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Assistant Professor (Extension) in Agricultural & Biological Engineering

Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS

Position Function: The Department of Agricultural & Biological Engineering (ABE) at Mississippi State University (MSU) invites applications for a tenure track, 12-month, assistant/associate professor position in agricultural and biological engineering focused on agricultural technology and its application to cropping systems. This Position will have a 100% Extension appointment. Applicants should be committed to excellence in extension programming and informal teaching and be able to articulate a prospective applied research program that meets the needs of associated agricultural industries in Mississippi and the United States. Candidates with expertise in all areas of agricultural and biosystems engineering and technology will be considered, but strengths in crop production, precision-agriculture and/or autonomous-agriculture machinery and systems, rural broadband wireless communications, and/or rural energy systems including “solar farming” (a.k.a. agrivoltaics) are particularly desirable.  Women, minorities, and other under-represented groups are highly encouraged to apply.  Anticipated Appointment Date: January 1, 2025.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: Candidates will be expected to develop and execute Extension programming in agricultural technologies related to commercial crop-production, as well as to advise graduate students. They must establish a strong record of applied research, extension programming and informal teaching, and service.

Minimum Qualifications: Applicants must have a Ph.D. by time of appointment in either (1) Agricultural, Biological, or Biosystems Engineering, or equivalent in a closely related engineering discipline, or (2) Agricultural Technology Management, Agricultural Systems Management, or Agricultural Engineering Technology and Business, or equivalent in a closely related engineering technology discipline. Applicants must also have excellent verbal and writing skills as well as a strong commitment to excellence in extension education, scholarly production, and grantsmanship and should have the ability to conduct multi-disciplinary collaborative research.

Preferred Qualifications: Experience in electronics, programming, artificial intelligence, sensing, robotics, and/or unmanned aerial systems. 

Department Profile: ABE has 18 on-campus faculty positions and several off-campus affiliate faculty within research and extension centers, engaged in teaching, research, and extension.  ABE extension efforts are administered by MSU’s Extension Service, while its research efforts are administered by the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES), and its teaching efforts are co-administered by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Bagley College of Engineering.  ABE offers undergraduate (B.S.) and graduate (M.S. and Ph.D.) degrees in three distinct program areas: Biological Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Agricultural Engineering Technology and Business. Within these programs, the department has approximately 425 undergraduates and 50 graduate students. The J. Charles Lee Agricultural and Biological Engineering Building, completed in 2008, boasts state-of-the-art instructional and research facilities and includes labs for electronic/robotic design fabrication and testing, fiber processing, GPS and GIS, environmental and agricultural simulation or modeling studies, renewable bioenergy, biomechanical testing, sterile tissue culture, and student computing resources.  ABE retains other major research facilities on campus in the Pace Seed Technology Building and has access to research farm fields adjacent to campus and around Mississippi.  More information about the department can be found at http://www.abe.msstate.edu/.

Instructions for Applying:  Qualified applicants must apply online at www.msujobs.msstate.edu and attach (1) cover letter, (2) curriculum vitae, including a list of three professional references complete with current contact information, (3) statement of past, present and future research, including commonly employed technologies, equipment and funding sources (4) statement of non-formal teaching philosophy, and (5) official transcripts (any social security numbers included on requested transcripts should be redacted prior to submitting online). Review of applications will begin October 15, with an anticipated appointment date of January 01, 2025.