Asst. or Assoc. Professor in Artificial Intelligence for Earth System Modeling, Univ. of Georgia USA

The University of Georgia (UGA) is hiring a cluster of six tenure-track or tenured faculty in Environmental Artificial Intelligence (AI) through a Presidential Faculty Hiring Initiative over two years with three positions starting August 2022, and three positions to start August 2023. The faculty positions are distributed over the following four departments within the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences: Department of Geography, Department of Marine Sciences, Department of Statistics and Department of Anthropology.

The Environmental AI cluster will strengthen and expand UGA’s position as a global leader in atmospheric, terrestrial, and oceanic processes across wide-ranging spatial and temporal scales. UGA is seeking to build on its existing core strengths in big data analyses and multi-scale modeling of earth and marine systems, paleoclimate, and human-environmental change and organizational complexity by developing innovative computational and statistical methodologies to advance understanding of ecosystem resilience and to support climate science and sustainability.

This hiring cluster is aimed at:

1. Evaluating relationships between environmental forcing mechanisms and responses;
2. Simulating and evaluating environmental responses at multiple scales and planning for resource management strategies; and,
3. Advancing machine learning capabilities in sensor networks and remotely sensed data.

Collectively, these new faculty members will contribute to the understanding of ecosystem resiliency in the face of sea-level rise, increasingly extreme weather events, ocean warming and acidification, and how these climate patterns have changed through time. These are the most challenging and pressing research problems of our time with vast implications for decisionmakers and the public for adapting to and mitigating environmental change. To facilitate interaction among these researchers, each faculty member will join the existing Environmental AI working group and be encouraged to collaborate with faculty in related research centers or institutes across campus.

As part of the cluster hire, the Department of Geography invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor specializing in Earth systemmodeling, with expertise in the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) methods to address important research questions in Earth system, climate, atmospheric, and/or ecosystem science. This position starts on August 1, 2023 and is an academic year appointment (9 months) with an opportunity to supplement salary during the summer.
Applicants must have a Ph.D. degree in Geography, Climate, Environmental or EarthScience, or a related field from an accredited institution. Please see the requirements for Assistant or Associate Professors in the Unit Criteria for Promotion and Tenure for the Department of Geography. To be eligible for tenure upon appointment, candidates must be appointed as an Associate Professor, have been tenured at a prior institution, and bring a
demonstrably national reputation to the institution. Candidates must be approved for tenure upon
appointment before hire.

We seek an Earth system modeler with expertise in the use of AI/ML methods for model development, validation, and/or application, as well as strengths in high-performance computing and big data visualization. In particular, we seek a researcher who can support the Environmental AI working group, complement existing expertise in the department (geography.uga.edu) studying changes in water and carbon cycle dynamics, and who can contribute to our physical
geography, atmospheric sciences, GIScience and remote sensing programs. Applicants with a field science or lab component are encouraged to apply. The successful candidate is expected to develop and maintain a strong externally funded research program advancing novel modeling frameworks and techniques. The successful candidate is also expected to teach effectively at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Competitive applicants will have demonstrated interdisciplinary collaborations that cut across academic units on campus. Inclusiveness and diversity are academic imperatives and thus university goals, and the University is particularly interested in candidates with a demonstrated history of working with students from diverse backgrounds and who have a demonstrated commitment to improving access to higher education for students from underrepresented groups.
Applications received by November 14, 2022, are assured full consideration; however, applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Applicants will be asked to provide names and contact information for 3 references using the online system.

Supporting documents should include a cover letter addressing the candidate's background relative to the responsibilities
of the position, curriculum vitae, 3 representative publications, and a statement on commitmentto diversity, equity, and inclusivity. In addition, applicants should provide a statement of teaching philosophy and a statement of research philosophy that highlights their goals and interest in Earth system modeling and AI/ML, and their contributions to improving our understanding of the Earth-Atmosphere System.

Questions about the cluster: Dr. Hilda Kurtz, Department Head Geography
Questions about the position: Search committee chair Dr. David Porinchu

The University of Georgia is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, genetic information, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, or protected veteran status. Persons needing accommodations or assistance with the accessibility of materials related to this search are encouraged to contact Central HR
(hrweb@uga.edu). Please do not contact the department or search committee with such requests.

The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, its many units, and the University of Georgia are committed to increasing the diversity of its faculty and students and to creating a work and learning environment that is inclusive. Women, people from historically excluded groups, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Georgia is well known for its quality of life in both outdoor and urban activities (exploregeorgia.org). The University of Georgia is a land and sea grant institution located in Athens, 65 miles northeast of Atlanta, the state capital (visitathensga.com; uga.edu). UGA is ranked in the top 16 public universities in U.S. News & World Report and typically ranks in the top 25 on national rankings of public research universities (uga.edu/profile/pride/rankings/).

Athens, Georgia is frequently ranked as one of the best places to live in the US.          (visitathensga.com/media/rankings-press-coverages/)