The Thayer School of Engineering is conducting three distinct searches for faculty members. At the end of the searches, the school will hire three new faculty members — one specializing in engineering in translational medicine, one in the intersection of energy and design and one in computational material science.
Thayer professors John Zhang, Ian Baker and Lee Lynd are each conducting their own search for the different specializations.
As there is little to no overlap between the three sets of candidate qualifications, the searches are being conducted separately from each other and at different speeds, Baker said. The professors were each asked to conduct the search by Thayer Dean Joseph Helble.
Zhang, an engineering professor, will be searching for an expert in engineering in translational medicine, which requires knowledge of both engineering and biomedicine.
The specific position reflects a rising interest in medical devices among the incoming generation of students and entrepreneurs.
“Over the past few years we have seen students attracted to engineering because they see these emerging engineering frontiers,” Zhang said.
The overlap between engineering and translational medicine helps with medical processes such as medical imaging, which can be used to find early stages of cancer, he said.
Zhang said that he is right in the middle of his search, where he is narrowing down the initial list of applicants and moving on to interviews.
A passion for teaching and the ability to create a research agenda among applicants alongside a strong academic mind are traits that Zhang said he looks for in the candidates.
He added that he is looking for someone to start in either the fall or next January, which will be decided by the summer term.
During the process, Zhang will receive input from faculty members who work in the same field.
Lynd, a professor of environmental engineering design and an adjunct biology professor, is chairing the search for the energy and design specialist.
The job description indicated that the position entailed research and interest teaching within the combination of energy and design, such as energy efficient buildings or other environmental impacts.
The description was made to be intentionally open and unconventional, so that the school could find someone with new ideas, Lynd said.
The position came about as part of Thayer’s push to develop leading program in energy which created a need for more design experts, he said.
“We think [that] there are people out there that are really one hundred percent energy people but also one hundred percent design people and you don’t have to give up one for the other,” Lynd said.
Lynd is currently still receiving applications. Lynd said that in past searches at Thayer, he has received anywhere between 100 to 200 applications.
He said that candidates will be notified of the results in April.
As for the candidates themselves, Lynd said that he likes to see strong internal motivation, a good track record in regards to research and teaching and an ability to fit in with the faculty at Thayer.
He said that the faculty expansion partially comes out of a forthcoming expansion of Thayer.
Once the dean decides that a search should be started, a search committee is named and decides the details of the job advertisement, which then has to be agreed upon by the dean.
The advertisement must meet equal opportunity guidelines and be placed in locations that reach applicants from all backgrounds.
When the resumes come in, they are narrowed down and phone interviews are conducted. After that, two to four people are invited to campus and then offers are made, Lynd said.
Before an offer is formally extended, the faculty must vote and the central administration must approve the offer, he said.
Baker, the Sherman Fairchild professor of engineering and one of Thayer’s leading material scientists, is leading the search for a computational material scientist.
The position calls for a candidate who can do calculations ranging from quantum mechanics to determining the physical properties of materials.
Baker said that around 80 candidates have applied for the position, a smaller pool compared to past searches’ group of applicants.
The need for the position comes from a lack of expertise in the area and the new faculty member will be interacting with the material scientists in the engineering and chemistry departments, Baker said.
The initial 80 applicants has been narrowed down to three, each of whom will be coming to campus between Feb. 26 and March 4 for the final part of the application process, where they will be meeting with both faculty members and students.
Baker said that he expects offers to be given soon after that process ends, but that he will not know who will be coming until he receives confirmation from the candidates themselves.
