Professor & Associate Dean for Research

deans, department heads, and other members in the college leadership team to support faculty development and mentoring, development efforts, and other strategic priorities in support of the college's mission.

Reporting to the ADR is an eight-person pre-award team to support faculty proposal submission and a two-person research development team to facilitate funding successes for early career members, plus assist the development of collaborative research teams for larger funding opportunities. This Engineering Research Office is well respected for its quality service to the TCE faculty and College's research success (https://tickle.utk.edu/research/support/). Expectations for this position broadly include maintaining excellent pre-award and faculty support for proposal development, as well as strategic conception, planning, and execution of initiatives designed to elevate the College's research enterprise over time.

About the Tickle College of Engineering

The Tickle College of Engineering (TCE) is in the midst of an unprecedented period of growth and success, including adding more than 30 new faculty at all levels to the college over 4 years as part of ambitious hiring campaigns led by Chancellor Donde Plowman and Dean Matthew Mench. The college has set records in research expenditures, enrollment, incoming student GPA, intellectual property development, and USNWR rank in the past three years. Key partnerships with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) through the University of Tennessee Oak Ridge Innovation Institute (UT-ORII) and Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) that manages the Y-12 National Security Complex have created an expanded opportunity space for faculty and students in the region. New facilities include the state-of-the art Zeanah Engineering Complex, the University of Tennessee Manufacturing and Design Enterprise (TN-MADE) facility, and the Innovation South building that houses UTK's Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility (FCMF), a National Prototype Research Center (NSPC) as part of a partnership with CNS Y-12 under construction, and new facilities for the Biomedical Engineering department and a quantum foundry in planning stages.

TCE currently has 213 tenured/tenure track and more than 80 non-tenure track faculty in its nine academic departments and offers 11 undergraduate, 16 MS, and 15 PhD/DE degree programs. Affiliated with TCE and located in Tullahoma, Tennessee, the UT Space Institute is a hub of aerospace and defense research. The college is also home to eight research centers and three interdisciplinary institutes. With approximately 4,800 undergraduate and 1,500 graduate students, the college sits 28th among public universities in the most recent U.S. News and World Report graduate rankings. Faculty in the college have won 33 early career awards (NSF, DOE, DARPA, AFOSR, AHA, and Sloan) since 2016. In FY25, the college had annual research expenditures of $113.9M.

Knoxville, TN is a vibrant city with a beautiful and walkable downtown, active neighborhoods, an effervescent nightlife that includes numerous theaters and museums, a rich live music scene across all genres, and eclectic restaurants. Knoxville is nestled in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, surrounded by lakes and the Tennessee River, providing amazing access to various outdoor activities. Knoxville is within easy driving distance of four major metropolitan areas that regularly host larger cultural and entertainment events.

Qualifications

• Terminal degree in engineering or a closely related field and qualifications appropriate for holding the rank of full professor in one of the College's academic units (https://tickle.utk.edu/academics/departments/)
• Demonstrated leadership and administrative skills
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Strong commitment to engineering research and education
• Demonstrated experience in scholarly work and excellence in research

Application Instructions

Applications should be submitted electronically at apply.interfolio.com/192908. Applications should include:

• a cover letter describing your interest in the position and relevant experience (up to 2 pages)
• a research leadership statement describing your vision for the role and your leadership style (up to 3 pages)
• a curriculum vitae
• the names and contact information of three professional references

Questions should be sent to Dr. Dacheng Ren, Search Committee Chair, at dren3@utk.edu. Review of applications will begin on October 1, 2026, and continue until the position has been filled. The college anticipates filling the position for appointment effective January 1, 2027, or shortly thereafter.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment and admission without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, and parental status, or any other characteristic protected by federal or state law. In accordance with the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the University of Tennessee affirmatively states that it does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or disability in its education programs and activities, and this policy extends to employment by the university.

Requests for accommodation of a disability should be directed to the ADA Coordinator at Equal Opportunity and Accessibility, 1840 Melrose Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37996-3560, by email to eoa@utk.edu, or by phone at 865-974-2498. Inquiries and charges of violation of Title VI (race, color, and national origin), Title IX (sex), Section 504 (disability), the ADA (disability), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (age), sexual orientation, or veteran status should be directed to the Office of Investigation and Resolution, 216 Business Incubator Building, E J. Chapman Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-3560, by email to investigations@utk.edu, or by phone at 865-974-0717.