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Professor of Physics and Director of the Center for Advanced Radio Astronomy (CARA)/College of Sciences
Job Description
Posting Details
Title Information
| Faculty Title | Professor |
|---|---|
| Job Class Code | 10011 |
| FLSA | Exempt |
Position Information
| Posting Number | FRGV1455 |
|---|---|
| Working Title | Professor of Physics and Director of the Center for Advanced Radio Astronomy (CARA)/College of Sciences |
| Number of Vacancies | 1 |
| Location | Rio Grande Valley |
| Division/Organization | Provost - Academic Affairs |
| Appointment Period for Non-Tenure Position | |
| Tenure Status | Tenured |
| FTE | 1 |
| Scope of Job | We seek applicants who are dedicated to serving The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s diverse student body as a full professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and as the Director of CARA beginning in the 2023-2024 academic year. About UTRGV: It is UTRGV’s Vision “To be one of the nation’s leaders in higher education, its premier Hispanic-serving institution, and a highly engaged bilingual university, with exceptional educational, research, and creative opportunities that serve as catalysts for transformation in the Rio Grande Valley and beyond.” As such, UTRGV is committed to building a diverse faculty and staff that can contribute to an enriching learning environment that strives for more equitable outcomes for student success. UTRGV is a distributed campus, one university spanning four counties and multiple locations. Our purpose is to be a university for the entire Rio Grande Valley and beyond. Over 91% of the students enrolled at UTRGV identify as Hispanic, making UTRGV one of the top 3 universities with the highest percentage of Hispanic students. For additional information, please visit our website . Department/College Background The College of Sciences at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) invites applications for the position of Director of the Center for Advanced Radio Astronomy. This is a tenured faculty position at the full professor level within the Department of Physics and Astronomy with the administrative/leadership responsibility as Director of CARA. The appointment will begin on September 1, 2023. The area of expertise required can be any aspect of Gravitational Wave Astronomy, Astrophysics, or some overlapping of these areas. Candidates for this position are expected to strengthen and complement ongoing research efforts in these areas. The selected finalist should have a well-established record of external funding, high-quality peer-refereed publications, extensive teaching, and mentoring experience, and be a respected and well-known scholar in his or her field to ensure appointment as a tenured full professor in the department of physics. Previous leadership experience is desirable but not required. The goal of this search is to help the COS to enhance the area of Space Sciences, understood in a broaden sense, as this is one of the COS’ strategic areas of focus. The goal is to bring a permanent director that will help the college to widen the scope of CARA, making it more inclusive of other areas within the fields of astronomy and astrophysics, and eventually create an umbrella Institute of Space Sciences that will encompass CARA, the current Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy, and a new multidisciplinary center dedicated to space science technology that we aim to create in collaboration with other colleges in the near future. The current search then aims to bring a person with the right expertise, commitment, and drive to help us realize this ambitious plan. UTRGV is a leading Hispanic-serving institution recently promoted to R2 Carnegie research classification and with the goal to become an R1 institution. As such, the successful applicant will benefit from college and university initiatives aligned with this goal, such as expanded research facilities, faculty salary incentives for external funding, an inclusive and welcoming environment, and growing graduate offerings that include two new doctoral programs (PhD in Math and Statistics and PhD in Physics) and several more in the pipeline. Diversity and inclusion are part of our core values and as such we encourage applications from women and members of underrepresented groups in the sciences. It is our commitment to elevate the lives and economic well-being of the Valley community by offering first-rate education in the STEM fields. We value applicants who can understand and have overcome race, gender-based, and ability-based barriers, and who can bring with them the wealth of worldview, perspective, and experience that is critical to an innovative and accessible educational environment. As a federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution with a student population that is over 90% Hispanic, UTRGV is committed to preparing its students to succeed, contribute and excel in an increasingly diverse, global, and interconnected world. Applicants who identify with this mission are strongly encouraged to apply. Applicants should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, statement of research plan, and statement of leadership philosophy for CARA, and the names & contact information of at least three professional references. Complete applications should be submitted online at http://careers.utrgv.edu . Electronic inquiries may be directed to Dr. Mario Diaz at mario.diaz@utrgv.edu. To receive full consideration, applications should be received by December 22, 2022. Evaluations of the applicants will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. About the Center for Advanced Radiometry and Astrophysics (CARA): CARA is located on the Brownsville campus. It is performing and overseeing the following core activities: The SEER (formerly ARCC) program: A cohort driven model to offer peer mentoring from the first college semester to a PhD level that integrates education, research, and leadership / communication training. About 15 undergraduate and 5 graduate students are participating. The SEERS (ARCC) Network, an international student engagement program that integrates students from Mexico. A MS in Space Science and Entrepreneurship (with the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the College of Business & Entrepreneurship) is nearing completion. CARA operates the LoFASM: Low-frequency (10–100MHz) array-based radio observatory network with stations spanning the US, built and maintained by UTRGV CARA students. Additional research projects are Low-frequency radio astronomy and RFI mitigation on the Long Wavelength Array / LWA Swarm experiments in collaboration with UNM and UT Dallas. CARA leads the STARGATE project with the mission to provide a technology and entrepreneurship framework to foster research, technology and entrepreneurship in the Rio Grande Valley and South Texas. STARGATE manages the following facilities: · STARGATE Spaceport Lab: 15,000 square foot reconfigurable lab space, business incubator, and control center on 4 acres of land adjacent to the SpaceX South Texas Launch Site. Currently leased to SpaceX. · CARA Multipurpose Electronics Lab (CARAMEL): 2,000 square foot laboratory on the UTRGV Brownsville campus, fully equipped for developing radio-frequency (RF) and other electronic systems. Includes RF test equipment (up to 50 GHz), printed circuit board prototyping, and a 100 square foot RF-shielded anechoic test chamber. · CARA/CGWA Laser Lab: Research laboratory for high-powered lasers and optics for communication and precision metrology, including optical fibre splicing equipment. (Co-used with CGWA) · STARGATE Space Simulator: Large-volume cryogenic vacuum system for testing instruments and materials in a simulated space pressure and thermal environment. · STARGATE Ground Station: 20-element phased-array spacecraft tracking and communication complex on the UTRGV Brownsville campus. · STARGATE Engineering: Rapid prototyping facility on the UTRGV Brownsville campus, operated in collaboration with the College of Engineering. Includes additive and subtractive manufacturing with CNC milling and 3d printing in a variety of materials, including polymer, acrylic resin, and metal (laser powder bed fusion: stainless steel, aluminum, titanium). Current and past research topics under CARA are: Phased-array systems for orbital communication, tracking, debris monitoring; High-power low-cost lasercomm systems for spacecraft; Novel off-the-grid power and communication systems for remote operations; Machine learning and edge computing for remote sensors in low-bandwidth locations; New materials for spacecraft propulsion systems and shielding; Software for Earth imaging and geolocation; Radio-frequency interference mitigation and EM spectrum sharing; Gravity gradiometry for remote sensing. About the Department: The Department of Physics and Astronomy is housed on the Brownsville and Edinburg campuses. The department offers a BS in Physics, two master’s degrees, MS in Physics and MSIS, and a recently approved Ph.D. in Physics. Our department has 22 full-time tenured and tenure track faculty, 1 tenured faculty shared with the School of Earth Environmental and Marine Sciences, several lecturers, and 6 full-time support staff. Current research areas are Gravitational Wave Astronomy, Astrophysics and Multi-messenger Astronomy, Radioastronomy, compact binaries, galaxy clusters and cataclysmic variables, Space Technology, Material Science, Condensed Matter Theory, Optics, Biophysics, Nuclear and High Energy Physics, and Physics Education. We have two research centers located in the Brownsville campus: The Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy (CGWA) and the Center for Radio Astronomy (CARA). Astrophysics faculty have ongoing collaborations using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory (Swift), the transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), the Chandra X-ray Observatory (Chandra), the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, and NOIRLab facilities, such as the Gemini Observatory. Our GW faculty are members of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration since 1998. UTRGV faculty also lead the TOROS collaboration, an NSF funded astronomical observatory which operates a high-altitude optical facility in the Atacama dessert. It also operates the CTMO, another optical facility located in South Texas. We have excellent experimental facilities at both campuses, which include optics, lasers, and spectroscopy equipment, as well as direct access to computational facilities including the Texas Advanced Computing Center. Our faculty publish in high-impact journals and are successful in securing external funding to support their research. |
| Minimum Qualifications | A Ph.D. in Physics, Astrophysics or a closely related field and postdoctoral experience are required. Applicants should provide evidence of significant productivity in research. Externally funded research and teaching experienceare also required. Successful candidates will demonstrate potential for forming collaborations with existing faculty within the Department of Physics and Astronomy, as well as other collaborations within UTRGV, nationally, and abroad, the ability to involve both undergraduate and graduate students in research activities, and a commitment to educate a diverse body of students in a Hispanic Serving Institution. Candidates eligible for the position must already have tenure at a comparable institution of higher education or be eligible to meet institutional requirements for tenure. |
| Discipline Specific Required Qualifications | |
| Preferred Qualifications | Experience with international collaborations relevant to the position is a plus |
| License or Certification Required? | No |
| Salary | Commensurate with Qualifications and Experience |
| Desired Start Date | 09/01/2023 |
Posting Detail Information
| EEO Statement | EEO Statement It is the policy of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley to promote and ensure equal employment opportunities for all individuals without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information or protected veteran status. In accordance with the requirements of Title VII of the civil rights act of 1964, the title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, our University is committed to comply with all government requirements and ensures non-discrimination in its education programs and activities, including employment. We encourage women, minorities and differently abled persons to apply for employment positions of interest. Diversity Statement UTRGV is a Hispanic-serving Institution dedicated to student success and building a diverse faculty committed to working in a multicultural environment. UTRGV has an NSF ADVANCE grant to increase the representation of women in STEM fields and to promote a positive, family friendly workplace for all faculty. We strongly encourage applications from women and minorities. |
|---|---|
| Open Date | 12/08/2022 |
| Close Date | 12/22/2022 |
| Additional Information | UTRGV is a distributed institution. As such and as assigned, the position may require presence at multiple locations throughout the Rio Grande Valley. Work is performed primarily in a general office environment. This position is security sensitive and thereby subject to the provisions of the Texas Education Code §51.215. The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length. This position has the option to elect the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) instead of TRS, subject to the position being 40 hours per week and at least 135 days in length. |
| Special Instructions to Applicants | Dear Applicant, Human Resources will not be held responsible for redacting any confidential information from the documents you attach with your application. The confidential information includes the following: *Date of Birth *Social Security Number *Gender *Ethnicity/Race Please make sure that you omit this information prior to submission. We are advising that Human Resources will be forwarding your application to the department as per your submission. Please Note: Under applicant documents and required documents, “Applicants should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, statement of research plan, and statement of leadership philosophy for CARA (Center for Advanced Radio Astronomy) and the names & contact information of at least three professional references.” |
| Please Note | Texas law requires faculty members whose primary language is not English to demonstrate proficiency in English as determined by a satisfactory paper-based test score of 500 (computer-based of 173 or internet-based of 61) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or a satisfactory test score of 6.0 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Incomplete applications will not be considered. |
| Quick Link | https://careers.utrgv.edu/postings/36623 |
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