Michael Giberson
Texas Tech University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is seeking applicants for several positions related to electric power and energy systems more generally. Most interesting to our readers may be the new Whitacre Endowed Chair in Smart Grid Technologies position and a tenure track position in power and energy systems.
Excepts from the job announcement for the Whitacre Endowed Chair in Smart Grid Technologies:
This endowed chair position is one of the three endowed professorships created to establish a world class energy research program at the Texas Tech University and increase the potential for synergistic collaborations.
Applicants must have a PhD in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering or a related field with significant experience in teaching and sponsored research.
It is anticipated that the successful candidate will be an internationally recognized leader in his or her field as demonstrated by such metrics as the strong record of externally sponsored research, peer reviewed publication and citation records, and national recognitions such as fellowships in technical societies and major awards.
From the tenure track position annoucement:
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) is inviting applications for a tenure track position at the assistant/associate professor level. A Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering or a closely related field is required.
The candidate should have a background in research related to energy systems such as utility power systems, power systems dynamics & stability, power electronics, renewable energy, hybrid energy systems, or pulsed power systems. This offering is part of the overall strategic goal of the College and the University to play a major role in Energy related endeavors. The ECE department already has a world class program in Pulsed Power and several faculty members in the Power Systems & Power Electronics areas.
In addition, the College of Engineering is seeking to fill other endowed energy-related positions: the Don, Kay, and Clay Cash Foundation Engineering Chair in Wind Energy; the Whitacre Endowed Chair in Energy, in the Mechanical Engineering department; the Whitacre Chair in Energy Science and Engineering, in the Chemical Engineering department; the Jack Maddox Distinguished Engineering Chair in Sustainable Energy (areas of interest include energy efficiency, biofuels, wind power, tidal power, geothermal, and energy storage); and the Donovan Maddox Distinguished Engineering Chair in solar power. Here is a link to a general statement of the Engineering college’s energy area strategy.
Across campus, the Texas Tech University School of Law is seeking someone for a tenure track position in property law and natural resources , energy or agriculture law.
We don’t normally do many job announcements here at KP, but we’re interested in smart grid technology so it seemed worth mentioning. (And once I started mentioning energy related positions, I thought I’d go ahead and mention all that I could find.)
PLEASE NOTE: I don’t know much about these announcements beyond what they say in the announcements and I don’t have any influence over the hiring decisions, so there is little point emailing me asking about these opportunities.
I’ll pass along the information to a contact or two who might know some potential applicants.
There is a delicious irony here. A chair for Smart Grid located in an area of the country without retail choice – the very foundation needed for Smart Grid to be fully utilized!
Yes, irony. Actually, we had a limited amount of pretty complete retail choice (dual electric companies with fully separate distribution systems) until a few weeks ago, when LP&L bought out Xcel’s distribution system in Lubbock, but I think smart grid is not on the local agenda.
But note that the smart grid chair is in engineering, where the emphasis is on power electronics and control systems applications primarily to make the wires work betters, and to make possible the physical interaction of distributed resources and the centralized grid. Making the commercial interaction possible (and making the case that it is desirable) is a matter for researchers in economics, public policy, law and the folks at TTU’s Rawls College of Business Center for Energy Commerce. (And I do talk to these guys from time to time.)