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  • Assistant Professor of Fire Ecology

    Sep 15, 2016 4:45 pm by pwakefie@illinois.eduJobs

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    Job Details: Assistant Professor of Fire Ecology

    Assistant Professor of Fire Ecology
    F1600167
    06/09/2016
    09/30/2016
    Faculty
    Wildland Resources
    Quinney College of Natural Resourcs
    Logan Campus
    Open Until Filled
     

    The Department of Wildland Resources is seeking applications for a full-time, 9-month tenure track faculty position in fire ecology and management. We are seeking a scholar dedicated to basic and applied fire science. This is an Assistant Professor position consisting of 50% research, 40% teaching, and 10% service, to start by August 2017. Application review will begin by September 30, 2016. For more information on the position or how to apply contact search committee chair Jim Lutz, james.lutz@usu.edu, 435-797-0478. All applications must be submitted through the online system at http://jobs.usu.edu/.

    The successful candidate will develop a research program investigating the effects of fire on forests and woodlands. Research foci might include, for example, the effects of fire on plant performance, mortality, regeneration, or community composition, the study of mechanisms of fire ignition and spread, the interactions between fire and weather/climate, or the interactions among fire, other disturbances, and simultaneously acting plant stressors, among others. The department welcomes researchers examining scales from individual plants to entire watersheds, landscapes, and regions.

     

    Fundamental to this position is working across disciplinary and institutional boundaries, and collaborating with federal and state agencies in matters related to fire science. The successful candidate is expected to develop a research program that secures extramural funds and achieves national and international recognition. The individual will mentor and advise undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctoral researchers from diverse backgrounds, as well as teach at least two courses, one in fire ecology and management, and the other from the department's set of undergraduate classes.

     

    The candidate's expertise should complement existing strengths in the Quinney College of Natural Resources. Through collaboration with existing faculty and extension personnel who investigate fire as portions of their research programs, the candidate will help increase the scope of the fire program at Utah State University. We are interested in candidates who can prosper within a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment of physical, life, and social scientists.

     

     

    Fundamental to this position is working across disciplinary and institutional boundaries, and collaborating with federal and state agencies in matters related to fire science. The successful candidate is expected to develop a research program that secures extramural funds and achieves national and international recognition. The individual will mentor and advise undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctoral researchers from diverse backgrounds, as well as teach at least two courses, one in fire ecology and management, and the other from the department's set of undergraduate classes.

     

     

    Utah State University is Utah’s land-grant university. USU is in Logan, offering the amenities of a college town within the Cache Valley metropolitan zone of 115,000 people. Cache Valley is a 90-minute freeway drive north of Salt Lake City, positioned along the scenic Wasatch Mountains and Bear River Range. Logan offers a bonanza of outdoor activities within minutes of campus, and is within a day’s drive of seven national parks.

     

    As an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer, USU is dedicated to recruiting stellar candidates from a diverse pool, including women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities. USU is sensitive to the needs of dual-career applicants and offers competitive salaries with outstanding medical, retirement, and professional benefits.

     

     

    Minimum Qualifications:

    1) An earned Ph.D. in fields such as, but not limited to, fire, geography, forestry, or ecology.
    2) Working knowledge, experience, and training in the effects of wildland fire on forests and woodlands, with a corresponding publication record.
    3) Ability to develop an externally funded research program based on innovative and transformative research.
    4) Demonstrated ability to articulate natural resource science within and outside the classroom to diverse audiences.
    5) Demonstrated ability to work productively with land management agencies and various stakeholder groups.

     

    Preferred Qualifications:

    Postdoctoral experience is preferred. Demonstrated ability to teach undergraduate and graduate level classes in natural resource topics. Preference will be given to those candidates who will conduct a portion of their work in Utah or the Intermountain West and to those with practical experience in prescribed fire, wildland fire management, or fire effects monitoring.

     

    Full-Time w/benefits package
    100%
    Depends upon qualifications, plus excellent benefits
    Cover Letter, Research Statement, Resume/CV, Teaching Philosophy
    Use of fingers (e.g. typing),Both hands required or compensated by the use of acceptable prostheses
    Moderate lifting; 15-44 pounds,Moderate carrying; 15-44 pounds,Walking,Operation of crane; truck; tractor; or motor vehicle,Routine visual requirements (e.g. reading with attention to details; seeing activities near and far),Routine hearing ability (e.g. whispers at close range; voices at 15 feet; converse by telephone)
     
    Outside,Excessive heat,Dust,Fumes; smoke; or gases,Combustibles
    Inside
     
    Apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to a wide range of intellectual and practical problems. Deal with non-verbal symbolism (formulas, scientific equations, graphs, musical notes, etc.) in its most difficult phases. Deal with a variety of abstract and concrete variables. Comprehend complex, hard-to-understand concepts.
    Apply knowledge of advanced mathematical and statistical techniques such as differential and integral calculus, factor analysis, and probability determination, or work with a wide variety of theoretical mathematical concepts and make original applications of mathematical procedures, as in empirical and differential equations.
    Expression of a level comparable to 5, plus highest order verbal skills such as ability to lecture to large groups, ability to speak on complex issues without prepared notes.
     
    Comprehensive and expression of a level comparable to 5, plus highest order of composition skills such as ability to do this as primary function of the job, to draft and edit publication-quality papers, to prepare highly complex documents such as wills and contracts. May involve a large volume of such composition.
    Moderate travel required – ability to travel frequently (i.e., weekly-monthly) for activities such as home visits, collateral contacts, transport of clients to appointments, delivering mail, auditing records, inspecting facilities, or other activities requiring frequent travel under normal conditions.