Tenured/Tenure line Positions in Interdisciplinary Research "and" AI (ICDS Co-hire)
Description
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
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CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process . Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.
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CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, please login to Workday to complete the student application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.
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If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click “Apply” and complete the application process for external applicants .
Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants .
POSITION SPECIFICS
The Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS) at Penn State University is hiring multiple Tenure-track or Tenured faculty as part of the second year of an ambitious multi-year cluster hire in AI across multiple university campuses. These faculty will complement a strong cohort of over 30 existing AI faculty plus many more whose work leverages AI to advance the sciences and engineering.
The focus of this year’s search is on faculty with expertise in AI + Materials, AI + Health, and Foundations of AI . Ideal candidates’ research will focus on AI + X , meaning faculty who advance AI methods to solve scientific problems in different disciplines (X), rather than X + AI, where faculty use existing methods.
The successful candidates will join a vibrant, interdisciplinary research community at Penn State and will have collaborative opportunities and access to extensive resources offered by the interdisciplinary research institutes. As a joint appointment, successful candidates will be expected to contribute to both their tenure home units and to ICDS.
Faculty members in these positions will be expected to develop nationally recognized research programs, contribute to excellence in education, and engage in collaborative, interdisciplinary scholarship. The tenure home and specific requirements will be based on the specific position(s) applied for and the successful candidate’s expertise.
Applicants should submit a single PDF through the application portal containing the following materials in this order: cover letter, teaching statement, research statement, the names and contact information for four references, and their curriculum vitae. The cover letter should explicitly specify the area(s) and department(s) to which the applicant is applying (see below for information about calls for each department).
Applicant review will begin in October 2026. For full consideration, please submit applications no later than December 7, 2026.
For Questions, contact ICDS director Guido Cervone ( [email protected] ).
Penn State Academic Ranks Defined
Assistant professors should show early promise in teaching or research through emerging scholarly or professional contributions. Associate professors should have a record of high-quality publications and demonstrate teaching excellence in their field. Full professors should demonstrate a distinguished record of advanced work and leadership, reflecting established excellence in teaching, mentoring, and/or research.
AI + Materials
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Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Earth and Minerals Science, University Park, PA : An Assistant , Associate , or Full Professor whose research and teaching advance interdisciplinary materials science by adopting advanced methods in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and data-driven research to generate new fundamental science and accelerate materials innovation. The research will be accompanied by department service and teaching that reflects both ML/AI approaches and the traditional tenets of Materials Science and Engineering. The successful candidate will develop, manage, and sustain an active extramurally funded research program; participate in service activities within the departmental, college, university, and professional society domains; and excel in teaching at the graduate and undergraduate levels. The department seeks to accelerate and streamline the discovery, development, and understanding of novel materials by incorporating machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data-driven research approaches with established experimental and computational methods. Candidates must possess a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a closely related discipline before their appointment start date at Penn State.
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School of Engineering, Penn State Behrend, Erie, PA AI + Polymers : An Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor whose research and teaching advance novel artificial intelligence and machine learning methodologies motivated by challenges in polymer materials, polymer informatics, plastics manufacturing, intelligent manufacturing, digital twins, and AI-enabled characterization. The successful candidate will establish an internationally recognized, externally funded research program that develops novel AI methodologies motivated by engineering materials and manufacturing challenges; teach undergraduate and graduate courses; mentor undergraduate and graduate researchers; collaborate across Penn State through the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS), the Materials Research Institute, and related interdisciplinary initiatives; engage with industry through the Behrend Open Lab and the Center for Manufacturing Competitiveness (CMC); and contribute to service within the school, university, and profession. The anticipated tenure home for this position is the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering (CSSE), with strong interdisciplinary collaborations with faculty in polymers, materials, and manufacturing across the School of Engineering. This position is one of two complementary faculty hires that together will establish the Penn State Behrend AI + Materials Cluster. The successful candidate will work closely with the companion AI + Metals faculty member to create a collaborative research community focused on AI-enabled engineering materials manufacturing. The department desires to advance research with the philosophy that polymers are not simply an application domain, but a rich scientific and engineering driver for advancing artificial intelligence itself. The successful candidate will leverage Behrend's strengths in manufacturing, industry engagement, and experiential learning to pursue transformative research, build interdisciplinary collaborations, and create exceptional opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students. Candidates must possess a Ph.D. in Polymer Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Industrial Engineering, or a closely related discipline before their appointment start date at Penn State.
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School of Engineering, Penn State Behrend, Erie, PA AI + Metals: An Assistant, Associate , or Full Professor whose research and teaching advance novel artificial intelligence and machine learning methodologies motivated by challenges in metallurgy, metal materials, additive manufacturing, computational materials science, intelligent manufacturing, digital engineering, and AI-enabled quality assurance. The successful candidate will establish an internationally recognized, externally funded research program that develops novel AI methodologies motivated by engineering materials and manufacturing challenges; teach undergraduate and graduate courses; mentor undergraduate and graduate researchers; collaborate across Penn State through the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS), the Materials Research Institute, and related interdisciplinary initiatives; engage with industry through th