Careers

The Departments of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) and Urban Design and Planning (UDP) at the University of Washington, Seattle invite applications and nominations for a joint tenure-track position at the level of Assistant Professor, with expertise in data science. This position will have a primary appointment  in the Department of Urban Design and Planning and a joint appointment in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences.  Located in the heart of the Seattle metropolitan region, the University of Washington is a highly ranked university known for its federally funded and interdisciplinary research. This position is supported by a University-wide Provost-level initiative to integrate the use of data science across non-STEM and STEM disciplines. 

Advances in information technology are creating opportunities to address long-standing grand challenges at the intersection of public health and the built environment. Urban design, land use and infrastructure systems, such as transportation, water, energy, and waste, are implicated in complex ways with human activities, health and well-being, the nature of disease, historically-rooted inequities, and the impacts of a changing climate. Devices and flows of information commonly associated with smart cities are increasingly fortifying research at this intersection of human health, urban form, and the environment, with the empirical rigor and exploratory possibility of data science. The successful applicant will help expand UW’s substantial expertise in these interrelated fields of research and data science.

 Responsibilities

This new faculty member will play a key role in elevating the research and teaching programs of UDP, DEOHS, and the Interdisciplinary Minor in Data Science at UW.  The position has its basis in many years of ongoing research on public health and the built environment, the University-wide interdisciplinary PhD program in Urban Design and Planning, the concurrent Master of Public Health and Master of Urban Planning degree program, the UDP Urban Form Lab, and the new undergraduate minor in Data Science. The successful applicant will (a) contribute to the research, teaching, and service in these UDP and DEOHS programs, (b) assist in shaping the curriculum for the new Data Science undergraduate minor, (c) contribute to advancing progress on diversity, equity, and inclusivity goals of the schools and University.

About the Position

The successful applicant will receive a primary tenure track faculty appointment in Urban Design and Planning in the College of Built Environments, and a joint appointment in the Department of Environment and Occupational Health Sciences in the School of Public Health and will be a member of the Data Science minor program, at the UW Seattle Campus. The position is full time with a 9 month service period. The division of time among these programs will be determined in discussion between the successful applicant and the leaders of these programs.

• As part of the top-ranked UW School of Public Health, the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences is a premier research and educational department. Research programs in the department include exposure assessment, environmental epidemiology, occupational health and safety, toxicology, microbiology, and environmental health practice-based participatory research. There is a rich history of collaborative research in the department and across the University.  Educational programs at the undergraduate and graduate level train future leaders in environmental and occupational health. 

• The Department of Urban Design and Planning is one of five departments in the College of Built Environments. The Department maintains programs in urban planning, infrastructure planning and management, and community, environment and planning. Highly interdisciplinary, the masters program offers joint or concurrent degrees in public health, public administration, landscape architecture, civil and environmental engineering, real estate, and architecture. Research centers include the Urban Form Lab (https://sites.uw.edu/ufl/), known for research at the intersection of health and the built environment.

• The UW Data Science minor (https://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/single-pages/data-science-minor/) is a university-wide Provost-level initiative designed to help undergraduate students gain literacy and fluency in data science methods and understand their implications for society and the world. This minor serves students by enabling them to use and evaluate data science methods in their major domain of study.   The Data Science minor is associated with the UW eScience Institute (https://escience.washington.edu/). 

These departments lead interdisciplinary PhD programs and concurrent Master’s degree programs. The concurrent Master of Public Health and Master of Urban Planning degree program (https://deohs.washington.edu/graduate-certificates-and-concurrent-degrees) trains students to work across multiple disciplines including the built environment and public health. The PhD in Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington (https://sites.uw.edu/urbdpphd/) is one of thirty-nine PhD programs in urban and regional planning in North America. Faculty affiliated with this interdisciplinary program are drawn from Urban Design and Planning and 20 other disciplines across the University, including Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. 

This new position will be based on UW’s main campus, located in the city of Seattle in the Puget Sound region of Washington State. 

Position Requirements

The successful applicant will possess a PhD (or foreign equivalent) in a relevant field and demonstrated abilities conducting novel interdisciplinary research. US and International applicants are welcome to apply.

Positive factors for consideration

Positive factors for consideration include but are not limited to the following areas of data science expertise and skills in the context of environmental health sciences and urban planning:

• Ability to create, manage, analyze, and communicate big, complex data
• Ability to analyze geospatial and spatiotemporal data, including via statistical analysis and geovisualization methods
• Ability to apply innovative analytical methods, including statistical and machine learning, visualization, and artificial intelligence
• Ability to use reproducible research techniques and best practices, including open data, open source, and open science
• Facility with theories and applications regarding data provenance, governance, and privacy
• Facility with current or leading programming languages, geospatial applications, and statistics applications, such as R, ArcGIS, and Python

 Teaching experience, particularly in technical courses with lecture and laboratory components, is also a positive factor for consideration.

Priority will be given to applicants who submit the following materials by December 1, 2021.  Applications received after this date may be considered at the discretion of the search committee.

1. Cover Letter that describes the applicant’s suitability for this position and explains how the applicant’s experiences, activities, and goals will lead to success in a cross-disciplinary position, including contributions to the Interdisciplinary Data Science Minor

2. Comprehensive Curriculum Vitae 

3. Research Statement describing past and present projects and future directions 

4. Three samples of scholarship such as publications, weblinks to online projects, and/or course syllabi 

5. Statement of Teaching Philosophy 

6. Diversity Statement describing experiences with and commitment to diversity in research, teaching, mentoring and/or service.  Please include any experience in teaching or mentoring a diverse population of students.

7. Three references (contact information only, no formal letters) 

Salary will be based on qualifications and experience.  The expected start date for this position is the Fall Quarter of 2022 but timing is open to negotiation.

The University of Washington is using Interfolio’s Faculty Search to conduct this search. Applicants to this position receive a free Dossier account and should send all application materials to: apply.interfolio.com/94429   For assistance signing up for a Dossier account, accessing your account, or submitting your application, please review Interfolio’s help and support section or contact via email help@interfolio.com or phone (877) 997-8807.

 Questions about this position may be directed to the Search Committee Co-Chairs Affiliate Professor Andrew Dannenberg (adannen@uw.edu) or Associate Professor Jan Whittington (janwhit@uw.edu).