Chemical and Environmental Engineering Professors

The School of Engineering at Brown University invites applications for several full-time faculty positions at the Assistant or Associate Professor level (pre-tenure), with an expected start date of July 1, 2027. We seek visionary researchers and educators in the fields of Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering, broadly defined.

Established in 1847, the engineering program at Brown is the oldest in the Ivy League and the third oldest civilian engineering program in the country. Brown Engineering is distinguished by a unique, non-departmental structure designed to break down traditional academic silos, while offering rigorous accredited programs in all major branches of engineering. Successful applicants will build an impactful, independently funded research program that fosters deep interdisciplinary collaboration.  We welcome candidates utilizing a broad spectrum of modern research methodologies.

Areas of Interest

Chemical and Environmental Engineering

We welcome applicants working across a wide range of forward-looking areas, with specific interests including, but not limited to:

• Industrial Decarbonization: Novel pathways for difficult-to-abate sectors such as green cement, low-carbon steel, sustainable hydrocarbon management, metabolic engineering, and synthetic fuel development.
• Modeling & Systems Integration: Optimization theory, physical modeling, large-scale energy systems integration, computational discovery, atmospheric dynamics, and life-cycle analysis.
• Separations and Transport Phenomena: Advanced membranes, electrochemical separations, voltage-responsive materials, fate and transport of environmental pollutants.
• Critical Minerals Recovery: Sustainable extraction, recycling, and processing of elements essential to the global energy transition.
• Coastal & Climate Resilience: Engineering solutions addressing sea-level rise, infrastructure protection, natural hazards, water sustainability, and ecosystem vulnerability.
• Environmental Microbiology: microbial fuel cells, biotransformation of emerging contaminants, methanotrophs for climate change mitigation, metagenomics of microbial communities, plant-microbe interactions.
• Water Treatment Technologies: bioreactors, forward osmosis, nanofiltration, nanosorbents, advanced oxidation processes.

Materials Science and Engineering

We seek candidates pushing the boundaries of structure, properties, and processing of materials, with specific interests including, but not limited to:

• Quantum Materials & Devices: Design, synthesis, and multiscale modeling of materials for quantum computing, light-driven phenomena, advanced sensing, and solid-state devices,
• AI-Enabled Materials Discovery & Characterization: Application of machine learning, autonomous workflows, and AI tools for accelerated materials design and automated characterization.
• Materials for Low-Power Computing: Novel materials systems designed to address the energy demands of next-generation microelectronics and neuromorphic architectures.
• Mechano-Coupled Phenomena: Interfacial mechanics, chemo-mechanics, and stress-driven behavior in structural or functional materials, especially under extreme environments.

About the Environment

Brown University’s School of Engineering provides a unique environment, emphasizing the power of interdisciplinary thought with a focus on expanding connections across engineering disciplines and beyond traditional departmental and school boundaries. The successful candidate will become affiliated with one or more of the interdisciplinary groups within the School of Engineering and contribute to teaching efforts and research across the school, including Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering.

Brown University’s SoE seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce to maintain the excellence of the University and to offer our students richly varied disciplines, perspectives, viewpoints, and ways of knowing and learning.

Review of applications will begin on October 15, 2026 and will continue until the positions are filled.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

Brown University provides equal opportunity and prohibits discrimination, harassment and retaliation based upon a person’s race, color, religion, sex, age, national or ethnic origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law, in the administration of its policies, programs, and activities. The University recognizes and rewards individuals on the basis of qualifications and performance. The University maintains certain affirmative action programs in compliance with applicable law.

Qualifications

• Education: A Ph.D. or equivalent in Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, or a closely related discipline is required by the time of appointment.
• Research Excellence: A strong track record of high-quality peer-reviewed publications, a compelling future research vision, and clear potential for securing external funding.
• Teaching & Mentorship: A commitment to excellence in undergraduate and graduate teaching, as well as a dedication to mentoring a diverse student body within the classroom and laboratory.

Application Instructions

Candidates should submit the following materials online via Interfolio:

1. Cover Letter summarizing your qualifications. Please indicate your primary discipline (ChemE, EnvE, MatSci) and your areas of research in your cover letter. Candidates should address how they would contribute to the research and/or teaching missions of our diverse and inclusive university community.
2. Curriculum Vitae (CV) including a complete publication list.
3. Research Statement outlining past achievements and future directions (flexible length; typically ~5 pages).
4. Teaching Statement describing pedagogical philosophy, research mentorship, and experience (typically 1-2 pages).
5. Letters of Recommendation: Candidates should have at least three letters of recommendation submitted directly with their application, which should speak to the candidate’s potential as a scholar, colleague, mentor, and teacher.

Link to apply: https://apply.interfolio.com/190435

Inquiries about the position should be directed to soefa@brown.edu.