Overview

The First-year Research Immersion (FRI) program at Binghamton University invites applications for a three-year renewable, full time Research Assistant Professor (also known as the Research Educator) position, to begin August 2025. This is a unique 10-month non-tenure track faculty position that directly combines teaching and research to empower faculty to grow as research educators, leaders, mentors, and higher education professionals. This Research Educator position is for the new “Data Science” research stream and is open to individuals with appropriate background in data science or other related fields that use data science approaches. Candidates must have completed a terminal degree (PhD) before starting.

For the FRI Data Science Stream, the Research Educator’s background will help shape the research theme. The research should align with an overall theme of using big data to identify connections and provide insights on societal problems (e.g., inequality, climate change, economy, healthcare, public health, transportation, housing, etc.). The research methodology will likely focus on applied statistics and data science, using real and synthetic datasets. The Research Educator must be proficient in using and teaching programming (R or Python) in order to train students of all skill levels to use programming to perform tasks such as querying large datasets, cleaning and integrating data, performing statistical analyses (such as a range of basic statistical techniques and at least one advanced technique related to applied predictive modeling, spatial analysis, data mining, or machine learning), visualizing data (using various packages, such as ggplot2, plotly, shiny, matplotlib, or seaborn), and using open-source scientific and technical publishing systems (e.g., Jupyter, R Markdown, Quarto) for reproducible research reports.

Research Educators are responsible for guiding first- and second-year student cohorts (~30 per cohort) through authentic research experiences and, in doing so, will help students develop the professional skills desired by graduate schools and employers. The Research Educator is responsible for designing and implementing the course curriculum for the stream by integrating the general FRI program framework with discipline-specific content and employing student-centered, active learning, and open-source educational approaches. Within that high-impact learning environment, and alongside faculty stream collaborators, the Research Educator maintains and/or expands their own research program. More detail about the FRI program is available at our website: www.binghamton.edu/fri

The Research Educator reports to the FRI Director and works closely with the faculty collaborators of this research stream and the other FRI research educators in a community of practice. Overall, FRI provides an excellent education and research training program with opportunities for continuation in the FRI program with expanded roles and responsibilities over time. The position provides start-up funds, a non-tenure promotion pathway, and an annual travel budget.

Responsibilities:

Teaching & Mentorship

  • Serve as instructor for stream FRI courses (Fall, 6 credits: FRI Semester 1 & 3 courses; Spring, 4 credits: FRI Semester 2 course) and hold weekly lab hours to mentor teams in research
  • Continually develop, maintain and revise stream curriculum
  • Supervise, train & manage undergraduate peer mentors (UGPMs)

Research

  • Maintain research computer lab & budget (start up and annual funds available)
  • Perform research in conjunction with stream students
  • Collaborate with faculty and relevant collaborators on research projects
  • Disseminate results

Service

  • Participate in FRI program events & committees
  • Support students in continuing efforts and activities post-FRI program experience

General

  • Attend and actively participate in FRI faculty/staff meetings
  • Facilitate formative and summative assessments of the research stream and FRI students

Professional Development

  • Actively participate in research and educational professional development activities

The FRI research community empowers students to make scientific and personal discoveries while developing vital skills for success through four main value pillars: community, transferable-skills, personal impact, and discovery.

 

Requirements:

Strong candidates must have:

  • Graduate degree in a discipline matching the theme for the research stream (data science or other related fields that use data science approaches, such as econometrics, computer science, biostatistics, quantitative psychology, etc.)
  • Advanced experimental design and technical skills that align with the research stream
  • Minimum of two years of teaching experience in higher education (can be as a teaching assistant)
  • Ability to train undergraduate researchers and evaluate their work
  • Ability to train, evaluate and supervise undergraduate peer mentor assistants
  • Ability to manage a research computer laboratory
  • Effective communication skills
  • Ability to manage multiple responsibilities and timelines simultaneously with a high degree of organization, accuracy and efficiency
  • Ability to work both autonomously and collaboratively
  • Strong professional and organizational skills
  • Ability to problem solve, prioritize, and manage multiple tasks
  • Ability to analyze and organize information and materials for a variety of research projects
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