Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Data Science (Multidisciplinary Search)

Key Skills

Data science techniques

Job Description

The Data Science Initiative (DSI) at Brown University seeks applications for a faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor. Successful candidates will have a joint appointment with a partnering department and space for themselves and trainees in DSI, with the partnering department as their tenure home.

Engaging partners across campus and beyond, DSI facilitates and conducts both domain-driven and fundamental research in data science, educates the next generation of data scientists, and is interested in the impact of the data revolution on culture and society. An expanding interest of DSI is supporting research on the role of data science (and technology) in shaping equitable outcomes and furthering justice. Among the priorities of DSI is enhancing the development and novel application of data science approaches, methods, and tools to a wide range of disciplines. Current faculty in DSI have joint appointments in Brown University’s Departments of Biostatistics, Computer Science, and Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences.

DSI is committed to sustaining a diverse and inclusive environment for all members of our community and is particularly interested in candidates whose scholarship, teaching and service can further our efforts. Brown also aims to foster a diverse and inclusive environment; its detailed vision and action plan for realizing this commitment is articulated in Pathways to Diversity and Inclusion.

We welcome applicants working on a range of areas in data science, including but not limited to mathematical foundations, methods development, and trans-disciplinary epistemologies. There are also many opportunities for interdisciplinary and collaborative research across a range of disciplines; for example, Brown University has recently identified the following initiatives as priorities for research growth, which all engage multiple departments: 

• Creating Collaborative Humanities Laboratories
• Preparing for and Responding to Pandemics
• Promoting Sustainable Energy
• Creating Peaceful, Just and Prosperous Societies: Combating Inequality
• Promoting Ethical and Socially Responsible Data Science
• Reviving the Arts Ecosystem through Innovation
• Understanding the Human Brain
• Innovating through Biomedical Engineering
• Deciphering Disease

To apply for this position, please submit the following to Interfolio: curriculum vitae, concise research and teaching statements, diversity statement (discussed further below), and three letters of recommendation, with at least one letter addressing the applicant’s teaching abilities and experience. In the diversity statement, we ask that applicants summarize their past or planned contributions to diversity and inclusion. These contributions may arise from teaching/mentoring, outreach activities, lived experience, or other activities. Applicants must have completed all requirements for the doctoral degree by the start of the position. The initial appointment as assistant professor at Brown University is for four years and is renewable. We are eager to try to accommodate the needs of, and welcome applications from, dual career couples.

To receive full consideration, please submit all application materials by December 1, 2022. Inquiries should be addressed to dsi-info@brown.edu.

The Data Science Initiative at Brown University seeks applications for one-year renewable postdoctoral fellowship positions in the area of data science with a start date of July 1, 2023 (flexible). 

Candidates are required to have received a Ph.D. degree or equivalent by the start of this appointment and have a strong research record consistent with their level of experience. We seek candidates working in any area of data science, including (but not limited to) exploring geometry and topology of data, developing novel statistical methods and machine learning approaches for big massive data (e.g., genomics, environmental health, nutritional or geophysical data), analyzing massive graphs and networks, scientific machine learning, and others. Attention to the societal impacts of data science and issues of equity and social justice is desirable. 

Postdoctoral fellowships are funded jointly by the DSI and a faculty host. Candidates are encouraged to identify one or more faculty members at Brown (DSI core and affiliated faculty or campus-wide faculty) that they would like to work with in their cover letter. Candidates may substitute a letter of support from that faculty member for one of the recommendation letters. 

To apply for these positions, please submit the relevant materials (cover letter, curriculum vitae, concise research statement, and three letters of recommendation) to Interfolio. http://apply.interfolio.com/115615

Inquiries about these positions should be addressed to dsi-info@brown.edu. We will begin reading applications January 1, 2023, and we will continue to review applications until the positions are filled.