The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Lafayette College in Easton, PA invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor, starting July 2025. We seek a colleague with expertise to teach in our engineering design sequence, which consists of courses on design and manufacturing, mechanical engineering design, and capstone design projects. The Department values the ability to teach a broad range of required courses, including those with hands-on laboratory and design projects, and to develop new elective courses in their areas of interest. We seek a colleague who is committed to being a dynamic, engaging, inclusive teacher and mentor of undergraduate students. Candidates must have earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering or related field by the start of their appointment. We especially welcome applications from candidates who will contribute to Lafayette’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Lafayette College is located within 70 miles of New York and Philadelphia and is a highly selective undergraduate institution that emphasizes superior education in engineering and the liberal arts. Lafayette has offered engineering programs for over 150 years and is a nationally recognized leader in undergraduate engineering education. Our engineering students benefit from strong student-faculty interactions, have the opportunity to engage with faculty members in their research, and can participate in a semester-long study abroad program that is integrated into the four-year degree. In addition, they take advantage of attending a liberal arts institution, with many of them choosing to minor or even double major in a non-engineering program.
The Mechanical Engineering Department has thirteen tenure-stream faculty and graduates around sixty majors each year. Our program features laboratory experiences in each year of the curriculum and offers five or six student-selected yearlong capstone design projects annually. Faculty members teach the equivalent of four courses in their first year and five courses per year thereafter. Faculty are supported by Departmental mentorship and a yearlong faculty-development program through the College’s Center for the Integration of Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship. Faculty members also have the opportunity to work with the College’s Hanson Center for Inclusive STEM which supports faculty, staff, and students to advance our understanding and practice of inclusion and equity in STEM.
In addition to Mechanical Engineering and three other discipline-specific B.S. engineering programs and an A.B. engineering studies program, Lafayette offers a B.S. interdisciplinary engineering program (Integrative Engineering) that enables students to develop expertise and skills in systems methods and apply those skills in areas of robotics, bioengineering, environment, and energy. Faculty members in the Department of Mechanical Engineering teach several of the core courses in the Integrative Engineering program, and students from this program take various Mechanical Engineering courses including the Department’s capstone design projects.
Candidates must demonstrate the potential to establish a research program that can engage undergraduate students and result in the publication of scholarly work in peer-reviewed venues. Lafayette provides significant resources to support faculty members’ research in the form of start-up funds, annual support for student research assistants, annual support for conference travel, and opportunities for internal grants and research fellowships.
Qualifications
Candidates must have earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering or related field by the start of their appointment.
Application Instructions
Application materials must include a cover letter; a curriculum vitae; a statement of teaching philosophy including a list of course interests (from this link); a statement of research including research area, accomplishments, and a direction appropriate for our undergraduate-only program; and three letters of reference. The cover letter should address Lafayette’s commitment to creating a diverse community, one that is inclusive and responsive, and is supportive of each and all of its faculty, students, and staff (more info here). All members of the College community share a responsibility for creating, maintaining, and developing a learning environment in which difference is valued, equity is sought, and inclusiveness is practiced. All Lafayette operations reflect the College’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion (DEAI) initiatives, and Lafayette welcomes applicants from diverse backgrounds.
Applications can be submitted via Interfolio. Review of applications will begin October 15, 2024. Questions about the position should be directed to Professor Joshua Smith, Acting Department Head and Search Committee Chair, at smithjh@lafayette.edu.
Lafayette College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, disability, religion, age, military or veteran status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or familial status, pregnancy, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law in its educational programs and activities, admissions, or employment as required by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 (which requires that the College not discriminate on the basis of sex); the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (which requires that the College not discriminate on the basis of disability); Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (which requires that the College not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin); and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (which requires that the College not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin); and other applicable laws and College policies.
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