Strategic Faculty Hiring Initiatives Seek Energy, Health Faculty

Wind power - part of the next generation of energy
Wind power - part of the next generation of energy

A worldwide search is on for outstanding energy and health researchers to fill up to 20 new tenure-track faculty positions at Michigan Technological University. The competitions are Michigan Tech’s latest in a multi-year series of Strategic Faculty Hiring Initiatives, designed to enhance and expand the University’s existing, cross-disciplinary research strengths.

One new initiative focuses on Energy: Next Generation Energy Systems. The other is in Health: Basic Sciences, Technologies and Medical Informatics.   

Over the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 academic years, up to 10 faculty will be hired who specialize in multidisciplinary research in any aspect of 21st century energy, including smart transmission and distribution systems, cyber-security, renewable energy, improved combustion and hybrid technologies, distributed power systems, advanced battery technologies, energy conversion, and the regulatory, policy, legal, social, environmental and economic aspects of sustainable energy. One of the positions will be an endowed chair, the Richard and Elizabeth Henes Chair in Mechanical Engineering, with an emphasis in energy systems.

Up to 10 more exceptional faculty will be hired in health sciences and technologies, including biochemistry, bioengineering, bioethics, biomaterials, biomechanics, human factors, medical informatics, cell biology, physiology and statistical genetics.  Of particular interest are applicants who use interdisciplinary and multi-scale approaches and new technological tools, said Max Seel, interim provost at Michigan Tech.

“We’re looking for people who can help us create the future of next-generation energy systems and health sciences,” Seel explained.  We are seeking innovators in all facets of energy and health-related research and education, faculty who are prepared to establish vigorous, nationally competitive research programs and are also committed to excellence in both undergraduate and graduate education.”

In addition to the Henes Chair in Mechanical Engineering, there may be more endowed positions in the hiring initiatives. 

Application review will begin on Nov. 15, 2009 and continue until the positions are filled.

The first Strategic Faculty Hiring Initiative at Michigan Tech focused on the theme of sustainability.  The second competition added new tenure-track faculty in computational discovery and innovation. After the energy and health initiatives, one is planned focusing on transportation.

For more information and application instructions, go to https://www.mtu.edu/sfhi/.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.