Department/Organization
214211 - Aerospace and Eng Mechanics
Rank
Professor
Position Summary
The Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics (AEM) and the Lee J. Styslinger Jr. College of Engineering (SCoE) at The University of Alabama (UA) invite applications for the position of Department Head. This is a full-time, tenured position at the rank of Professor. We seek an accomplished scholar and proven leader to advance the department’s research, teaching, and service missions while fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment. Candidates with research interests across all domains relevant to aerospace engineering and mechanics are encouraged to apply.
Detailed Position Information
The Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics (AEM: https://aem.eng.ua.edu) and the Lee J. Styslinger Jr. College of Engineering (SCoE: https://eng.ua.edu) at The University of Alabama (UA: https://ua.edu) invite applications for the position of Department Head. This is a full-time, tenured position at the rank of Professor. Candidates with research interests across all domains relevant to aerospace engineering and mechanics are encouraged to apply.
The AEM department and College are looking for a Department Head who will (1) build upon existing strengths in the department, College, and University, (2) lead the department in its mission to provide a high-quality education, conduct innovative research, and serve the aerospace community in the state and nation, (3) advance the research scope within the department, College, and UA, and (4) foster a collaborative and inclusive environment.
Candidates with prestigious achievements, significant impact in their fields, and exceptional national and international reputations will be eligible for consideration for significant endowment support through appointment as an Endowed Shelby Distinguished Professor (https://provost.ua.edu/the-shelby-endowment-for-distinguished-faculty/). These Shelby Distinguished Professor positions are one of the highest honors bestowed upon faculty at The University of Alabama, and candidates who feel their record and accomplishments warrant consideration for this additional honor should indicate this in their cover letter.
This is a very exciting time to join the AEM Department and the Styslinger College of Engineering at The University of Alabama—a Carnegie R1 institution. Located in Tuscaloosa AL, the university offers a vibrant community, excellent quality of life, and proximity to major aerospace and technology hubs in the southeast including Huntsville and Mobile, AL. The College has experienced tremendous growth in its faculty, facilities, student populations, and research enterprise over the past decade. The College currently has more than 4,800 undergraduate students and almost 800 graduate students, making it one of the largest engineering colleges in the nation. The AEM department has also seen significant growth in recent years, with undergraduate program enrollment of 570 students in the fall of 2025, graduate enrollment of nearly 200 students, and 21 faculty and instructors.
The AEM department currently offers three degrees: a BS in Aerospace Engineering, an MS in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, and a PhD in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics. The two graduate programs are offered both on-campus and through distance education. The department is currently on a multi-year effort to significantly expand its faculty size to help better serve its students and educational mission and to add both depth and breadth to the range of research activities represented across the department and its faculty.
The next Department Head should demonstrate national and international recognition in aerospace engineering or engineering mechanics, with a sustained record of external funding and a proven ability to lead large-scale research initiatives, multi-investigator grants, and industry or government partnerships. A strong commitment to collaboration across the department, college, and university is expected, along with a vision for advancing the department’s research profile and its role in addressing national and global challenges.
AEM and the SCoE consider teaching, research, and service as the three critical and complementary portions of their overall mission. The successful candidate should also bring a strong record of successfully mentoring faculty, staff, and students, including supporting their career development. Demonstrated experience in developing new curricula, interdisciplinary programs, or innovative teaching methods and a commitment to ensuring the continued strength and accreditation of AEM’s core degree programs is highly desirable.
The department, college, and university are also notable for the collegial, welcoming, and supportive spirit built into the fabric of who we are and how we interact across our family of students, faculty, and staff. It is therefore expected that candidates will demonstrate an ability to support this important aspect of our community.
Minimum Qualifications
Earned Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, Engineering Mechanics, or a closely related discipline from an accredited institution
- Research, teaching, and service credentials commensurate to meet university criteria for appointment to the rank of full Professor with tenure
- Strong collaborative, organizational, and communication skills
- Successful mentoring of junior faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students
- Demonstrated leadership in an academic and/or research setting
- Ability to articulate a vision for advancing the department’s, the college’s and university’s missions
Preferred Qualifications
International recognition in an aerospace engineering or engineering mechanics research field with a track record of sustained funding and leading large-scale research initiatives, multi-investigator grants, or industry & government partnerships • Exceptional collegial and interpersonal skills demonstrated with successful university collaborations, industrial engagement, and donor relations • Experience developing new, innovative curricula and interdisciplinary programs • Leadership roles in national or international professional organizations, editorial boards, or advisory committees • Strong administrative experience including faculty and staff development/mentoring, hiring, scheduling, and budget planning
Instructions and Required Materials for Application
Required application documents include: (1) cover letter that includes both the department name and position for which the candidate is applying, (2) a curriculum vitae, (3) a 3 to 4 page leadership statement describing prior leadership roles, leadership philosophy, faculty/staff development and mentoring, program/curriculum planning, and a vision for the department in alignment with university priorities, (4) a 3 to 4 page research statement summarizing major contributions, funding record, and future trajectory, (5) a 2 to 3 page teaching statement of teaching interest, philosophy, and effectiveness, and (6) the names and contact information for at least four references. Review of applications will begin immediately, and the search will continue until the position is filled. The University of Alabama is an Equal Employment/Equal Educational Opportunity Institution. Candidates from under-represented groups are encouraged to apply. Review of applications will begin immediately, and applications received on or before September 30, 2026, will receive full consideration. The expected start date of the position is August 2027. Questions about the position can be directed to [email protected]
About the Division/College/School
As the premier flagship university for the state of Alabama and as one of the first five universities in the nation to offer engineering instruction, The University of Alabama (UA) has more than 175 years of proud engineering history. UA’s Lee J. Styslinger Jr. College of Engineering is committed to conducting cutting-edge research that advances the frontiers of science and engineering, translating such fundamental advancements through applied research and technology commercialization into impactful solutions which improve the human condition and address the challenges facing humankind, and using that immersive research environment to provide unparalleled educational experiences and opportunities for our students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. As a College, we pride ourselves on educating and preparing the next generation of engineering and computer science scholars and professionals who will positively shape the future around us. Through our educational, research, and service activities that support our overall vision to be one of the most impactful engineering programs in the nation, our College continues to provide leadership in the many professional disciplines represented by our College and to the community, state, and nation as we advance our professions, the economy, and the lives of all those whom we serve.
The College is comprised of seven departments: Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics; Chemical and Biological Engineering; Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering; Computer Science; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; and Metallurgical and Materials Engineering. These departments currently deliver 14 different undergraduate and 17 different graduate degree programs. Overall, the College enrolls approximately 6,000 students, making it one of the largest colleges out of the more than 40,000 students on UA’s campus.
While the university has been on a constant mission to advance in every aspect of its operations since its inception, UA has in particular seen transformative growth in its research enterprise and impact over the past decade. Through the efforts of The University, UA Office of Research and Economic Development (ORED), the Styslinger College of Engineering and its’ centers, departments, and faculty, UA’s research enterprise has surged dramatically higher in the last five to ten years. This recent and continuing steep growth rate of research has positioned UA as one of the fastest growing research institutions in the nation. More specifically, the College has seen annual research awards and expenditures grow at an average of more than 25% per year for more than the last 5 years, now surpassing $100 million annually in new research awards. By more than doubling research over the past 5 to 7 years, the size of the graduate programs across the College have more than doubled as well. The continued ambitious growth of research programs amongst our existing faculty and research centers combined with the recent significant additions of a large number of new tenure-track and tenured faculty, particularly the addition of more than 80 such new highly research active faculty over the past four years, has positioned the College for maintaining this steep trajectory of research growth and impact well into the future.
The educational activities of the Styslinger College of Engineering and its constantly increasing volume of impactful research are enabled and supported by a tremendous combination of amazing faculty and staff, an outstanding array of modern new facilities that are the envy of its peers, and a world-class student body at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The College currently has more than 185 faculty members, which includes the significant infusion of both young and experienced faculty talent over the past four years that was mentioned earlier. This year again there are plans to add yet another new cohort of tenure-track and tenured faculty to the College across all of its departments. In terms of facilities, the College has one of the largest overall footprints of any college at UA, currently occupying all or significant portions of 17 different facilities across campus. Some of the most recent additions to that space are the state-of-the-art facilities provided for many of the College’s departments in the recently completed Shelby Science and Engineering Quad that was built at a cost approaching $400 million.
In addition to the traditional engineering departments and their facilities, there are also more than 10 different major research centers housed within the College that span and support a wide-ranging set of research thrust areas including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, additive manufacturing, advanced materials, functional polymers and soft matter, water resources and water technology, advanced transportation and vehicle technology, and more. These centers bring together faculty from across the College and the University to capitalize on emerging technological opportunities and to tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing the planet both today and well into the future. In addition to these College research centers, a number of university-level research institutes and centers, including the Alabama Water Institute, the Alabama Transportation Institute, and the Alabama Mobility and Power Center, also provide support and infrastructure to an array of research thrusts and projects that engage faculty from across the College and University. This synergistic combination of outstanding people, facilities, and resources will continue to fuel the Styslinger College of Engineering’s advancement and growth in education and research well into the future.
Overall, with its award-winning faculty and staff, outstanding and growing student body, tremendous array of state-of-the-art facilities, diverse offerings of nationally accredited degree programs, and the strong support of its local, state, and national partners, the College has positioned itself for continued success and rapid advancement as a leader in engineering science, education, and practice. The College is looking for new faculty who want to build or continue their career in a dynamic organization with truly unlimited potential.
It is indeed an exciting time to join The University of Alabama and the Styslinger College of Engineering. The College recently embarked on its “Top-30+ by ‘30” initiative which aims to have the College and all of its departments and programs achieve top-30 impact in all dimensions of our operations by 2030. Those impacts and dimensions include offering a comprehensive set of innovative degree program covering the full spectrum of engineering and computer science fields, enrolling a number of students and conferring a number of degrees at both the undergraduate and graduate levels to be one of the largest producers of engineering talent in the nation, achieving continued outstanding growth in research awards and expenditures to enable continued expansion of our graduate programs and research activities, continuing to scale scholarly research productivity to be a major force in pushing the frontiers of our disciplines, and to playing an ever more important role in shaping our disciplines and the future of computer science, engineering, and technology through local, national and international service. To achieve those goals, the College, with strong support of the University, is deploying substantial resources in hiring new faculty, developing new facilities including both laboratory and computing resources, and expanding our research and educational programs. These activities present an outstanding opportunity here at The University of Alabama for individuals to fulfill their career objectives and dreams as a faculty member in an environment that can fully support their development as an excellent scholar, researcher, and teacher.
About the University
The University of Alabama is located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, named one of Travel + Leisure’s 25 Best College Towns and Cities in the U.S. As one of the nation’s premier universities, UA offers bachelor’s, master's and doctoral degrees in nearly 200 fields of study. With more than 1,400 acres of tree-lined academic core campus and over 300 state-of-the art facilities, UA has been ranked among the most beautiful and most impressive college campuses in the South, in the state of Alabama and in the nation.
In Fall 2023, the Capstone set a new enrollment record with more than 39,000 students, including more than 8,200 in the freshman class. The current enrollment includes students from every county in Alabama, every state in the nation and 92 countries around the world. More than 1,100 National Merit Scholars are currently enrolled, making UA one of the largest enrolling institutions of the scholars in the country.
UA was recently recognized as a Top Producing Institution of Fulbright U.S. students for the seventh time in nine years, as well as a Top Producing Institution of Fulbright U.S. Scholars for the first time. UA is one of only 12 universities in the nation to receive both honors.
For reasons like this, the University made Forbes list of America’s Top Colleges for 2023 and Time magazine’s list of Top 50 Best Colleges for Future Leaders. It also made Princeton Review’s list of Top Value Colleges.
UA is also designated among the top doctoral research universities in the United States in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. One of the fastest growing major research institutions in the nation, UA saw a 21% increase in sponsored awards in the 2023 fiscal year.
Since 2015, UA has invested over $1.1 billion in the physical campus, adding more than 2.55 million gross square feet of space, over 150 new research-intensive faculty, signature research areas (e.g., “The Alabama Research Institutes”), and a growing number of partnerships with industry and with state and federal agencies.
The University employs nearly 2,100 faculty and over 4,500 staff, with 52 UA researchers included in the National Academy of Inventors. An additional 40 current faculty have received the NSF CAREER Award, the nation’s most prestigious recognition of top performing young scientists in disciplines ranging from nanoscience and engineering to biological sciences.
Background Investigation and EEO Statement
Background Investigation Statement: Prior to hiring, the final candidate(s) must successfully pass a pre-employment background investigation and information obtained from social media and other internet sources. A prior conviction reported as a result of the background investigation DOES NOT automatically disqualify a candidate from consideration for this position. A candidate with a prior conviction or negative behavioral red flags will receive an individualized review of the prior conviction or negative behavioral red flags before a hiring decision is made.
Equal Employment Opportunity: The University of Alabama is an Equal Employment/Equal Educational Opportunity Institution. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment or volunteer status without regard to any legally protected basis and will not be discriminated against because of their protected status. Applicants and employees of this institution are protected under Federal law from discrimination on several bases. More information is available in the EEOC’s Know Your Rights: Workplace (https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights6.12ScreenRdr.pdf) discrimination is illegal poster.
The University of Alabama affirms its longstanding commitment to institutional neutrality, free speech, and academic freedom.
