Faculty line available - information for prospective applicants
Posted Sept. 6, 2000

The position is for a physical geographer with preference for biogeography or some combination of biogeography and soils. Teaching responsibilities include introductory Physical Geography and upper-level courses in research specialty and related areas. Ability to use GIS applications in research and in advanced courses is also important.  The teaching load in our department is typically 4 or 5 classes per year, depending on class size, research activity, and external funding. The department is growing; we have just filled the first of an anticipated three new faculty positions in environmental science, and our department is submitting a proposal this fall for two new bachelor's degree programs (B.S. Environmental Science and B.A. Environmental Studies). We anticipate adding two additional lines over the next two to three years and we are in active discussions to plan for the introduction of graduate education.

UMBC, with a total student population of 10,000, has experienced exponential increases in externally funded research over the last 10 years, with an annual amount presently in excess of $60 million. In the most recent Carnegie classification of research universities, UMBC was included among the top group of 148 research universities categorized as "doctoral research - extensive". Along with the research emphasis, our campus and our faculty have a strong commitment to excellence in teaching and to involving undergraduates in research wherever possible.

There are several emerging research opportunities that may be of particular interest to prospective candidates.
 

• Our campus hosts the headquarters of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES), one of two NSF-sponsored Urban Long-Term Ecological Research sites in the United States. Our department is working closely with BES researchers and staff on both research and educational issues, and we expect that relationship to strengthen and to provide mutual benefits over the next several years.

 
• We also host the Center for Conservation Research and Technology (CCRT), a research group focusing on development and application of advanced technology for conservation of biodiversity and habitats. Part of their research mission involves biotelemetry and tracking of migratory bird species on a regional and hemispheric scale, but there are numerous other aspects of their research that may foster collaboration in spatial analysis research, environmental monitoring, wildlife ecology, and hazards mitigation.

• Another prominent research operation based at UMBC is the Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET), a consortium with NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center that includes the departments of Geography & Environmental Systems, Physics, and Computer Science/Electrical Engineering. There are currently more than 40 JCET Ph.D.-level researchers working on a broad range of topics including atmospheric dynamics, remote sensing, and interdisciplinary earth science applications.

 
• UMBC has recently received EPA funding to start operating the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education, whose purpose is to promote an integrated understanding of the environmental, social and economic impacts of landscape transformation associated with urban and suburban development. We anticipate partnering with federal agencies, including EPA, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Forest Service, and Natural Resources Conservation Service; as well as state and local agencies, nonprofit organizations, and academic researchers.