The University of Tennessee - Knoxville: Knoxville Academic Units: Tickle College of Engineering: Civil & Environ Engr
Location
Knoxville, TN
Open Date
Oct 19, 2026
Description
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), invites applications and nominations for a tenure-track faculty position at the Assistant or Associate Professor rank at the intersection of advanced computing and civil and environmental engineering. Candidates should demonstrate a strong record of scholarship, commensurate with career stage, in one or more areas of civil and environmental engineering or in a closely related field with clear relevance to the built or natural environment.
Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, artificial intelligence, machine learning, scientific computing, autonomous and cyber-physical systems, physical AI, high-performance computing, digital twins, and quantum computing. Particular consideration will be given to candidates who develop, adapt, integrate, or rigorously validate advanced computational methods to enable fundamental discovery, predictive modeling, design, decision-making, or autonomous operation in civil and environmental engineering systems. The department seeks candidates whose work extends beyond the routine application of established computational tools and has the potential to produce transformative advances across one or more CEE domains.
The successful candidate will be expected to establish or sustain an externally funded research program and teach undergraduate and graduate courses within their area of expertise. The candidate will also contribute to the development and delivery of interdisciplinary or crossdepartmental curricula in advanced computing, mentor students, and foster collaborations that integrate advanced computational capabilities across CEE research and education.
About the Tickle College of Engineering:
The Tickle College of Engineering (TCE) is in the midst of an unprecedented period of growth and success, including adding over 30 new faculty at all levels to the college over 4 years as part of ambitious hiring campaigns led by Chancellor Donde Plowman and Dean Matthew Mench. The college has set records in research expenditures, enrollment, incoming student GPA, intellectual property development, and USNWR rank in the past three years. Key partnerships with Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) through the University of Tennessee Oak Ridge Innovation Institute (UTORII) and Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) that manages the Y-12 National Security Complex have created an expanded opportunity space for faculty and students in the region. New facilities include the state-of-the art Zeanah Engineering Complex, the University of Tennessee Manufacturing and Design Enterprise (TN-MADE) facility, and the Innovation South building that houses UTK’s Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility (FCMF), a National Prototype Research Center (NSPC) as part of a partnership with CNS Y-12 under construction, and new facilities for the Biomedical Engineering department and a quantum foundry in planning stages.
TCE currently has 213 tenure/tenure track and over 80 non-tenure track faculty in its nine academic departments and offers 11 undergraduate, 16 MS, and 15 PhD/DE degree programs. Affiliated with TCE and located in Tullahoma, Tennessee, the UT Space Institute is a hub of aerospace and defense research. The college is also home to eight research centers and three interdisciplinary institutes. With approximately 4, 8 00 undergraduate and 1,500 graduate students, the college sits 2 8 th among public universities in the most recent U.S. News and World Report graduate rankings. Faculty in the college have won 33 early career awards (NSF, DOE, DARPA, AFOSR, AHA, and Sloan ) since 2016. In FY2 5 , the college had annual research expenditures of $113. 9 M.
Qualifications
All candidates must hold an earned doctorate in civil or environmental engineering or closely related field by the appointment start date. All candidates must have research and teaching interests at the nexus of advanced computing and civil and environmental engineering. All candidates must have strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary environment. All candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States by the appointment start date.
Candidates for Assistant Professor must have a record of scholarly achievement and high quality publications and must demonstrate potential to develop a nationally recognized, externally funded research program.
Candidates for Associate Professor must have a strong record of scholarly achievement and high-quality publications and must have established a nationally recognized, externally funded research program.
Application Instructions
Applicants should submit:
- An application letter addressing qualifications and motivation,
- Statements of research and teaching interests
- A complete curriculum vitae
- Names of and contact information for five references
Questions about the position should be directed to Lee Han, Chair of the Search Committee (voice: 865-974-7707; email lhan@utk.edu). Applications will be reviewed beginning November 15 and will continue until the position is filled.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment and admission without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, and parental status, or any other characteristic protected by federal or state law. In accordance with the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the University of Tennessee affirmatively states that it does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or disability in its education programs and activities, and this policy extends to employment by the university.
Requests for accommodation of a disability should be directed to the ADA Coordinator at Equal Opportunity and Accessibility, 1840 Melrose Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37996-3560, by email to eoa@utk.edu, or by phone at 865-974-2498. Inquiries and charges of violation of Title VI (race, color, and national origin), Title IX (sex), Section 504 (disability), the ADA (disability), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (age), sexual orientation, or veteran status should be directed to the Office of Investigation and Resolution, 216 Business Incubator Building, E J. Chapman Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-3560, by email to investigations@utk.edu, or by phone at 865-974-0717.
