Endowed Chair in Artificial Intelligence, Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, Boston University

Boston University (BU) seeks to hire an endowed chair in its Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences (CDS) with specific focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI). We are seeking candidates of exceptional scholarship with a proven record of high-impact research at the nexus of the foundational, methodological, and use-inspired dimensions of AI. The successful candidate will be appointed with tenure in CDS with opportunities for joint appointments in other BU academic units as appropriate. This position is envisioned as an anchor to provide significant guidance and leadership in recruiting a cluster of faculty members working on AI in CDS as well as in other cognate departments at BU over the next few years.

Founded in 2019, the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences is a university-wide, degree-granting academic unit focused on core and applied areas of computing, computational, and data-driven inquiry. Housed in the top five floors of an iconic 19-story building with a convention-bending design, CDS complements traditional cognate academic disciplines by laying the foundation for innovation-driven, civic-minded computing to maximize the real-world impact of research, curricular, and co-curricular programs that are thematically aligned with strategic goals of the university. Additional information about the Faculty is available at https://www.bu.edu/cds.

Boston University expects excellence in teaching and in research and is committed to building a culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse scholarly community, which is essential to its mission as expressed at https://www.bu.edu/info/about/diversity. BU is an AAU institution with a rich tradition of inclusion and social justice. We are proud of our record, including being the first American university to award a PhD to a woman and the university from which Martin Luther King Jr. received his PhD. We are dedicated to increasing participation of all talented students, especially women and other underrepresented groups in Computing and Data Sciences.

Senior scholars with an established research record anchored in the foundational, methodological, or use-inspired dimensions of data science, machine learning, and AI are encouraged to apply. Of particular interest are scholars pursuing research in supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement machine learning methods and platforms of broad applicability, such as deep neural networks, federated learning, transfer learning, natural language processing, and large language models, as well as scholars exploring the connections between AI and other disciplines or pursuing research that address unique challenges in domains beyond computing, such as scientific machine learning, cognitive neuroscience, explainable AI, sociotechnical systems, and human computer interaction.

Research on the foundations, methodologies, and inspired use of AI is pervasive at BU. Given BU’s strategic investment in CDS as a catalyst for “research that matters” to society, the successful candidate will have excellent opportunities for real-world impact by collaborating with stakeholders in a rich array of academic and research units at BU, not only in the cognate disciplines of Computer Science, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Mathematics & Statistics, and Information Systems, but also in arts & sciences, engineering, and professional disciplines, including health, business, education, communication, and Law. The successful candidate will also contribute to development of undergraduate and graduate curricula, degree programs, and specializations.

DO NOT APPLY THROUGH THE BOSTON UNIVERSITY HR WEBSITE.

Interested candidates are welcome to reach out with any questions about this opportunity to the Associate Provost for Computing & Data Sciences, Azer Bestavros (cds-ap@bu.edu).

Note: Expressions of interest and/or applications for the position will be kept strictly confidential, and no letters of reference will be required until a decision to interview is reached.

BU conducts a background check on all final candidates for certain faculty and staff positions. The background check includes contacting the final candidate’s current and previous employer(s) to ask whether, in the last seven years, there has been a substantiated finding of misconduct violating that employer’s applicable sexual misconduct policies. To implement this process, the University requires a final candidate to complete and sign the form entitled “Authorization to Release Information” after execution of an offer letter.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, natural or protective hairstyle, religion, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military service, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, or because of marital, parental, or veteran status. We are a VEVRAA Federal Contractor.