AOE Laboratory Teaching Faculty

The Kevin T. Crofton Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering (AOE) at Virginia Tech seeks applications for a teaching faculty position in Applied Experimental Methods in AOE at either the Collegiate Professor or Professor of the Practice ranks effective as early as August 2024. Successful candidates will have a primary commitment to our instructional mission, curricular development, the design and integration of innovative and inclusive teaching, and department service. Teaching faculty are full members of the faculty who are encouraged but not required to participate in research and scholarship, mentor graduate students, and participate in professional service.

The Applied Experimental Methods in AOE position will be responsible for teaching two undergraduate lab-based courses per term including: (1) Electronics for Aerospace and Ocean Engineers: a semester-long sophomore course introducing students to the basics of electronics for instrumentation and embedded systems, (2) Experimental Methods: a semester-long junior course containing a series of prepared fluid dynamics, structures, and control experiments, and (3) Experiments for Aerospace Design and Experiments for Ocean Vehicle Design: year-long senior level courses where students design and implement experimental studies related to their senior design capstone projects. The successful candidate will be able to guide students in the development of embedded electronics and software for design team and capstone projects and in the use of experimental facilities located on the university’s main campus for instruction and research. Candidates should have experience working in experimental facilities developing experimental setups, data acquisition pipelines using applications such as LabVIEW and Matlab, and embedded systems using programming languages such as Python and C.

The Kevin T. Crofton Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering (http://www.aoe.vt.edu/) includes 40 faculty members overseeing more than $12M in annual research expenditures, with approximately 260 full-time graduate students and 700 undergraduate students. With its highly regarded teaching and research programs, the Kevin T. Crofton Department provides a unique environment for collaboration beyond the traditional boundaries of both ocean and aerospace engineering. 

Virginia Tech is a public land-grant university, committed to teaching and learning, research, and outreach to the Commonwealth of Virginia, the nation, and the world. Building on its motto of Ut Prosim (that I may serve), Virginia Tech is dedicated to InclusiveVT—serving in the spirit of community, diversity, and excellence. Virginia Tech actively seeks a broad spectrum of candidates to join our community in preparing leaders for the world. The College of Engineering undergraduate program ranks 16th and graduate program ranks 30th among all U.S. engineering schools (USN&WR). The Mission of the College of Engineering is to educate and inspire our students to be critical thinkers, innovators, and leaders.  Our core values are inclusiveness, excellence, integrity, perseverance, and stewardship.

Virginia Tech's main campus is in Blacksburg, VA, an area consistently ranked among the country's best places to live. In addition, our facilities in the Washington, D.C. area offer unique proximity to government and industry partners and are expanding rapidly, with Virginia Tech's Innovation Campus in Alexandria, VA slated to open in 2024. The Aerospace and Ocean Engineering team benefits from university-wide institutes such as the Virginia Tech National Security Institute (nationalsecurity.vt.edu/), the Center for Space Science and Engineering Research or Space@VT (www.space.vt.edu), and the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ictas.vt.edu) that includes the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership or MAAP UAS test site (https://maap.ictas.vt.edu/).  College-level centers include the Center for Research and Engineering in Aero/hydrodynamic Technology or CREATe (create.centers.vt.edu), the Pratt & Whitney Center of Excellence, the Rolls-Royce University Technology Center, and the Center for Marine Autonomy and Robotics. Major facilities include the Virginia Tech Stability Wind Tunnel, Ship Model Basin, an indoor motion capture lab, and two outdoor UAS flight facilities (https://www.aoe.vt.edu/research/facilities/keas.html, https://drones.ictas.vt.edu/dronepark.html). AOE faculty manage laboratories covering all current department disciplines and application areas (https://www.aoe.vt.edu/research/facilities.html).

Application materials include a cover letter, CV, up to three relevant research publications, and contact information for at least three professional references. In addition, applicants must provide a research statement and a statement of teaching and mentoring philosophy (up to 3 pages each) including the candidate’s ideas for supporting an equitable and inclusive educational environment consistent with the Virginia Tech Principles of Community; specific examples of experiences, activities, and plans will help us identify candidates who can support and extend our University’s commitment to inclusive excellence.

Applicants must hold a graduate degree in aerospace or ocean engineering or a related field, a strong interest in teaching and lab work at the collegiate level; a proven ability to work collaboratively; and a willingness to expand disciplinary boundaries to address complex technical and societal challenges. They will be responsible for teaching courses at the undergraduate level and mentoring undergraduate students.

Regular

December 1, 2023

The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight undergraduate colleges, a school of medicine, a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School, and Honors College. The university has a significant presence across Virginia, including the Innovation Campus in Northern Virginia; the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke; sites in Newport News and Richmond; and numerous Extension offices and research centers. A leading global research institution, Virginia Tech conducts more than $500 million in research annually.