Tenure-Track Assistant Professor (2 Positions Available), Department of Nuclear Engineering, Fa... at InsideHigherEd

Tenure-Track Assistant Professor (2 Positions Available), Department of Nuclear Engineering, Fall 2026 (1/2)

Location:
UT Space Institute, Tullahoma, TN
Open Date:
Oct 8, 2025
Description:
The Department of Nuclear Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) is seeking applications to fill two tenure-track Assistant Professor faculty positions at the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI) in Tullahoma, TN starting on August 1, 2026. Duties include teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses in nuclear engineering-related subjects, generating externally funded research, advising graduate students, writing scholarly journal articles, and providing service to the department, college, university, and professional community. Applicants must have a doctorate in Nuclear Engineering or a closely related field by the effective date of appointment.

Qualifications:
Applicants should be able to contribute to existing courses and research activities in nuclear engineering, as well as to develop new avenues of research and teaching. Specific areas of expertise sought in this search include nuclear science and engineering relevant to aerospace and defense applications but candidates with strong potential to contribute to the three signature capabilities of our department may also be considered. These departmental signature strengths include the following: ensuring the sustainability and future expansion of nuclear power; radiation detection, nuclear security and non-proliferation; and radiological engineering, nuclear chemistry and medicine, and medical physics. Ideally, successful candidates could work across more than one of these complex research areas. Preference will be given to candidates who have demonstrated research success that complements existing University of Tennessee needs or strengths and with the vision to develop collaborative and sustainable funded research activities. In addition to demonstrated excellence in research and the potential for developing a highly visible, externally funded research program, successful candidates will also be committed to high-quality teaching.

About the College

The University of Tennessee Nuclear Engineering Department is part of the Tickle College of Engineering, which has the fastest growing PhD program among the Top 40 public colleges of engineering. The department has a diverse research portfolio and is the largest Nuclear Engineering PhD program in the United States with over 120 PhD students and $15.6M in research expenditures for the 2024-2025 academic year. According to ASEE, it also has the second largest undergraduate program. In 2021 we moved into a new $129M building, which houses more than 23 new nuclear engineering laboratories and computational resources. In the past 3 years, our undergraduate program has experienced an unprecedented ~100% growth in first-year enrollment with 97 new freshmen. UTK has close collaborations with ORNL, Y-12, and more than 150 nuclear-related companies within 50 miles of campus and is located close to the beautiful Smoky Mountains. The Nuclear Engineering Department is committed to cultivating work/life balance and a family-friendly work environment for faculty, staff, and students.

The Tickle College of Engineering (TCE) is in the midst of an unprecedented period of growth and success, including adding over 30 new faculty to the college over 4 years as part of ambitious hiring campaigns led by Chancellor Donde Plowman and Dean Matthew Mench. The college has set records in research expenditures, enrollment, incoming student GPA, intellectual property development, and USNWR rank in the past three years. New facilities include the state-of-the art Zeanah Engineering Complex, the University of Tennessee Manufacturing and Design Enterprise (TN-MADE) facility, and the Innovation South building now under construction that will house UTK’s Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility (FCMF).

TCE currently has 203 tenure/tenure track and 79 non-tenure track faculty in its nine academic departments and offers 11 undergraduate, 16 MS, and 15 PhD/DE degree programs. Affiliated with TCE and located in Tullahoma, Tennessee, the UT Space Institute is a hub of aerospace and defense research. The college is also home to eight research centers and three interdisciplinary institutes. With approximately 4,300 undergraduate and 1,500 graduate students, the college sits 29th among public universities in the most recent U.S. News and World Report graduate rankings. Faculty in the college have won 29 early career awards (NSF, DOE, DARPA, AFOSR, and ARO) since 2016. In FY24, the college had annual research expenditures of $113.6M.

About UTSI

Located in Tullahoma, Tennessee on a scenic 370-acre campus carved out of the USAF Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) federal reservation, the UT Space Institute focuses on graduate education with an emphasis on Aerospace & Defense. The Institute features a small-campus, scenic environment located within the forest of the AEDC reservation and on the shore of Woods Reservoir, while supporting a significant array of large-scale experimental facilities that have garnered national recognition. The Institute is located within the AEDC reservation, and just over an hour by car from the Huntsville area, which is home to the Army’s Redstone Arsenal, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, the Missile Defense Agency, a large FBI center, and soon the US Space Command. The major metropolitan areas of Nashville and Chattanooga are also a little over an hour drive from UTSI and the region provides the best balance of outdoor recreational opportunities and easy access to larger metropolitan areas. The Institute is committed to ensuring its faculty, staff and students are equipped to thrive, which includes the recognition of the vital need to establish an appropriate work/life balance and sustained opportunities for professional development.

Application Instructions:
Applications should be submitted electronically, following instructions found at http://ne.utk.edu/faculty-position-available/. Applications should include a curriculum vitae, a select subset of publications, a statement of research and teaching interests, a letter articulating the applicant’s interest in and qualifications for this position, and the names of three to five references. Applications will be reviewed continuously, but those received by December 31, 2025, will receive priority.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment and admission without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, and parental status, or any other characteristic protected by federal or state law. In accordance with the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the University of Tennessee affirmatively states that it does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or disability in its education programs and activities, and this policy extends to employment by the university.

Requests for accommodation of a disability should be directed to the ADA Coordinator at Equal Opportunity and Accessibility, 1840 Melrose Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37996-3560, by email to [email protected], or by phone at 865-974-2498. Inquiries and charges of violation of Title VI (race, color, and national origin), Title IX (sex), Section 504 (disability), the ADA (disability), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (age), sexual orientation, or veteran status should be directed to the Office of Investigation and Resolution, 216 Business Incubator Building, E J. Chapman Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-3560, by email to [email protected], or by phone at 865-974-0717.