Lubbock

39780BR

Petroleum Engineering

Position Description

The Bob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering (PE) in the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering at Texas Tech University invites applications for a full-time, 9-month, tenured Professor to begin September 1, 2025. The successful candidate will be an innovative, dynamic, collaborative, and entrepreneurial Chair of the Department, providing intellectual and strategic leadership for teaching, research, service, and outreach and engagement endeavors in the Department of Petroleum Engineering.

Among other duties, the Chair will mentor faculty; improve the department's academic reputation and research expenditures; coordinate administration of the academic programs with undergraduate and graduate advisors; strengthen alumni relationships and fundraising efforts; effectively represent the department to TTU internal entities and external entities such as industrial partners; lead student recruitment efforts; manage departmental staff; effectively manage the unit's budget to sustain a culture of fiscal responsibility and health; and promote the success of the faculty, staff, and students in the department. The Chair will also serve as a tenured faculty member in the department with the following expectations related to teaching and research: teach courses in the petroleum engineering curriculum, mentor PhD students, and maintain an externally sponsored research program.

About the University

Established in 1923, Texas Tech University is a Carnegie R1 (very high research activity) Doctoral/Research-Extensive, Hispanic Serving, and state-assisted institution. Located on a beautiful 1,850-acre campus in Lubbock, a city in West Texas with a growing metropolitan-area population of over 300,000, the university enrolls over 40,000 students with 33,000 undergraduate and 7,000 graduate students. As the primary research institution in the western two-thirds of the state, Texas Tech University is home to 10 colleges, the Schools of Law and Veterinary Medicine, and the Graduate School. The flagship of the Texas Tech University System, Texas Tech is dedicated to student success by preparing learners to be ethical leaders for a diverse and globally competitive workforce. It is committed to enhancing the cultural and economic development of the state, nation, and world. About Lubbock: Referred to as the Hub City because it serves as the educational, cultural, economic, and health care hub of the South Plains region, Lubbock boasts a diverse population and a strong connection to community, history, and land. With a mild climate, highly rated public schools, and a low cost of living, Lubbock is a family-friendly community that is ranked as one of the best places to live in Texas. Lubbock is home to a celebrated and ever-evolving music scene, a vibrant arts community, and is within driving distance of Dallas, Austin, Santa Fe, and other major metropolitan cities. Lubbock's Convention and Visitors Bureau provides a comprehensive overview of the Lubbock community and its resources, programs, events, and histories.

About the College

The Whitacre College of Engineering (WCOE, https://www.depts.ttu.edu/coe/) serves approximately 4800 undergraduate and 1300 graduate students, supported by 220 faculty and instructors. The college had 852 BS, 557 MS, and 68 PhD graduates in the 2023-24 fiscal year. All incoming first year students are enrolled in a common foundational curriculum for all undergraduate programs. Foundational students declare a program of choice and can move into upper division after completing the foundational classes with a TTU GPA of 2.5 or higher. The WCOE consists of the Departments of Chemical Engineering; Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering; Computer Science; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Industrial, Manufacturing and Systems Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; and Petroleum Engineeri g. All BS programs and the Environmental Engineering Master's program are ABET accredited. All departments have Master's and PhD programs. Annual research expenditures of the college are around $18M.

About the Department/School/Area

The Bob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering (PE) currently has 10 faculty members. The total undergraduate enrollment in the upper-level Petroleum Engineering and the Foundational Engineering programs is 206. The graduate program of the department consists of 77 students. The Department offers an ABET-accredited Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering. Graduate degrees offered are a Master of Science and a Doctor of Philosophy with research focused on topics in traditional oil and gas fields, and emerging areas like carbon capture and storage (CCS), subsurface hydrogen generation and storage, geothermal energy, produced water treatment, and methane detection, quantification, and mitigation. The department is housed in the Terry Fuller Petroleum Engineering Research Building which has state-of-the-art laboratories and classrooms for teaching and research. The department continues to enhance its curriculum to encompass customized academic options in response to societal needs. Additional information about the department is available at https://www.depts.ttu.edu/pe/.

Major/Essential Functions

In line with TTU's strategic priorities to engage and empower a diverse student body, enable innovative research and creative activities, and transform lives and communities through outreach and engaged scholarship, applicants should have experience working with diverse student populations at the undergraduate and/or graduate levels within individual or across the areas of teaching, research/creative activity, and service.

Organization

Texas Tech University