The Min H. Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) is seeking candidates for one (1) tenure-track faculty position at either the assistant or associate professor level in computer science. The area of focus is Natural Language Processing (NLP) broadly defined, including AI areas such as Large Language Models and multimodal Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI). This search is to recruit a future leader on campus to lead basic research in GenAI and interdisciplinary research at the cross section of GenAI and vast amounts of healthcare records and diverse healthcare/biomedical applications. This search is part of the Precision Health and Environment Cluster Hire across multiple UTK departments.

Precision Health and Environment Cluster Hire

The University of Tennessee Knoxville is searching for additional faculty to strengthen the university’s position as a global leader in Precision Health and Environment research; this position is among them and will begin August 1, 2026. Recruitment into Precision Health & Environment creates opportunities to build bold agendas that advance big ideas. The successful candidate will join a team of approximately 50 established and successful faculty with shared and complementary research interests in artificial intelligence (AI), health informatics, health information and communication, epidemiology, environmental engineering, systems modeling, natural language processing, and machine learning and a strong desire to grow the scholarly and educational impact of their work. For early career faculty, the cluster also offers a unique framework for professional development and mentorship within a rich transdisciplinary environment. For more information about PHE please visit - https://research.utk.edu/cluster-hire/precision-health-and-environment.

The ideal candidate for this position has a collaborative mindset and prioritizes working with colleagues to realize shared research and educational achievements, including large-scale proposals, joint publications, and new transdisciplinary curricular programming. This unique opportunity may include joint appointments in other participating departments. As Tennessee’s flagship land-grant institution, UT is particularly interested in recruiting candidates who are deeply connected to the organizations and communities in which their work will have translational impact, as well as those who will contribute to a climate that values diversity and inclusion.

Researchers in the PHE cluster have additional collaboration opportunities through the UT Health Science Center, UT Medical Center, Tennessee Institute of Surgical Innovation, Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment, the Tennessee Water Resources Research Center, and the Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs. In addition, as the leading university partner in UT-Battelle, the management company for Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), UTK offers extraordinary opportunities for cutting-edge research in science and engineering with the UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute (UT-ORII).

Through a streamlined IRB process, UTK researchers have access to a unique rEDW (a research Enterprise Data Warehouse) system, which is a result of decade-long continued investment by the University of Tennessee. rEDW includes rich anonymized healthcare data, such as electronic health records (HER) on over 4 million patients, the associated medical imaging, digital radiology and pathology data, the associated location data for social determinants of health study, as well as genomics data on over 13 thousand children linked to EHR data for genotype-phenotype studies.

UTK is the state’s flagship campus and leading research institution with a strong partnership with the nearby Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), where many UTK faculty have ongoing joint positions and/or joint research projects. As a strategic investment, UTK is leading the AI Tennessee, a research and education initiative by the State and the University to engage with academic, industry and community partners across Tennessee to leverage the benefits of AI across all disciplines and economic sections.

The Tickle College of Engineering (TCE) is in the midst of an unprecedented period of growth and success, including adding over 30 new faculty to the college as part of ambitious hiring campaigns led by Chancellor Donde Plowman and Dean Matthew Mench. The college has set records in research expenditures, enrollment, incoming student GPA, intellectual property development, and USNWR rank in the past three years. New facilities include the state-of-the art Zeanah Engineering Complex, the University of Tennessee Manufacturing and Design Enterprise (TN-MADE) facility, and the Innovation South building now under construction that will house UTK’s Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility (FCMF).

TCE currently has 203 tenure/tenure track and 79 non-tenure track faculty in its nine academic departments and offers 11 undergraduate, 16 MS, and 15 PhD/DE degree programs. Affiliated with TCE and located in Tullahoma, Tennessee, the UT Space Institute is a hub of aerospace and defense research. The college is also home to eight research centers and three interdisciplinary institutes. With approximately 4,300 undergraduate and 1,500 graduate students, the college sits 29th among public universities in the most recent U.S. News and World Report graduate rankings. Faculty in the college have won 29 early career awards (NSF, DOE, DARPA, AFOSR, and ARO) since 2016. In FY24, the college had annual research expenditures of $113.6M.

EECS at UTK has 49 full-time T/TT faculty members, three members of the National Academy of Engineering, 15 IEEE Fellows, 13 NSF/DOE CAREER awardees, and 15 ranked in World’s Top 2% Scientists as compiled by Stanford. The department has a growing enrollment of more than 1000 undergraduate and 450 graduate students across the three majors of Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Computer Science. In addition, the department offers undergraduate minors in computer science, cybersecurity, datacenter technology and management, and machine learning. Successful faculty candidates will be expected to contribute to the continued growth and excellence of EECS.

UTK is in Knoxville, TN. The city of Knoxville is a hidden gem with an elegant and walkable downtown, rich and varied nightlife, vibrant neighborhoods, eclectic restaurants, and amazing access to outdoor activities of all kinds as well as exciting cultural events throughout the year. Knoxville is within an easy driving distance to Nashville, Atlanta, Asheville, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. From Knoxville’s TYS Airport, Knoxville has nonstop flights to 24 major US airports, including DC, NYC, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Philadelphia, and Phoenix. 

In addition, Knoxville and the surrounding areas boast great K-12 schools and one of the most highly educated populations in the entire US. With one of the lowest costs of living in the country, Knoxville was recently recognized in U.S. News and World Report as the 29th best place to live in the U.S. In fact, in 2024, US News ranked the State of Tennessee as #5 in fiscal stability, #12 in economy, and #21 in infrastructure.

Minimum Qualifications: A PhD degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related discipline at the time of appointment. Preferred Qualifications: Candidates with previous experience working in the convergent area of natural language processing, large language models, multimodal machine learning, and healthcare/biomedical applications.

For an Appointment at the Assistant Professor rank: The candidate is expected to show potential for obtaining funding for the research programs, and for participation in interdisciplinary teams. The candidate is also expected to show effective, high-quality teaching skills, and ability to effectively mentor undergraduate and graduate students.

For an Appointment at the Associate Professor rank: The candidate is expected to have conducted nationally/internationally recognized research works and show strong leadership potential.  The candidate is also expected to show effective, high-quality teaching skills, and ability to effectively mentor undergraduate and graduate students.

The application deadline is November 17, 2025. Applications received after the deadline may be considered until the position is filled. Please submit the following items online in Interfolio to complete your application:

?          Cover Letter

?          Curriculum Vitae

?          Research Statement

?          Teaching Statement

?          Names and Contact Information of Three References

Questions should be forwarded to the search committee chair, Dr. Jian Huang at huangj@utk.edu.  

All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment and admission without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, and parental status, or any other characteristic protected by federal or state law. In accordance with the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the University of Tennessee affirmatively states that it does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or disability in its education programs and activities, and this policy extends to employment by the university.

Requests for accommodation of a disability should be directed to the ADA Coordinator at Equal Opportunity and Accessibility, 1840 Melrose Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37996-3560, by email to eoa@utk.edu, or by phone at 865-974-2498. Inquiries and charges of violation of Title VI (race, color, and national origin), Title IX (sex), Section 504 (disability), the ADA (disability), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (age), sexual orientation, or veteran status should be directed to the Office of Investigation and Resolution, 216 Business Incubator Building, E J. Chapman Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-3560, by email to investigations@utk.edu, or by phone at 865-974-0717.

About University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Our primary mission is to move forward the frontiers of human knowledge and enrich and elevate the citizens of the state of Tennessee, the nation, and the world. As the preeminent research-based, land-grant university in the state, UT embodies the spirit of excellence in teaching, research, scholarship, creative activity, outreach, and engagement attained by the nation’s finest public research institutions.

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