Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Science and Technology Studies

Open Rank T/TT position in Science and Technology Studies

The Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE in Troy, NY, seeks applications from well-qualified individuals for 3 tenure or tenure-track positions focused on science policy, sociology of public health and medicine, and racial justice in STS. 

We seek applicants with strong vision for racial justice in Science and Technology Studies who will contribute to the STS Department’s broader commitments to racial justice, socially engaged STS and design of alternative futures. STS features a wide range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary researchers from anthropology, history, sociology, political science and theory, and media studies. We seek dynamic scholars whose research and teaching on racial justice, environmental justice, science and technology policy, and sociology of public health and medicine take marginalized perspectives into account. We seek educators whose pedagogical practice values diversity, equity, and inclusion through dialogic facilitation in and beyond the classroom. Experience in and/or commitment to public-facing, participatory, or community engaged scholarship is preferred. 
For all open positions, candidates must possess an earned Ph.D. or foreign degree equivalent in Science and Technology Studies or a closely related discipline. Successful candidates will demonstrate the potential to develop and maintain an interdisciplinary program of funded research; to actively contribute to the core graduate and undergraduate teaching mission of STS, which includes undergraduate degrees in Science, Technology and Society, Sustainability Studies, and Design, Innovation and Society; and to engage in department, institute, and professional service activities.  Review of applications will begin December 15 with a starting date of August 2023. The following positions are available.  

Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor of Science Policy and Innovation 
We seek a faculty member with research interests in Science Policy and Innovation or Responsible Research and Innovation whose research and teaching is grounded in STS. The successful candidate is expected to have an outstanding record of scholarship, educational leadership, and a commitment to diversity and inclusion, as well as national and international visibility. The successful candidate will extend STS research to include one or more of the areas: equity, responsibility, and innovation; governance of emerging science and technology; knowledge production and diffusion in decision making for innovation; innovation in citizen science in environmental or health research; social and organizational innovation; institutional approaches to research priority setting; design of public interest technology and technology assessment. The successful candidate will develop and contribute to undergraduate and graduate education in the areas of Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy; Expertise and Citizen Science; Futures of Innovation; Politics of Design and Design Equity; Responsible Innovation; Governing Risky Technologies. 

Assistant Professor, Sociology of Public Health and Medicine:  
We seek a tenure-track Assistant Professor in sociology of public health and/or medicine; science, technology, and medicine; sociology of knowledge, clinical practice, and/or ethics-in-practice; gender/sexuality studies; health law and policy; health disparities including migration, race/ethnicity, and reproduction. The successful candidate will be enthusiastic about teaching Sociology to pre-med/pre-health students and contributing to undergraduate and graduate courses such as Global Health Challenges; Culture, Medicine and Society; History and Sociology of Medicine; History and Sociology of Mental Health; and/or Social Movements for Health Equity. We seek a dynamic, innovative scholar whose research and teaching incorporates sociological approaches with interdisciplinary insights from racial formation theory; racial disparities in health; critical disability studies; science and technology policy; urban education policy; and anthropology, history, sociology, or political science and theory of science and technology. Scholarship on marginalized communities and pedagogical practice that values diversity and inclusive pedagogy will be prioritized. Experience in and/or commitment to public-facing, participatory, or community engaged scholarship is preferred.

Assistant Professor, Racial Justice in STS:  
We seek a tenure-track Assistant Professor with research and teaching interests in racial justice, racial equality, and structural racism in science, technology, and policy. We seek a dynamic, innovative scholar whose research expertise focuses on 1) structural and other forms of racism in science, technology, the environment, and/or associated policies, 2) the creation of racially just and equitable science and technology, and/or 3) how science and technology can be used to address structural and environmental racism. This position involves facilitation of classroom dialogue as a vehicle for inclusive excellence in higher education. The successful candidate will be skilled at dialogic facilitation as a pedagogical technique. Experience in and/or commitment to public-facing, participatory, or community engaged scholarship is preferred. Applications are welcome from a wide range of fields, including history, sociology, anthropology, political science and theory, geography, media studies, and related disciplinary and interdisciplinary programs.

Information about the Institute: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1824, is America’s first technological research university. Rensselaer faculty and alumni represent 85 members of the National Academy of Engineering, 17 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 25 members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 8 members of the National Academy of Medicine, 8 members of the National Academy of Inventors, and 5 members of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, as well as 6 National Medal of Technology winners, 5 National Medal of Science winners, and a Nobel Prize winner in Physics. With 7,000 students and nearly 100,000 living alumni, Rensselaer is addressing the global challenges facing the 21st century—to change lives, to advance society, and to change the world.