Georgia Institute of Technology Materials Science and Engineering

School Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Non-Tenure-Track Position

Director of Technical Communication

The School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) at the Georgia Institute of Technology (GT) invites outstanding applicants for a full-time, non-tenure-track lecturer position at a level depending on qualifications. The person in this position will also serve as the Director of Technical Communication for the School.

Qualified candidates must possess either an M.A. with significant prior relevant experience or a Ph. D. in English, Rhetoric and Composition or Technical Communication or closely related discipline. Required: Four or more years of experience in technical writing, editing and/or communications and teaching experience.  Experience in a University setting is preferred.

The primary responsibility for the position is to teach Technical Communication through course content which integrates instruction on written, visual and oral communications into the engineering curriculum.  At the undergraduate level this position will co-teach or periodically lecture in existing materials science and engineering courses.  It will involve teaching students and student teams how to write lab and design reports, give oral presentations with slides, and produce and present scientific posters.  At the graduate level, it will involve teaching two specialized courses in technical communication. One course focuses on advanced presentation skills, and emphasizes how to explain scientific work to other scientists as well as to the general public. The second course covers both writing and editing scientific work (for example, dissertation, proposals, or articles) and advanced presentation skills.

As the Director of Technical Communication, the person in this position will be responsible for organizing a technical communication workshop series for the School—including an Elevator Pitch competition and sessions on graduate school admission and graduate fellowships. Activities will also involve individual work with graduate students as they prepare conference talks, articles, theses, dissertations, defenses, and fellowship applications, and with undergraduates as they prepare graduate admission essays and fellowship applications. On occasion, it will also require assisting faculty and staff with research proposals, academic publications, and newsletters.

Co-Taught Courses:

MSE 3021 and 4022 – Materials Lab I & II (Lab I, Fall Semester; Lab II, Spring Semester). This course involves teaching technical (laboratory) report writing skills to undergraduate students.

MSE 4420 – Capstone Engineering Design II (Spring Semester).  This course involves teaching student design teams who are working on an industry project how to write reports and present their findings in oral presentations and through a scientific poster presentation.

Guest lectures:

MSE 1111—Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering (Fall and Spring Semester). Guest lectures in this course cover clarity in writing, design reports and oral presentations, and an overview of selected prestigious national and international scholarship opportunities.

Graduate courses:

MSE 8200—Advanced Presentation Skills (Fall and Spring Semester) Required. 1 hour credit/3 hours of class time per week. Designing and explaining visuals; creating and delivering scientific electronic presentations; learning to speak and present to a variety of audiences.

MSE 6754—Engineering Communication (offered once per year) (Satisfies communication requirement). 3 hours credit. Writing and editing engineering documents; designing and explaining visuals; creating and delivering electronic presentations.

With 35 faculty, over 360 undergraduate students and 190 graduate students, GT’s MSE school is among the nation’s largest and is currently ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the top 5 undergraduate and top 10 graduate MSE programs in the U.S. Opportunities abound for campus-wide interactions within the various academic units in the Colleges of Engineering, Science, and Computing, as well as Interdisciplinary Research Institutes. A group of Technical Communication professionals who work in other Schools in the College of Engineering regularly meet and collaborate on best practices.

Compensation and benefits will be competitive and based on the candidate’s qualifications and experience. This position includes the option of a nine-month or twelve-month appointment. Appointments are on a year-to-year basis with no limit on the number of renewal terms. Non-tenure-track faculty members are not eligible for tenure, but have a ladder for promotion from lecturer to senior lecturer to principal lecturer.

Interested applicants must submit an online application, which includes cover letter, detailed curriculum vitae, two-page teaching statement, and names (and contact information) of at least five references to: ACADEMIC JOBS ONLINE https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/13174. The two-page statement should specifically address: (1) Teaching philosophy and any relevant prior experience, including specific approaches to teaching technical writing and presentation skills; (2) Approach to teaching and interacting with a diverse population of students.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their completed application package by March 4, 2019 to ensure full consideration. The selection process will include passing a pre-employment background screening and the successful candidate is expected to begin on August 1, 2019, for start of teaching from the Fall 2019 semester.

The Georgia Institute of Technology is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.