The Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute seeks a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the areas of equitable design, sustainability and design, design justice, collaborative or participatory design, product design, industrial design, or object design. The person hired for this position will conduct research at the intersection of design and STS, which may include publications, exhibitions, commissions, or collaborative projects.

The position is 40% teaching, 40% research, 20% service. The selected candidate will teach required and elective courses for the major in Design, Innovation, and Society (DIS). Studio courses are the curricular core of this program, where students engage in design practices informed by STS theory and research, with an emphasis on social justice and sustainability. The successful candidate will teach both studio courses and undergraduate seminars such as such as “Politics of Design” and “Design, Culture, and Society.” Additionally, the selected candidate will teach courses and mentor students in the PhD program in Science and Technology Studies, a program that emphasizes scholarly inquiry about the mutual shaping of science, technology, and society.

We seek a scholar who will contribute to the STS Department’s broader commitments to socially engaged STS and design of alternative futures. Applicants should have a record of creative research and/or design practice and show promise of advancing the STS Department’s mission of synthesizing design practice with the social sciences and humanities.