The Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute in the Department of Plant and Soil Science at Texas Tech University seeks an ambitious candidate (at the assistant or associate professor level) with a strong focus on sustainable biopolymers, bioproducts discovery, and development to advance a research program in sustainable bioproducts and strengthen our current research team. The vision for this position is to create opportunities to “translate” the technology from academia (benchtop experiment) to industry, crossing the line between early innovation and commercial readiness of new sustainable biopolymer-based technologies. Strategic research focus areas include, but are not limited to, the transformation of biopolymers to materials for various advanced applications and advancing basic laboratory research efforts to produce a technology that has a fully functional prototype. This is a 9-month, tenure-track position beginning on September 1st, 2025.
The position offers multidisciplinary collaboration and innovation opportunities across several disciplines, such as engineering, science, manufacturing, and entrepreneurship, at Texas Tech University and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Generation of extramural grant support is expected, particularly from nationally competitive funds. Candidates who have very strong records of scholarship supported by extramural funding and who have proven capacity or clear potential to bring externally sponsored research to Texas Tech University are highly encouraged to apply.