Assistant Professor position in Materials Science & Engineering

Department : MCC Materials Science & Engg

Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Northwestern University Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Position :

Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Materials Science and Engineering

Statement of Duties :

The successful candidate will be responsible for carrying out research, teaching, and service while building a vibrant research program that contributes to the department’s mission and is committed to supporting diversity, equity, and a community of inclusion.

Minimum Quantifications and Other Credentials :

A PhD in Materials Science and Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field by the time of appointment

A robust research and publication record of accomplishment

Rank / Title : Assistant Professor

Assistant Professor

Information on Position :

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, invites applications for a full-time tenure-track faculty position to be filled at the Assistant Professor level beginning September 1, 2025.

Candidates are sought in theory, computation, and simulation of materials (properties, characterization, or processing).

The ideal candidate will excel in developing and applying innovative algorithms, software, and methods at different or bridging multiple length and time scales (atomistic to microstructural level via coarse graining).

Areas of interest include hierarchical structure of materials, physics-informed artificial intelligence, or scientific machine learning, and codesign approaches.

Although the search is agnostic to the methods and material classes, candidates are expected to pursue groundbreaking materials research that addresses global challenges, such as but not limited to allowing humanity to thrive in new environments, decarbonization, and energy conversion and storage technologies.

The ideal candidate will have a strong and demonstrated interest in collaborating with experimentalists and / or industry partners.

The successful candidate will be responsible for carrying out research, teaching, and service while building a vibrant research program that contributes to the department’s mission and is committed to supporting diversity, equity, and a community of inclusion.

The MSE Department is dedicated to building a diverse community and strongly encourages applications from underrepresented groups.

Qualified international applicants are also welcome.

The first academic department of its kind in the world, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University leads the field in materials innovation and education.

Driven by curiosity and the thrill of discovery, faculty members use a transdisciplinary approach to connect fundamental science with engineering research, enabling technologies that improve our lives.

The MSE Department consists of 24 faculty members and over 230 graduate students, 60 post-doctoral scholars, and 80 undergraduates.

Research programs span many sub-disciplines of materials science and engineering that extend beyond traditional MSE boundaries with more than $43 million in research expenditures in FY2024.

Faculty collaborate across departments in the McCormick School of Engineering, the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, and the Feinberg School of Medicine and outside institutions, such as the Art Institute of Chicago and nearby national laboratories, including Argonne National Laboratory, home of the Advanced Photon Source and the Center for Nanoscale Materials, and Fermilab, home of America’s particle physics and accelerator laboratory.

The MSE Department is home to state-of-the-art facilities for characterization, synthesis, and nanofabrication and incubates interdisciplinary collaborations through convergence research.

The MSE Department anchors key federally and privately sponsored centers and institutes, including the NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), NIST Center for Hierarchical Materials Design ( CHiMaD ), Simpson Querrey Institute (SQI), DOE Center for Hydrogen in Energy and Information Sciences (HEISs), Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics (QSIB), International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN), Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy, and the Querrey InQbation Lab.

Proposed Start Date :

September 1, 2025 (negotiable)

Closing Date for Receipt of Applications :

Application review will begin on November 22, 2024, and will continue until the position is filled.

Contact Info (including where applicant should send package) :

Please submit applications online at .

For more information about the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, visit our website at .

Address all inquiries to Professor James Rondinelli, Chair of the Search Committee or MJ Ray, Coordinator of the Search Committee at .

Application Materials :

Applicants must apply online and upload the following application materials :

A Cover Letter (1-page limit) that summarizes the applicant’s (i) research and teaching accomplishments, (ii) vision for their future research program and its connection to activities ongoing at Northwestern, and (iii) approach to contributing to a diverse and inclusive learning environment

Curriculum Vitae

Research Statement (5-page limit)

Teaching Experience and Mentoring Statement (2-page limit)

A one-page Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement outlining how the candidate currently promotes diversity, equity and an inclusive environment through their research, teaching, and service in their current position and how they would continue this work at Northwestern to fulfill the department’s DEI mission described at

3 Letters of Recommendation (Recommendation letters will be automatically solicited from the letter writers by email after their names are entered in the online application system.

Letters are required by the time of application review.)

Salary

The expected base pay range for this position is $130,000 to $140,000. This base pay range is for a nine-month academic appointment, does not include summer salary, and is subject to negotiation.

Northwestern University has provided a pay range representing its good faith estimate of what the university expects to pay for the position.

The pay offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors including (but not limited to) the experience and qualifications of the selected candidate including years since terminal degree, training, and field or discipline;

departmental budget availability; internal equity; and external market pay for comparable jobs

Benefits

At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more! Visit us at to learn more.

Please read ALL instructions and make preparations before proceeding to the application page :

• Applications will only be accepted via online submission (see link below).
• Please prepare all documents in advance as Adobe PDF files, and please be sure all information is entered correctly and accurately (especially names and email addresses), as there will be no opportunity for online revision after your application has been submitted.
• Please also prepare a list of names and email addresses for your external academic references; your references will be contacted directly by the online system and invited to upload their letters on your behalf.
• All required fields in the application form are marked with an asterisk and must be filled before clicking the Submit button.
• Be aware that incomplete applications cannot be saved.

Applications accepted here :

The Northwestern campus sits on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa as well as the Menominee, Miami and Ho-Chunk nations.

We acknowledge and honor the original people of the land upon which Northwestern University stands, and the Native people who remain on this land today.

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer of all protected classes, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Women, racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.