Faculty Position in Social Computing review of applications begins Nov. 1
Rank: Assistant Professor
The University of Michigan's School of Information (SI) seeks a tenure-track
assistant professor in the field of social computing. We define social
computing as computing about social relations, computing in support of new
forms of social interactions, and research focusing on the social relations
enabled by computing. Its applications include: the analysis and design of
online communities; social media and networking; user-contributed content;
and new frontiers such as crowdsourcing, collective intelligence and new
forms of virtual organizations.
A successful candidate will be passionate about interdisciplinary work and
could be trained in a social science (e.g., communication studies,
economics, psychology or sociology), design sciences, computer science, or a
natural science (as applied to social behavior). The crucial characteristic
is that the candidate be focused on understanding patterns of human
interactions using computational techniques, designing and evaluating
technologies that enable new forms of interaction, or understanding the role
of social media in society. SI faculty have been leaders in the development,
application and analysis of many of the underlying techniques used in social
computing technologies, including recommender and reputation systems,
prediction markets, online communities, and systems for computer-supported
cooperative work.
For all SI positions, we favor candidates whose research interests
complement our existing expertise in such areas as computer-supported
cooperative work; digital archives and preservation; human-computer
interaction; incentive-centered design and information economics;
information seeking, sharing and use; Internet-scale data, network and text
analysis; social computing and informatics.
The mission of the School of Information is to create knowledge so people
can use information and technology to build a better world, and to educate
socially-engaged information professionals. A successful candidate will be
committed to, and will directly contribute to our goal of being the best
research and teaching institution in socially engaged information and
computing.
The School is home to a dynamic and vibrant research and teaching program,
with 35 FTE faculty, over 50 doctoral students, and over 400 students in its
professional program, the Master of Science in Information. The School is
commencing a new masters program, in Health Informatics, in fall 2012,
offered jointly with the School of Public Health. In partnership with other
units, we recently launched an undergraduate informatics major.
Founded in 1817, the University of Michigan has a long and distinguished
history as one of the first public universities in the nation. It is one of
only two public institutions consistently ranked among the nation's top ten
universities. The University has one of the largest health care complexes in
the world and one of the best library systems in the United States. With
more than $1 billion in research expenditures annually, the University has
the second largest research expenditure among all universities in the
nation. The University has an annual general fund budget of more than $1.4
billion and an endowment valued at more than $7.57 billion.
Qualifications:
Ph.D. in a relevant area, such as psychology, economics, sociology, computer
science, informatics, or other areas in the social or technical sciences
Demonstrated potential for successful teaching at the undergraduate and
graduate level
Demonstrated potential for high scholarly impact
A strong commitment to teaching, interdisciplinary research, and cultural
diversity
Review of applications will begin November 1 and continue until the position
is filled. For more information or to apply, please visit
http://www.si.umich.edu/aboutsi/social-computing
The University of Michigan is an equal opportunity/affirmative action
educator and employer.