Chemistry and Biochemistry
The College of Letters and Science at Montana State University seeks five tenure track faculty members across our participating departments with a demonstrated record of or potential for scholarly activity (research, teaching, service, and creative work) that promotes the wellness of underserved communities broadly defined. This cohort hiring initiative is part of a university commitment to support our diverse student body, faculty, and staff. (See Montana State University’s Diversity & Inclusion Framework and Strategic Plan: Choosing Promise.)We know that representation of a variety of backgrounds and perspectives is critical to a rich and vibrant scholarly community that supports our students’ learning and upholds our land grant mission. We envision a wide variety of scholars who qualify as contributing to this theme and are particularly interested in people from diverse academic backgrounds whose experiences will contribute to the excellence of the MSU community. We imagine candidates who focus on the wellness of underserved communities and whose scholarship may speak but is not limited to rural communities, the environment, community empowerment, community sustainability (environmental, governmental, or otherwise), health disparities (racial, gender, or rural), climate, and teaching pedagogy.
As a participating department in the Cohort Hiring Initiative, the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry is searching for a scholar who focuses on the wellness underserved communities. This could include, but is not limited to, research and teaching interests in environmental chemistry/biochemistry, environmental health sciences, biochemistry as it applies to health, metabolic disease, and diet, and analytical/bioanalytical chemistry.
Department Overview
Members of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry conduct research, teaching, service, and outreach with the guiding principle of providing a high quality, impactful education to students from diverse backgrounds and at all levels while integrating education with scientific discovery. We strive to serve Montana and the broader scientific community by sharing our knowledge, expertise, skills, and insights.
The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Montana State University is a vigorous, research-active department with strong interdisciplinary collaborations. Research thrusts of the Department currently include structural biology, biophysics, bioinorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, nanomaterials, optical spectroscopy, and energy research. Departmental research not only yields significant contributions to knowledge, but it also supports, and is fully integrated with, the departmental commitment to teaching and service.
The Department is a collegial and energetic group composed of 17 tenure track-faculty, several research faculty, and approximately 80 graduate students and 180 undergraduates. The Department grants Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. degrees in both Chemistry and Biochemistry, and also has a strong tradition of undergraduate participation in research. The Department’s research building (built in 2008) houses shared instrumentation including a new macromolecular x-ray diffractometer, NMR and Mass spectrometry facilities, a newly installed cryo-EM, EPR, CD, femtosecond laser spectrometers, microscopes, FTIR spectrometers, steady state and time resolved emission laser spectrometers, molecular graphics, parallel computing with a 90-processor heterogeneous Linux cluster, SEM, TEM, scanning Auger, scanning probe techniques, and access to two synchrotron beam lines. MSU is connected to the very broadband network system (vBNS) that provides fast Internet access and facilitates remote computing at national supercomputer sites.
As a tenure-track faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, the successful candidate will conduct research activities and establish an independent, vigorous, externally funded, nationally competitive research program. Publication in peer-reviewed journals is expected. The successful candidate will teach and mentor students from diverse backgrounds at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in areas of chemistry that are of mutual interest to the Department and the candidate. Teaching assignments can include teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level, with additional teaching occurring with graduate and undergraduate students in the research lab. The successful candidate will advise and mentor undergraduate and graduate students, participate in appropriate departmental and university service functions and collaborate with other faculty and departments to enhance programs at Montana State University.
How to Submit Your Application
Applicants will apply online through the applicant tracking system on the Montana State University Website at (https://jobs.montana.edu/postings/32831).For any questions or additional information, please contact Kimberly Hilmer, our Search Committee Coordinator, at [email protected] or (406) 994-5376. She will be in direct contact with Joan Broderick, Professor and Head of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Chair of the Department’s Cohort Hiring Committee.