Notice of Vacancy
Assistant Professor in Astrophysics
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Washington State University

The Department of Physics and Astronomy at Washington State University invites applications for one or more permanent, full time, tenure-track position at the assistant professor level beginning August 16, 2008. Exceptional applicants may be considered at a higher level.

Washington State University is a comprehensive land-grant university and one of the two major research universities of the state of Washington; it is organized in ten colleges and has an enrollment of 23,655 on four campuses. Of these, 18,276 are enrolled through the main campus in Pullman. Pullman is located in the beautiful Palouse in Eastern Washington. It is within a few hours drive of a wide variety of summer and winter outdoor activities.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The successful applicant will be expected to establish a vigorous and externally funded research program, and to teach effectively at the undergraduate and graduate levels. 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: Applicants must have a demonstrated record of excellence in any area of astrophysics. Applicants must have a Ph.D. in physics, astrophysics, astronomy or a related field. Applicants must have a demonstrated ability to initiate and lead research, an established record of quality publications in scientific journals, and a commitment to quality teaching at all levels.   Candidate must have a demonstrated ability to work collegially and collaboratively with diverse internal and external constituencies and have a global perspective.

GENERAL INFORMATION: LIGO, the gravitational wave observatory at the Hanford site is geographically near Washington State University.  Within the department there are active research programs in acoustics, atomic physics, chaos and nonlinear dynamics, condensed matter physics, femtosecond and nonlinear optical physics, general relativity and gravitational waves, shock and high-pressure physics, surface science, stellar populations, and galaxy evolution. The department currently has 64 graduate students and 40 undergraduate majors. The department offers service courses for more than 1,000 students per semester. Owen Science and Engineering Library supports study and research in the pure and applied sciences with substantial collections in these disciplines, as well as automated bibliographic retrieval and user services. The department especially encourages inquiries from women and minorities. Prospective applicants can learn more about the department from our web page at http://www.physics.wsu.edu.

Applicants should submit a letter of application, a curriculum vita with a list of publications, a research plan and a statement of teaching philosophy, and arrange for three confidential letters of reference to be directly sent to:

Chair, Astrophysics Search Committee

Department of Physics and Astronomy

Washington State University

Pullman, WA 99164-2814
Phone: (509) 335-9532; Fax: (509) 335-7816; Email: physics@wsu.edu

Screening of complete applications will begin on 12/1/2007.

Washington State University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action educator and employer. Members of ethnic minorities, women, special disabled veterans, veterans of the Vietnam-era, recently separated veterans, and other protected veterans, persons of disability and/or persons age 40 and over are encouraged to apply.  Washington State University employs only U.S. citizens and lawfully authorized non-U.S. citizens.  All new employees must show employment eligibility verification as required by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.  WSU is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its services, programs, activities, education and employment for individuals with disabilities.  To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact Human Resources Services:  509 335-4521 (v), Washington State TDD Relay Service:  Voice Callers: 1-800-833-6384; TDD Callers:  1-800-833-6388, 509 – 335-1259(f), or hrs@wsu.edu.