Assistant Professor of Physics

Role details

The Bates College Department of Physics and Astronomy invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor starting in July 2027, open to all subfields of physics and astronomy. We seek an outstanding scholar with a strong commitment to excellent teaching, research, and mentorship in an undergraduate liberal arts environment. The department is staffed with seven full-time faculty positions, and shares an eighth faculty position with the Department of Earth and Climate Sciences . In addition, two master’s-level Instructional Specialists provide support for introductory and laboratory-oriented courses.

Research specialties of current faculty span experimental, theoretical, observational, and computational approaches. The department graduates fifteen to twenty physics majors per year, while also supporting a physics minor and an Engineering Combined Plan. All majors produce a senior thesis, typically involving a research project in the context of a faculty member’s area of expertise. The position carries a standard five-course annual teaching load. Faculty responsibilities include teaching, professional achievement, and governance and engagement, as described in Article II of the Bates College Faculty Handbook .

Successful candidates will contribute to inclusive and evidence-based teaching, maintain an active program of scholarship, and participate in the life and governance of the College. Responsibilities include teaching courses in the major and the general education curriculum, advising students, and mentoring senior theses. Bates College is a residential liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine, two and a half hours north of Boston and 45 minutes from Portland. Details about the college and its community can be found here .

Bates supports new faculty with a course reduction in the first year of teaching, strong mentoring, and new faculty development programming along with support for community-engaged teaching and research. Bates provides tenure-track faculty with a paid pre-tenure leave and support for post-tenure sabbaticals. Faculty scholarship is supported by start-up packages, internal grants, and a robust external grants office . Faculty research is routinely supported by the NSF, NASA, and other external funding sources. Significant lab space is available for the position, as is a wide range of existing equipment and materials, and the support of a professional machinist and machine shop.

For faculty high-performance computing needs, Bates maintains the newly upgraded Leavitt cluster . Qualifications include a PhD in physics or a closely related field. Postdoctoral research experience is seen as beneficial but is not required. We seek candidates who are committed to supporting the success of all students.