Research Associate Professor & Director, Algae Center

About the role

The Prairie View Algae Center of Excellence (PACE) and the Center of Smart Agriculture Solutions (CSAS) seek a senior academic leader to direct research, training, and outreach in algae-based technologies. Reporting to the Cooperative Agricultural Research Center, the incumbent will shape a multidisciplinary program that supports climate‑smart agriculture and sustainable bio‑products.

Key responsibilities

• Provide overall leadership and management for PACE and CSAS, serving as the primary point of contact.
• Secure extramural funding, publish peer‑reviewed research, and maintain national and international academic visibility.
• Develop and coordinate independent research on algae cultivation, harvesting, processing, storage, and downstream applications such as feed, food, fuel, fertilizer, biodegradable monomers, and wastewater treatment.
• Lead curriculum development and practical labs for the Applied Algal Agronomy class.
• Establish collaborations with internal and external scientists to advance scalable algae technologies for limited‑resource farmers.
• Participate in outreach activities, extension publications, field days, and youth science projects.

Required profile

• Ph.D. in a relevant field (e.g., algal biology, agricultural engineering, environmental science).
• Demonstrated record of research leadership, grant acquisition, and scholarly publications.
• Experience in interdisciplinary collaboration and academic program development.

Required skills

• Algae cultivation
• Algae harvesting
• Algae processing
• Algae storage
• Wastewater treatment
• Algal feed production
• Algal biofuel development
• Algal fertilizer formulation

What we offer

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience and achievements.
• Access to state‑of‑the‑art research facilities and collaborative networks.
• Opportunities to influence sustainable agriculture initiatives regionally and nationally.