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The School of Engineering, the UC Center for Innovation in Wood, and the National Center of Excellence for the Wood Industry at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, one of the leading engineering academic institutions in Latin America and ranked among the top four emerging leaders for engineering education worldwide, invites outstanding candidates for a full-time faculty position in the area of Timber Construction and Structural Engineering. Although this call is initially intended for Assistant Professor-level candidates, exceptional applications at the Associate Professor level are also welcome.

We are looking for applicants who can collaborate, complement, and expand these fields. We encourage applications showing outstanding analytical and/or experimental skills that can interface with the existing strengths and initiatives within our Departments and across the University.

Duties: High-quality teaching (at engineering undergraduate and graduate levels) and conducting independent research. Additional duties include knowledge transfer, outreach, student counseling, and university administrative tasks. The new position in Timber Construction and Structural Engineering should conduct research on topics such as:

1. Materials science: includes the characterization and understanding of the behavior of materials from their microstructure.
2. Materials technology: includes the use of the material by modifying its physical and mechanical properties and the design of methods of manufacture, transport, and use to optimize its benefits. It considers the physical aspects of the material, such as density, thermal, and hygroscopic properties; the mechanical aspects, such as strength, stiffness, and deformation; and functional aspects, such as durability and comfort.
3. Structural Design: Consider structural design to meet demands at a reasonable level of safety and cost.
4. Construction of structures: includes the manufacture of structural elements (structural and non-structural), assembly, execution of joints, conservation technologies, reinforcement, and repair of structures.

Topics 3 or 4 must be included in the applicant’s proposal.

Applicants must have earned a Ph.D. degree in Engineering, Natural Sciences, or a related discipline at the time of hiring. Due to the joint nature of the position, the applicant will have the opportunity and should be willing to work collaboratively with the CIM, CENAMAD, and the two Departments of the School of Engineering involved in this faculty position. The appointment requires the selected candidate to share his/her time among the two Departments, maintaining a balance regarding the contribution to each unit. Previous postdoctoral or international academic experience should be stated in the application.

Candidates do not need to be fluent in Spanish at the time of application but should learn the language well enough to teach in this language in the short term (two years maximum). English is a requirement for this position.

Applicants must demonstrate a strong commitment to all aspects of academic life and the public good of the institution. They must be highly motivated to continuously improve their teaching skills, have a genuine interest in getting involved with our graduate programs (especially the doctoral program), and be able to develop and maintain an active research agenda leading to high-quality publications, securing research grants, generating and participating in interdisciplinary projects, leading scientific and industry-liaison initiatives, strengthening and creating national and international academic networks, etc. The candidate will also be expected to create new undergraduate and graduate courses and teach traditional courses in related areas.

Application Instructions

Applicants should submit the following documents to vacantes-academicas@ing.puc.cl (in the email subject line, please indicate: Faculty Position in Timber Construction and Structural Engineering; see note A) by May 15, 2024 (late applications will be considered until the position is filled).

1. A research statement (in English) indicating the immediate and long-term goals of the applicant’s research plan and detailing potential collaboration networks with other researchers and plans for interactions with scientists in Chile and other countries.
2. A teaching statement of purpose (in English) indicating why the applicant should be considered for the position and the plans for teaching. The applicant should be as specific as possible by providing examples of the plan to transfer knowledge to undergraduate and graduate students.
3. An updated curriculum vitae (in English, see note B).
4. If available, copies of five recent Web of Science publications that are relevant to the context of the application (see note C).
5. At least three letters of recommendation which must be e-mailed directly by the signatories to vacantes-academicas@ing.puc.cl.

Note A:

The applicant will receive a response from this email confirming that the documents have been received.

Note B:

The CV must be organized as follows:

1. Personal information: name, address, contact telephone number (with country and city codes), email address, web page (if any).
2. Education: all academic and professional degrees, indicating the granting institutions and dates. If the applicant is currently enrolled in a doctoral program, please indicate the expected date for the degree.
3. Educational experience (University or institution, courses taught, and years).
4. Professional experience (employer, duties, years).
5. Research:
   1. List of Web of Science journal publications (see note C).
   2. List of other publications such as reports, books or book chapters, conferences attended, research projects participated in, patents, etc.
6. Other: awards, computer skills, languages, and any other relevant background information.

Note C:

Please avoid padding the list with other publications, such as those published in journals not indexed in the Web of Science database, conference presentations, and alike.

Once the complete set of application materials has been received, the applicant will be contacted within two months and informed whether the application has been accepted for further consideration. If this initial screening is successful, the candidate will be asked to continue the process following the steps described in Appendix 1.

Further information

Additional information can be obtained by emailing vacantes-academicas@ing.puc.cl

EEO/AAP Policy Statement

The Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile is committed to fostering an environment that welcomes and embraces diversity and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, or marital status in its activities, including employment, admissions, and educational programs.

Other Chilean and University employment benefits may be found in:

• Foreign workers in Chile: https://www.dt.gob.cl/portal/1626/w3-article-93693.html
• Labor laws in Chile: https://www.thisischile.cl/labor-laws-in-chile/?lang=en — Este sitio parece que ya no existe, será que quieren agregar: https://marcachile.cl/en/knowledge-science/ y/o https://www.bizlatinhub.com/employment-law-chile/
• University rules and regulations: http://direcciondedesarrolloacademico.uc.cl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=286&Itemid=178

All members of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile subscribe to the Code of Ethics, which can be found at https://www.uc.cl/codigodehonor

Appendix 1. Application steps

1. Interviews/Seminar:
2. Interview with the Selection Committee
3. Interview with faculty members
4. Psychological Interview
5. Seminar (open to faculty members of the School of Engineering)

   The interviews and seminar are generally carried out within a week.

6. Selection of the final candidate by the Departments and the Selection Committee
7. Ratification of the selected candidate by the School Council
8. The selected candidate is informed (offer letter)
9. The time that elapses from the interviews until the final resolution is typically around two months.

A postdoctoral position is available in the research team of forest sustainability of the National Center of Excellence for the Timber Industry (CENAMAD).

CENAMAD is a newly established research center for the advancement of timber construction, forest bioproducts and forest sustainability. We are a multidisciplinary excellence center consisting of 40 faculty members who will be supported by a strong professional team (94 individuals in total) in order to conduct applied research and transferring this knowledge to the private and public sectors. Information about the CENAMAD be found at the website www.cenamad.cl.

The postdoctoral researcher in forest carbon and water sustainability with strong capabilities in ecophysiology must be flexible and communicative and have experience in forest fieldwork, data analyses and scientific writing.

The key responsibilities of the project will be:

• Development of research on forest sustainability and ecophysiology based on forest plantations
• To provide guidance to other staff and students, as required, as well as coordinating the work of small research teams;
• To support Masters and Bachelors project students in the forest sustainability area.
• Be in charge of short-term research on carbon and water balance, forest productivity and sus-tainability measures of carbon sequestration and water use and water use efficiency of wood and biomass production and soil and forests stocks.
• To model relationships between sustainability carbon indicators and site and silviculture
• Strong scientific writing skills focused on publishing on peer reviewed high impact factor journals.
• Writing of project proposals and application for funding.

Selection Criteria

• PhD-degree in Forestry, ecophysiology and sustainability on forest production and proven abil-ity of producing scientific output at high quality level;
• Experience with forest plantations, silviculture and carbon and/or water sustainability;
• Experience with research providing innovative models to understand the effect of climate change on forest plantations productivity
• Database management and expertise on statistical software and analyses
• Field experiment design and data analyses expertise
• Excellent communication skills in english language are essential.
• Demonstrated publication skills in the required fields of expertise.
• To be able to move to Concepción city in South Central Chile before june 2024.

Administrative Details

The appointment is a 12-month full-time position, with a fixed term contract of 5 years after positive assessments at the end of each year. Extension for 3 additional years might be possible. The position will be located at Universidad de Concepción, in Concepción Chile. Starting date is no later than june 2024 or until the positions is filled.

Applications

Applications need to be sent to contactocim@uc.cl stating CENAMAD Postdoc UdeC Application in the subject. Administrative inquiries about this position can be requested to Ms. Romina Rubio (romina.rubio@uc.cl), academic/research questions about the position can be sent to Prof. Rafael Rubilar Silviculture Department, Forest Faculty, University of Concepción (rafaelrubilar@udec.cl)

Please ensure that you include the following additional documents:

• CV;
• A motivation letter explaining your interest and qualifications for this position;
• Names, affiliations and e-mail addresses of two references. Also indicate your relationship to them (thesis supervisor, etc).
• Only applications received before May 31, 2024 can be considered.