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Position Information

**Proposed Faculty Rank** Assistant/Associate Professor

**Department** 00810 - Scient Comp & Imag Instit-Oper

**City** Salt Lake City, UT

**Track** Tenure Track

**New Position to Begin** 7/1/2026

Details

Details

Global change is rapidly altering the Earth system, leading to more devastating extreme events and a greater need for tools for adaptation and planning. A growing wealth of observational data from satellites, sensor networks, foundation models, gridded weather and reanalysis, socio-economic databases, and other multi-scale technologies are enabling a higher-fidelity view of the Earth system than ever before, but a lack of computational tools limits our ability to leverage these data to understand the complex feedback governing the Earth system and its changes. The University of Utah, under the leadership of the One-Utah Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) Initiative (**One-U RAI**), is building a new group to address the full range of environmental challenges and opportunities enabled by AI by leveraging, integrating and enhancing existing strengths in earth and environmental science, social science, modeling and computation.

We seek candidates who will exploit emerging datasets to advance environmental and Earth system modeling, forecasting, and projection using state-of-the-art computational approaches such as machine vision, digital twins, AI, uncertainty quantification, data assimilation, or fusion techniques, with the goal of improving forecasts, hindcasts and future projections of environmental change. Methodological strengths may include Earth-system foundation or other machine-learned physics models; the use of AI methods for model parametrization; multi-model and multi-fidelity ensemble and generative approaches for uncertainty quantification; surrogate (reduced order/digital twin) models; and other modern data-assimilation and data-fusion techniques. Envi

Qualified candidates may have research interests across the globe, and with an interest in developing a research program in Utah and the Intermountain West. A doctoral degree in environmental or climate science, environmental studies, environmental engineering, applied math, geological science, geography, urban planning, computational science, or related fields is required by July 1, 2026.

The**One-U RAI**housed within the**Scientific Computing and Imaging ( SCI )**Institute at the University of Utah is growing and pursuing multiple new faculty hires over the next 5 years. These hires will expand the core research expertise in responsible and translational AI within three thematic areas: environment, healthcare and wellness, and teaching and learning. A major goal is to attract new partnerships across the University and beyond. Candidates whose research expertise integrates social and technical aspects are of particular interest.

This specific recruitment is for a tenure-track position at the Assistant or Associate Professor level to begin in Fall 2026. The successful candidate will have a research appointment with the

**SCI**Institute at the University of Utah, and their tenure home in one of the following participating colleges and departments:**College of Architecture + Planning**: Department of**City and Metropolitan Planning**;**College of Business**: Departments of**Operations & Information Systems**and**Quantitative Analysis of Markets and Organizations ( QAMO )**;**John and Maria Price College of Engineering**: Department of**Civil and Environmental Engineering**;**College of Law**;**College of Science**: School of**Biological Sciences**, Departments of**Atmospheric Sciences**and**Geology & Geophysics**;**College of Social and Behavioral Science:**Schools of**Environment, Society & Sustainability**and**Public Affairs**and Departments of**Anthropology**,**Economics**, and**Sociology & Criminology**. We seek a colleague with a commitment to excellence in teaching and demonstrated ability to obtain research funding and publish high-quality peer-reviewed research. We are especially interested in candidates who can contribute to our university’s**Strategy 2030**and the**One-U RAI**.

About the SCI Institute

The SCI Institute is a transdisciplinary, research-focused partnering entity at the University of Utah, comprising faculty from four academic colleges, as well as students and staff (185 current personnel). The SCI Institute’s vision is to advance translational computing and data to enable the transformation across disciplines in a way that benefits the University of Utah and society at large. Its mission is to advance computation and data science to catalyze research excellence and discovery in diverse domains applied to multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary problems of societal importance. The Institute accomplishes these goals through the collaborative development, deployment, and application of software systems and tools for applied scientific and data computing, imaging, and visualization.

Over more than three decades, the SCI Institute has established itself as an internationally recognized leader in translational innovations across computational and data science, with leading research and training programs in the areas of visualization, scientific and biomedical computing, and image analysis applied to a broad range of challenging problems.

Alongside its research goals is a passion to educate students and staff. The SCI Institute is proud to have supported over 400 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and nearly 100 undergraduates to achieve an education at the cutting edge of research. Additional information about the Institute and current faculty can be found at**sci.utah.edu**.

About the University

The University of Utah is a Carnegie Research I Institution. Located in metropolitan Salt Lake City in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains, the University of Utah is the state’s flagship research institution and emphasizes exceptional scholarship, quality teaching, and professional service. The university serves over 32,000 students from across the U.S. and the world with over 72 major subjects at the undergraduate level and more than 90 major fields of study at the graduate level, including law and medicine. Known for its proximity to seven world-class ski resorts within 40 minutes of campus, the University of Utah encourages an active, holistic lifestyle, innovation, and collaborative thinking to engage students, faculty, and business leaders. The University of Utah provides a generous benefits package with a variety of medical and dental plans from which to choose. Other important benefits include retirement, tuition reduction, a wellness program, and an Employee Assistance Program.

Salt Lake City is a vibrant, major metropolitan area with a diverse, multicultural population and numerous cultural and outdoor activities. Utah and the stunning Salt Lake Valley are undergoing robust economic growth with one of the Nation’s fastest-growing technology sectors, and the University of Utah is acclaimed for its successes in technology-driven start-ups. The University has invested significantly in the SCI Institute, and substantial further investments are now enabling these recruitments.

Salt Lake City is home to a robust array of diverse communities, facilitating numerous opportunities for interaction with a range of civic and political organizations, given the city’s role as the governmental and social nerve center of the state. Utah public schools serve a diverse student body (statewide average: eight percent ELs and twenty-six percent non-white), notably higher in its urban districts. Utah is also home to the first state-legislated and funded K-16 dual language education model in the country.

The University of Utah is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and educator. Minorities, women, veterans, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. Veterans’ preference is extended to qualified veterans. Reasonable disability accommodations will be provided with appropriate notice. For additional information about the University’s commitment to equal opportunity and access. For more details see: http://www.utah.edu/nondiscrimination/.

The University of Utah values candidates who have experience working in settings with students from diverse backgrounds and possess a strong commitment to improving access to higher education for everyone, including historically underrepresented students.

Responsibilities:

• Developing and maintaining an ongoing program of scholarly research that involves computational methods and visualization for application within climate modeling and forecasting;

• Developing meaningful collaboration with faculty in SCI , one of the aforementioned home departments, and other academic departments and research centers (e.g., Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy, the NSF WIRED Global Center and the Global Change and Sustainability Center), as applicable, to promote the integration of AI;

• Meeting the teaching requirements in the candidate’s chosen academic department;

• Engaging as a member of the SCI Institute faculty;

• Training and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students;

• Developing and submitting research funding proposals to national agencies and foundations;

• Developing partnerships, and commercialization opportunities to drive excellence and innovation in AI-enhanced research;

• Conducting and publishing rigorous research topics aligned with climate impacts forecasting;

• Collaborating in transdisciplinary teams to evaluate and improve AI design, development, and use in climate impacts forecasting;

• Promoting responsible AI by incorporating responsible AI principles and applications;

• Developing and sharing AI data and tools;

• Securing funding, partnerships, and commercialization opportunities to drive excellence and innovation in AI-enhanced research;

• Sharing expertise in translational responsible AI through speaking engagements, including those hosted by the One-U RAI ;

• Participating in monthly cluster-related team building and research activities; and

• Participating in faculty governance at the department, college, and university levels.

Qualifications:

• A doctoral degree in environmental or climate science, environmental studies, environmental engineering, applied math, geological science, geography, urban planning, computational science, or related fields is required by July 1, 2026.

• Record of or demonstrated interest in interdisciplinary research and collaboration.

• Experience in the application of AI in the relevant thematic area(s).

• Excellence in teaching and mentorship.

• Demonstrated ability to secure research funding and manage research projects.

• Demonstrated commitment to responsible and ethical AI practices.

• Expertise in evaluating the ethical implications of AI in the relevant thematic area(s).

All faculty are expected to conduct research and/or creative work within an R1 university setting. The university policy defining career-line vs. tenure-line faculty is linked here:**https://regulations.utah.edu/academics/6-300.php**.

The review of applications will begin on November 15, 2025.

Inquiries regarding the position may be directed to the Search Committee Co-Chairs, Akil Narayan ([email protected]) and Simon Brewer ([email protected]).

EEO/Non-Discrimination Information

All qualified individuals are strongly encouraged to apply. Veterans’ preference is extended to qualified applicants, upon request and consistent with University policy and Utah state law. Upon request, reasonable accommodations in the application process will be provided to individuals with disabilities.

The University of Utah is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer and does not discriminate based upon race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, or protected veteran’s status. The University does not discriminate on the basis of sex in the education program or activity that it operates, as required by Title IX and 34 CFR part 106. The requirement not to discriminate in education programs or activities extends to admission and employment. Inquiries about the application of Title IX and its regulations may be referred to the Title IX Coordinator, to the Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, or both.

To request a reasonable accommodation for a disability or if you or someone you know has experienced discrimination or sexual misconduct including sexual harassment, you may contact the Director/Title IX Coordinator in the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action ( OEO /AA). More information, including the Director/Title IX Coordinator’s office address, electronic mail address, and telephone number can be located at:

https://www.utah.edu/nondiscrimination/

Online reports may be submitted at oeo.utah.edu

Notice

The University is a participating employer with Utah Retirement Systems (“URS”). Eligible new hires with prior URS service, may elect to enroll in URS if they make the election before they become eligible for retirement (usually the first day of work). Contact Human Resources at (801) 581-7447 for information. Individuals who previously retired and are receiving monthly retirement benefits from URS are subject to URS’ post-retirement rules and restrictions. Please contact Utah Retirement Systems at (801) 366-7770 or (800) 695-4877 or University Human Resource Management at (801) 581-7447 if you have questions regarding the post-retirement rules.

This position may require the successful completion of a criminal background check and/or drug screen.

https://safety.utah.edu/safetyreport This report includes statistics about criminal offenses, hate crimes, arrests and referrals for disciplinary action, and Violence Against Women Act offenses. They also provide information about safety and security-related services offered by the University of Utah. A paper copy can be obtained by request at the Department of Public Safety located at 1658 East 500 South.

Special Instructions for Candidates

Qualified applicants must submit:

• A letter of intent including research and teaching interests;

• Curriculum vitae

• Teaching philosophy statement

References will not be contacted prior to receiving the candidate’s consent to contact. Candidates may be asked to provide additional information during the search process.

**Open Date** 09/11/2025

Close Date

**Open Until Filled** Yes

**Requisition Number** PRN01408CF

**Type** Faculty