Tenure-track Faculty Position in Human-Computer Interaction
Department of Computer Science, Virginia Tech
The Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech www.cs.vt.edu invites applications for a full-time tenuretrack
position, at the rank of Assistant Professor, from candidates with expertise in human-computer interaction
(HCI). The department is especially interested in sub-areas of HCI involving human interaction with big data or
advanced technologies, such as large-scale data visualization and human-robot interaction, but candidates from all
areas of HCI are encouraged to apply. Candidates should have a PhD in Computer Science or related discipline at
the time of appointment; a strong record of scholarship in human-computer interaction and interdisciplinary areas;
demonstrated ability to contribute to teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels in HCI and related subjects;
sensitivity to issues of diversity in the campus community; and the skills to establish and grow a multidisciplinary
research group. Selected candidates are expected to travel occasionally to attend professional conferences/meetings.
CS faculty have been involved in HCI research since the early days of the field, and lead the interdisciplinary Center
for Human-Computer Interaction hci.vt.edu, a university-wide effort that brings together faculty with strengths in
multi-sensory interactive communication, ecologies of displays and devices, social/collaborative computing, and
human aspects of data/information/knowledge. Within CS, there are rich opportunities for collaboration in data
mining/machine learning, parallel and distributed computing, computational biology and bioinformatics, information
retrieval, software engineering, cyber security, cyber arts, and CS education. Beyond the department, HCI faculty
members collaborate with researchers in design and the arts (the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology), in
engineering and science (the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science), and in education, business, and
liberal arts.
The Department of Computer Science has 36 research oriented tenure-track faculty and 11 research faculty. There
are a total 12 NSF/DOE CAREER award winners in the department. Research expenditures during FY2013 were
$11.7 million; total research funding at the beginning of FY2014 was $34 million. BS, MS, and PhD degrees are
offered, with an enrollment of over 550 undergraduate majors (12% women) and over 200 PhD/MS students. In
2010, CS@VT was ranked 5th in the country in recruiting quality of CS undergrads by the Wall Street Journal. The
department is in the College of Engineering, whose undergraduate program was ranked 6th and graduate program
was ranked 12th among public engineering schools in 2013 by US News and World Report. Other research centers
associated with the department include the new interdisciplinary Discovery Analytics Center dac.cs.vt.edu, which
focuses on ‘big data’ problems in areas of national interest including intelligence analysis, sustainability and health
informatics, and the Center for High End Computing Systems www.checs.eng.vt.edu known for its expertise in
high performance computing, including energy efficient and/or heterogeneous supercomputers. Recently, we
designed and acquired HokieSpeed, a CPU/GPU 200+ node machine for use by computational scientists and
engineers across campus through a $2M NSF MRI grant. HokieSpeed ranked 11th in the world on the Green 500
List in November 2011. CS faculty also participate in the Ted and Karyn Hume Center for National Security and
Technology, www.hume.ictas.vt.edu, a cyber security center.
Virginia Tech is a comprehensive research university with over 31,000 students. This hire is for the main campus in
Blacksburg, consistently ranked among the country’s best places to live
www.hr.vt.edu/great-place-to-work/culture-community.
Salary for suitably qualified applicants is competitive and commensurate with experience. Selected candidates must
pass a criminal background check prior to employment.
Applications must be submitted online to https://jobs.vt.edu for posting # 117036. We welcome applications from
women and minorities. Applicant screening will begin December 15, 2013 and continue until the position is filled.
Early applications are encouraged. Inquiries should be directed to Dr. Doug Bowman, HCI Search Committee
Chair, bowman@vt.edu.