Assistant Professor - Blue Technology

Job Description:

The School for the Environment at the University of Massachusetts Boston is seeking candidates for a full-time tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Blue Technology to begin September 1, 2026.

Innovation and entrepreneurship in technologies related to water, especially renewable energy, aquaculture, and climate adaptation offer myriad opportunities for start-up companies and growth industries. We seek an interdisciplinary scholar whose research focuses on the design, application, or analysis of sensors, software, or systems related to freshwater and/or marine environments. Experience in technology entrepreneurship and industry collaboration will be viewed as an asset.

Blue technology, or BlueTech, refers to the development and application of technologies designed to improve our understanding, protection, and sustainable use of the world's ocean and coastal resources to support a sustainable Blue Economy. This broad sector includes innovations such as underwater drones for monitoring, AI-based data analysis and modeling, systems for food production and pollution abatement, and technologies for developing renewable energy from the ocean. The goal of blue tech is to create value-added, data-driven economic opportunities while addressing societal needs related to ocean health and resource management.

The successful candidate will apply their expertise with technologies and business development to emerging opportunities at the intersection of ocean exploration, climate adaptation, and community economic development. An interest in the education of the future workforce is desired. The successful candidate will be expected to have teaching (education) interests in environmental or bioengineering, geography, the innovation economy, and/or Climate Tech workforce development.

The School for the Environment prides itself on being a transdisciplinary unit. Therefore, the preferred candidate should be able to work within and complement the research activities of the existing faculty. We particularly welcome candidates that use interdisciplinary, collaborative, and stakeholder-driven problem-solving approaches. Being Boston’s only public research university located on Boston Harbor, we are particularly interested in candidates that examine the linkage of land and water in urban coastal areas. Interests in complex human and natural systems that are shaped by climate change, the clean energy transition, and community and economic development will be positively viewed.

The position offers extensive opportunities for collaboration through the Department of Urban Planning and Community Development, the Stone Living Lab, the BEACON (BlueTech, Energy, Aquaculture Coastal and Ocean Needs) Lab, Urban Harbors Institute (UHI), Sustainable Solutions Lab (SSL), Mass Bays National Estuary Partnership, Nantucket Field Station, and the UMass Boston CANALA (Collaborative of Asian American, Native American, Latino and African American) Institutes. We expect strong interactions with the Venture Development Center on campus. Collaborative research opportunities also exist through the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Grand Scholarly Challenges including Climate Equity and Urban Coastal Areas, Bridging Divides in Health Equity – Cells to Societies, Education for the Future, and Advancing a Just Society – Local and Global Dimensions. The successful candidate will be expected to develop collaborative and impactful research that seeks funding from a range of public and private sources along with government agencies. The successful candidate will receive mentoring within the School for the Environment as well as professional development opportunities, including through our institutional membership to the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD).

The School for the Environment comprises a diverse and dynamic core and several affiliate faculty with research expertise in coastal sensor networks, coastal zone management, urban planning, hydrology, coastal planning law, oceans and human health, climate adaptation, hydrogeology and geochemistry, coastal ecology, and remote sensing. For more information about the School for the Environment and its research and teaching programs, please visit www.umb.edu/environment.

UMass Boston is an urban public research university with a teaching soul, whose impact is both local and global. We are the third most diverse university in the country - more than 60% of our undergraduate students come from minoritized communities and groups and more than half of our students are the first in their families to attend a college or university. Thus, our students come to us from richly diverse life experiences and backgrounds; they bring to our classrooms and research settings the robust range of perspectives growing out of the socio-cultural, economic, and historical contexts in which they have lived, along with the challenges they encounter, engage, and strive to overcome. We invite applications from candidates who engage the diverse life experiences of our student body, who appreciate that students bring their holistic selves into the academic setting, and who recognize and articulate how their own life experiences and backgrounds have shaped their journeys, practices, and commitments as researchers, scholars, and educators.

Responsibilities:

The successful candidate will be expected to teach and mentor students across the Environmental Science (BA, BS, MS, and PhD), Environmental Studies and Sustainability (BA), and the Marine Science and Technology (MS and PhD) programs. In addition to teaching and research, the candidate will also be expected to provide service to the School, the University, and professional fields of study.

Minimum Qualifications:

A Ph.D. is required; post-doctoral and/or applied industry experience is preferred. The applicant will have the potential (or a demonstrated capability) to carry on an active, externally funded research program of international caliber and to supervise graduate and undergraduate students. The applicant should demonstrate the capacity to contribute to the undergraduate and graduate teaching needs in environmental sciences offered by the School for the Environment, and a willingness to engage in collaborative research with School and University colleagues. Experience promoting increased diversity within academia and environmental science fields is strongly preferred.

Application instructions:

Please submit a curriculum vitae, a cover letter, a statement of research and teaching interests, and the names and contact information (including email address) of three references. Application review will begin January 9, 2026 and continue until the position is filled. Interested candidates are encouraged to discuss this opportunity with Search Committee Chair, Bob Chen ([email protected]).

UMass Boston is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact [email protected] or 617-287-5150.

UMass Boston expects to pay within an approximate range between $80,000 and $99,500 for this position.

The specific pay for this position will be determined by the University based on the consideration of all relevant factors when and if it decides to extend an offer of employment. Exceptional candidates may be considered for salaries above the published range to ensure competitiveness within the academic market.