Assistant Professor in Coastal/Marine/Inland Water Remote Sensing and Geospatial Analysis

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is committed to creating an environment of inclusive excellence that affirms diversity across a variety of dimensions, including ability, class, ethnicity/race, gender identity and expression. Inclusive excellence is the active process of including and respecting everyone as we strive for excellence and equitable outcomes in all we do at the University of Florida. We particularly welcome applicants who can contribute to such an environment through their scholarship, teaching, mentoring, and professional service. We strongly encourage historically underrepresented groups to apply.

If an accommodation due to a disability is needed to apply for this position, please call 352-392-2477 or the Florida Relay System at 800-955-8771 (TDD) or visit Accessibility at UF .

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), available in the School of Forest Fisheries and Geomatics Sciences, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, at the University of Florida.  This assignment may change in accordance with the needs of the unit.  Tenure will accrue in the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences (SFFGS).

Research duties include developing a collaborative, internationally recognized and externally funded research program focused on applications of remote sensing, geospatial analytics, and visualization technologies to marine resource management. The faculty member will develop new methods for obtaining and analyzing geospatial information on the status, use, and environment of aquatic (inland, coastal, and/or marine) resources (e.g., spatial distribution of resource abundance, fishing effort patterns, global extent of aquaculture production) using remote sensing and advanced statistical techniques. Instructional duties include teaching two courses: an undergraduate level course of wide appeal to aquatic science, natural resources, and geomatics students, and a graduate level class in their area of specialization. Both classes will be accessible to a variety of distance students in fisheries and geomatics.  The faculty member will participate actively in undergraduate education and graduate education by chairing graduate committees, serving on graduate committees, supervising thesis and dissertation research, supervising undergraduate research, and publishing the results with their graduate students.  The faculty member will seek contract and grant funding actively to support their program.  The faculty member will engage in Extension activities in their program area.

This position is intended to complement existing strengths in fisheries, aquaculture, aquatic sciences, and geomatics across IFAS and UF. Together with other new and existing faculty, the successful candidate will have unique opportunities for developing interdisciplinary, collaborative projects, and initiatives. Partners in this initiative include the SFFGS’s Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Program and Geomatics Program; the Department of Food and Resource Economics; the Department of Soil, Water and Ecosystem Sciences; the School of Natural Resources and Environment; the UF Center for Remote Sensing; the UF Water Institute; and the UF Center for Coastal Solution. Fisheries, aquaculture, and aquatic sciences at UF also enjoy strong working relationships with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the National Marine Fisheries Service.    

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 School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences (SFFGS) has teaching, research, and Extension education programs in three broad areas: Geomatics; Forest Resources and Conservation; and Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. The SFFGS has 70 faculty members, 60 administrative and programmatic staff, 250 graduate students, and 350 undergraduate students. The School offers bachelor’s degrees in Geomatics, Forest Resources and Conservation, Natural Resource Conservation, and Marine Sciences; thesis and non-thesis master’s degrees in all focal areas, including a number of innovative distance education master’s programs; and Ph.D. degrees in all focal areas.

The School is committed to supporting work-life balance, and creating an environment that promotes and supports a more diverse and welcoming faculty, student body, and overall workforce within the School.

Florida boasts a diversity of fauna and flora common to both southern temperate and subtropical climates and is replete with springs, rivers, backwater streams, lakes, freshwater and saltwater marshes, mangrove fringes, cypress swamps, hardwood hammocks, sandhills, scrub, pine flatwoods, and rangeland.  Nested between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, Florida has more than 2,000 kilometers of coastal beaches and estuaries.  Special features include the Florida Keys, which constitute an archipelago of picturesque subtropical islands, and the unique Everglades, or “river of grass,” which sprawls across the southern peninsula.  As a gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America, Florida provides convenient access to tropical and temperate environments in the southern hemisphere, and diverse expertise on campus. Gainesville is a small city with culture and character directly linked to the university. Attributes of Gainesville include proximity to many natural areas, year-round cycling possibilities, expansive media, and many cultural and historical landmarks. Cost of living in Gainesville is slightly below the national average, making it an attractive place to live.