Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Open Positions

The Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (http://cee.usc.edu) in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering is searching for outstanding faculty candidates in Civil Engineering and in Environmental Engineering to advance the Department’s strategic vision and with expertise in the following areas:

• Water resources and coastal engineering. Topics of interest include ecohydrology and ecological engineering, modeling and mitigation of climate impacts, and understanding the resilience of communities to disasters and anthropogenic factors.
• Transport service systems. Topics of interest include emerging technologies (e.g., autonomy, electrification), new and multi-modalities (e.g., urban air mobility), operations principles for hyper-connectivity (e.g., security, privacy, markets), and impact on community (e.g., equal access, pollution).
• Climate and applications to other systems (e.g., energy, air, land, water, food). Topics of interest include climate/energy nexus, climate modeling, urban warming, energy to mitigate climate impacts, air pollution, energy/land/water networks, and related areas.

The Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering identified five directions as part of the Department’s strategic vision: (1) Engineering for Disaster Resilience, (2) Engineering for Extreme Habitats, (3) Engineering for Urban Livability, (4) Engineering for Environmental Stewardship and, (5) Engineering for Transport Service Systems. It is expected all candidates to elaborate in their application how their research and teaching can advance at least one of the strategic directions of the Department.

Applications and nominations for tenure-track or tenured faculty positions at all levels are sought. The USC Viterbi School of Engineering is committed to increasing the diversity of its faculty and welcomes applications from women, individuals from racial/ethnic populations demographically underrepresented in engineering, veterans, and individuals with disabilities.

We expect all candidates to have a strong commitment to research, doctoral student mentoring, and teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Applicants should have a doctorate in civil engineering, environmental engineering, or a related field of study, and those applying for Associate Professor or Professor ranks must have a well-established and accomplished academic record. The intellectual depth, innovation, and promise of the candidate are of higher priority than their specific research area.

The position is available starting August 16, 2023. To receive full consideration, candidates should apply on-line at: https://usccareers.usc.edu/search-jobs. Application materials must include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, statement of research interests (1 page), statement of teaching interests (1 page), succinct statement on fostering an environment of diversity and inclusion and contact information for five references. To receive full consideration, all materials should be received by November 30, 2022; applications received after this deadline might not be considered. All application materials will be held in the strictest confidence. For more information, interested individuals are welcome to contact Prof. Patrick Lynett (lynett@usc.edu) in the water resources/coastal engineering area, Prof. Ketan Savla (ksavla@usc.edu) in the transport service systems area, and Prof. Amy Childress (amyec@usc.edu) in the climate area.

The Astani Department has 25 tenured/tenure track faculty members, including four chaired professorships, nine current or former Young Investigator and Early Career awardees, and many fellows of professional organizations. The Department recently renovated the civil and environmental engineering laboratories with a multimillion-dollar investment from the USC Viterbi School, including new equipment and renovated space to support cutting-edge research.

In November 2007, the Department was the beneficiary of a $17 million pledge from Sonny Astani, the largest ever bestowed on a department of civil and environmental engineering at that time. The USC Viterbi School (https://viterbi.usc.edu) is among the top engineering schools in the world. It counts 189 full-time, tenure-track faculty members, and it is home to the Information Sciences Institute, two National Science Foundation Engineering Research Centers, a Department of Energy EFRC (Energy Frontiers Research Center), and the Department of Homeland Security’s first University Center of Excellence, CREATE. The School is affiliated with the Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering, the Institute for Creative Technologies, and the USC Stevens Center for Innovation. Research expenditures typically exceed $210 million annually.

The USC Viterbi School of Engineering is committed to enabling the success of dual career families and fosters a family-friendly environment.USC is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law or USC policy. USC will consider for employment all qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring ordinance.