[ES_JOBS_NET] Principal Investigator (Professor or Associate Professor), Earth -Life Science Institute (ELSI), Tokyo Institute of Technology, J apan

[Akira Yokota]

The Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI), a permanent research institute based at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan, is seeking a pioneering, enthusiastic, collaborative, and open-minded scientist to establish a research program in origin of life (OOL) studies as a tenured faculty member of the university (Associate or Full Professor level). We are particularly interested in the broad areas of chemistry and/or biology to further strengthen our in-house collaboration between theorists and experimentalists.
ELSI aims to answer the fundamental questions of how the Earth was formed, how life originated in the environment of early Earth, and how this life evolved into complexity. ELSI pursues these questions by studying the "origin and evolution of life" and the "origin and evolution of the Earth" through an interdisciplinary collaboration between the fields of Earth, Life, and Planetary Sciences. By understanding the early Earth context that allowed for the rise of initial life, we also work to establish a greater understanding of the likelihood of extraterrestrial life elsewhere in the universe.
We are now seeking exceptional candidates for the role of Principal Investigator (Professor or Associate Professor) to lead world-class interdisciplinary research relevant to the origin and evolution of life. ELSI works positively to eliminate biases against gender or national origin. We welcome all qualified candidates, regardless of nationality or gender. We encourage and support our candidates' close collaborations with overseas research institutes. Our institutional language is English; Japanese language skills are not required. An unprecedented level of support for researchers to live and thrive in Japan is provided by our talented staff. Position details are provided below.

Title:
Principal Investigator of ELSI (Professor or Associate Professor)

Number of Openings: 1

Subject Area: 
Study of the early Earth and study of the origin of life. Areas of particular interest are atmospheric chemistry, organic/inorganic/analytical chemistry, combinatorial/computational chemistry and chemical informatics, polymer or catalysis chemistry and biochemistry; synthetic biology, bioinformatics/genome biology, microbial ecology, bioenergetics, and virology; theoretical or modeling work related to emergence of complexity, evolution or innovation. This is not an exclusive list; suitable candidates in disciplines allied to OOL research within these broad themes are encouraged to apply.

Qualifications:
1) Candidates should hold a doctoral degree (Ph.D. or equivalent).
2) Candidates should have their own original research plans in the subject specified above and demonstrated abilities to acquire external or competitive funds to promote their own research.
3) Candidates should be qualified to offer graduate-level instruction and classroom teaching in English with demonstrated capacity to supervise and teach graduate students.
4) Candidates should have an international research network in a relevant subject and a strong commitment to the development and the strategic and operational management of the institute.

Form of Employment: 
Full-time (tenured or tenure-track)

Term:
1) Tenured position: retirement age system.
2) Non-tenured (Tenure track) position: term of five years. During the term, a tenure assessment will be conducted, and the successful candidate's employment will not have a fixed term.
In either case, appointment does not extend beyond the end of the academic year in which he or she attains the retirement age (65).

Starting Date: February 1st, 2020, or earliest possible date thereafter

Place of Work:
Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology
2-12-1-IE-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan

Salary: 
Annual salary system. The salary will be determined in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations of the National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology.

Application closing date: August 30th, 2019

Selection process: 
The selection committee will start reviewing the submitted materials on September 2, 2019. Selected candidates will be interviewed and will be requested to give a public seminar on their research in English. 

For more information, please visit our website
http://www.elsi.jp/en/about/recruitment/public-offering-positions/2019/05/20190516_Principal_Investigator.html

Please visit http://www.elsi.jp/en/ for further information about the institute.

For inquiries, please contact Executive director Mary Voytek, Selection Committee Chair, via e-mail 
(faculty-recruitment[at]elsi.jp; replace [at] by @).

Sincerely, 
Mary Voytek 
Executive director 
Earth-Life Science Institute
Tokyo Institute of Technology