The University Of Maine Is Hiring: Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maine* invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor position with an anticipated start date of August 2021. Candidates applying for this position will have demonstrated outstanding scholarly research or industry experience, specifically in the area of offshore wind energy, and provide evidence of or potential for teaching excellence.

Required Qualifications:

• A Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, ocean engineering, naval architecture, or a closely related field by date of hire.
• A well-documented record of high-quality research or industry experience in offshore wind energy, and a record of or strong potential for attaining extramural funding.
• Evidence of potential for teaching excellence.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Desired areas of offshore wind energy expertise include, but are not limited to: naval architecture; design, modeling, and/or testing of floating structures in the ocean environment; mooring system design and modeling; controls co-design and artificial intelligence applied to ocean structures and/or wind turbines; structural reliability of offshore wind structures; and wind turbine blade design, manufacturing and testing.
• Excellent communication skills and teamwork ability.

The successful candidate will be expected to lead an externally-funded research program in association with the Alfond Wind-Wave Ocean Engineering Laboratory, develop and teach courses in mechanical engineering, advise and mentor students, and participate in other related activities.

About the University

The University of Maine is a comprehensive land and sea grant university with an enrollment nearing 12,000 students and research expenditures of over $165 million per year. UMaine is consistently ranked among the top third of public universities engaged in research through the NSF Higher Education Research and Development Survey, and it is classified as a Higher Research Activity Institution by Carnegie.

The College of Engineering has five academic units. The Department of Mechanical Engineering has an ABET accredited BS program with an undergraduate enrollment of over 460 students. The Department offers both MS and PhD degrees with a graduate enrollment of over 50 students. The Department also offers a concentration in Aerospace Engineering, while faculty teach courses which support interdisciplinary minors in Marine Engineering, Renewable Energy Engineering, and Robotics, as well as a certificate in Composite Materials and Structures. 

Starting in 2022 the Department of Mechanical Engineering will be housed in the Ferland Engineering Education and Design Center, a new 105,000 sf state-of-the-art teaching and laboratory facility. It also will provide space for all UMaine engineering majors to complete their senior capstone projects and collaborative learning classrooms that will serve the entire campus.

The University of Maine’s Alfond Wind-Wave Ocean Engineering Laboratory is a unique wind-wave simulation basin featuring a rotatable high-performance wind machine over a multidirectional wave basin. This facility is part of the 100,000 sf, $100-million Advanced Structures and Composites Center. UMaine is a world leader in floating offshore wind turbine technology development. In 2013, the University designed, constructed and deployed the first grid-connected floating offshore wind turbine in the US, and is now leading US efforts to deploy a 10–12 MW floating turbine 14 miles off the coast of Maine, funded in part by a $40-million grant from the US Department of Energy as well as $100-million in private investment. With the US offshore wind mega-projects recently awarded in the Northeast (800 MW in Massachusetts, 400 MW in Rhode Island, and 3,500 MW in New Jersey by 2030), the growing US offshore wind industry will require world-class mechanical engineering graduates.

Further information about UMaine can be found at https://umaine.edu

The University of Maine offers a wide range of benefits for employees including, but not limited to, tuition benefits (employee and dependent), comprehensive insurance coverage including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and short and long term disability as well as retirement plan options. As a former NSF ADVANCE institution, the University of Maine is committed to diversity in our workforce and to dual-career couples.

UMaine is located in beautiful Central Maine. Many employees report that a primary reason for choosing to come to UMaine is quality of life. Numerous cultural activities, excellent public schools, safe neighborhoods, high quality medical care, little traffic, and a reasonable cost of living make the greater Bangor area a wonderful place to live. 

Learn more about what the Bangor region has to offer here.

For more information and to apply for this position, go to: https://umaine.hiretouch.com (Position ID 66531)

Applicants should submit (1) a cover letter which describes your experience, interests, and suitability for the position, (2) a resume/curriculum vitae, (3) teaching philosophy, (4) research statement, and (5) contact information for three professional references, including postal and email addresses and phone numbers. Review of applications will begin on March 1, 2021 and will continue until the position is filled.

The University of Maine is an EEO/AA employer, and does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender expression, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information or veteran’s status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Amie Parker, Interim Director of Equal Opportunity, 101 North Stevens Hall, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5754, 207.581.1226, TTY 711 (Maine Relay System).

*This post is supported by the University of Maine.