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This is a 9 month tenure-accruing position that will be 30% teaching (College of Agricultural and Life Sciences), and 70% research (Florida Agricultural Experiment Station) in the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, at the University of Florida. This assignment may change in accordance with the needs of the unit.
Duties will include:
The faculty member in this position will develop active, successful, nationally recognized research and teaching programs in remote sensing technologies and techniques to detect, describe, predict threats impacting our agricultural and natural systems and evaluate mitigation strategies. The successful candidate will develop theoretical/foundational algorithms in remote sensing and/or sensor development (hardware) utilizing a variety of sensors such as fluorescence, hyperspectral and multispectral optical sensing, LiDAR, and/or Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The applications may include but not limited to satellite-based spatio-temporal remote sensing in soil and plant nutrients/organic matter, ecosystem health (such as agriculture, rangelands, and forests), natural hazards, land use/cover changes (e.g. soil degradation); and/or water quality for health and societal well-being. The successful candidate will complement but not duplicate existing remote sensing expertise in Unmanned Airborne Systems (UAS) and precision agriculture.
For the teaching program, the candidate will develop an undergraduate course in remote sensing techniques or sensor development for wider, non-engineering students, and another graduate-level course derived from the candidate’s research expertise A successful candidate is expected to embrace all three missions of research, extension, and teaching of the land-grant university system. The research and teaching assignments may vary in response to the needs of the department.
In addition to a strong disciplinary training, we seek candidates with interest in integrating knowledge from multiple academic domains, such as environmental science and engineering, hydrology, crop/rangeland systems, forest systems, artificial intelligence, computer science, and/or electrical engineering. Candidates should possess the interest, skills, and temperament to interact effectively with other researchers across disciplines.
The successful candidate will be closely affiliated with the Center for Remote Sensing established by an Endowment from the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, Chinese Taipei Committee, Taiwan R.O.C. Currently, the Center has over 80 Affiliate Faculty from various departments across UF.
The candidate is required to establish the basis for a strong, externally funded research program, and develop active collaborations with other faculty and research partners, creating synergy both inside and outside of the University of Florida.
Moreover, we expect the candidate to promote their research activity and leadership in professional societies, supported by sustained publication activity in top scientific journals. The goals of the position are also in line with strategic research areas of the UF College of Engineering of which ABE is also an active member through ABET accreditation. The candidate will be expected to participate in all activities of departmental academic life (research groups, mentorship of undergraduate and graduate students, and academic service activities) and work closely with other faculty in IFAS, the College of Engineering, the Emerging Pathogens Institute, the UF Water Institute, Florida Climate Institute, Astraeus Space Institute, and/or the Artificial Intelligence and Informatics Research Institute.
Tenure will accrue in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department. The faculty member will seek contracts and grant funding actively to support their program. The faculty member will engage in Extension activities in their program area.
The successful candidate will engage in scholarly activities related to instruction, including teaching undergraduate and/or graduate courses, advising and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, participating in curriculum revision and enhancement, seeking funding for the teaching program, supervising undergraduate and graduate research and creative work, publishing teaching-related scholarship, producing learning tools, and engaging in professional development activities related to teaching and advising. Faculty are encouraged to support and participate in the CALS Honors Program, distance education, and international education.
Because of the IFAS land-grant mission, all faculty are expected to be supportive of and engaged in all three mission areas—Research, Teaching and Extension—regardless of the assignment split specified in the position description.
Background Information:
The Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department is a unit in the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) at the University of Florida and has a variety of teaching, research and extension education programs. The Department is comprised of 34 faculty members located on the Gainesville campus, 6 faculty located across the state at research and education centers, 7 courtesy faculty and 20 support personnel (see website), and consistently ranks in the top 5 Agricultural and Biological Engineering programs nationwide.
Instilling excellence in research, leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship are ABE's highest priorities. At ABE, the candidate will join a dynamic, cross-disciplinary group of researchers, and will enjoy broad opportunities for collaborations with existing teams, including those studying biofilm systems and biosensors, biofuels, coupled natural and human ecosystems, nanotechnology and nanomaterials, climate variability and change, crop modeling, hydrology and water quality.
The University of Florida is a Land-Grant, Sea-Grant, and Space-Grant institution, encompassing virtually all academic and professional disciplines, with an enrollment of more than 56,000 students. UF is a member of The Association of American Universities. The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences includes the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, the College of Veterinary Medicine, the Florida Sea Grant program, and encompasses 16 on-campus academic departments and schools, 12 Research and Educational Centers (REC) located throughout the state, 6 Research sites/demonstration units administered by RECs or academic departments, and Florida Cooperative Extension Service offices in all 67 counties (counties operate and maintain). The School of Natural Resources and Environment is an interdisciplinary unit housed in IFAS and managed by several colleges on campus. UF/IFAS employs nearly 4,500 people, which includes approximately 990 salaried faculty and 1,400 permanent support personnel located in Gainesville and throughout the state. IFAS, one of the nation’s largest agricultural and natural resources research and education organizations, is administered by a Vice President and four deans: the Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the Dean for Extension and Director of the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, the Dean for Research and Director of the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, and the Dean for the College of Veterinary Medicine. UF/IFAS also engages in cooperative work with Florida A&M University in Tallahassee.
