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Under the leadership of President Brian O. Hemphill, Old Dominion University is pleased to announce another round of hiring for the newly established School of Data Science, featuring a unique collaboration with nearby Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Laboratory (or JLab, a Department of Energy national laboratory) and NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC). The School of Data Science offers interdisciplinary academic programming for undergraduate, graduate, and non-degree students.

In support, ODU seeks to hire several positions who can collectively contribute to the university’s data science programming, starting in Fall 2024:

We seek faculty members with expertise in the theory, methodology, and application of any area of data science. Working with our partners at JLab and NASA LaRC, areas of particular interest include: big data analytics, data mining, data visualization, GIS, scientific machine learning, reinforcement learning, federated learning, foundational models for science, generative models, causality discovery, data privacy and security, and quantum computing. We also seek data science faculty that will complement ODU's areas of strategic emphasis, including: cybersecurity, coastal resilience, biomedical & health sciences, modeling & simulation, and maritime & supply chain management. Candidates with outstanding publication and grant records will be considered for Centennial Professorships.

ODU’s School of Data Science currently includes more than 150 faculty from a range of disciplines including but not limited to computer science, mathematics, statistics, engineering, psychology, criminal justice, education, business, information technology, history, and philosophy. Details are available at www.odu.edu/datascience.

One of the features of the School of Data Science is a unique collaboration with nearby national laboratories. Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Laboratory (JLab) is the newest Department of Energy national laboratory, with a world leading emphasis on nuclear physics, employs more than 800 people, and its mission includes "to provide forefront scientific facilities, opportunities and leadership essential for discovering the fundamental structure of nuclear matter". The Department of Energy has just recently selected JLab for its new High Performance Data Facility Hub (HPDF), which will be a $300-500 million computing and data infrastructure resource that will provide transformational capabilities for data analysis, networking, and storage for the nation’s research enterprise. NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) is the oldest NASA center, employs more than 3,400 people, and "works to make revolutionary improvements to aviation, expand understanding of Earth’s atmosphere and develop technology for space exploration." We plan to select researchers from JLab and LaRC to have faculty roles in the new School.

In addition, a new Joint Institute for Advanced Computing in Health and Climate Studies also has been established between ODU and JLab (with opportunities for collaboration with LaRC) to address resilience and population health challenges in southeastern Virginia and beyond through a combination of cutting-edge computational approaches and community-engaged participatory research. The Commonwealth of Virginia has also approved the merger of Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) with ODU, which will take place in 2024 and provide ODU with collaboration opportunities in Medicine and Health Sciences.

Emphasis will be placed on candidates who will be able to work across all these institutions and collaborate with researchers at the two national laboratories.