigator (PI) or co-PI.
Collaborate with the Center for Geospatial Information Technology, the Virginia Tech National Security Institute, and faculty across the College of Natural Resources and Environment.
Support graduate students in the Geography M.S. program and the Geospatial and Environmental Analysis Ph.D. program through research funding.
Continue or develop a strong trajectory of external funding, high-quality peer-reviewed scholarship, and research of national or international impact.