Professor Of Cybersecurity, Eminent Scholar, And Faculty Fellow

Professor of Cybersecurity, Eminent Scholar, and Faculty Fellow
Volgenau School of Engineering

The George Mason University Volgenau School of Engineering invites applications for the position of Professor of Cybersecurity. With resources from the Virginia Center for Innovative Technology (CIT), Lockheed Martin, and the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI), the successful candidate will also hold the titles of CIT Eminent Scholar and CCI Faculty Fellow. The school is seeking a highly accomplished leader who has the vision to take to the next level what is already one of the strongest research and educational programs in cybersecurity in the nation. George Mason University has a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of excellence and diversity among its faculty and staff, and strongly encourages candidates to apply who will enrich Mason’s academic and culturally inclusive environment.

About Mason Cybersecurity:

Cybersecurity has been a focus of Mason for many years, originally for information systems and more recently also for cyber-physical systems. Highlights include the ABET-accredited first-in-the-nation BS in Cybersecurity Engineering with 533 majors in fall 2020; a new Department of Cybersecurity Engineering and an MS in Cybersecurity Engineering; selection by NSA as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education, as well as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Research; a $40 million award to Mason by the Department of Homeland Security to lead the Center of Excellence in Criminal Investigations and Network Analysis; more than 50 faculty engaged in cybersecurity research and education; a facility in which classified research focused on cybersecurity and other critical challenges is performed for the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, and other US Government agencies; cybersecurity research valued at more than $30M from the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, Department of Transportation, and other federal agencies; and more than 4,000 students engaged in educational programs across the Volgenau School that teach aspects of cybersecurity. Mason cybersecurity is thriving with strong ties to many companies in the Northern Virginia technology corridor.

Major New Investments in Cybersecurity and Computing:

Concurrent with Amazon’s commitment to build a new headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, Mason launched four exciting new initiatives now underway: (1) the Institute for Digital InnovAtion (IDIA), which fosters research especially in computer science, data analytics, cybersecurity, and multidisciplinary computing that leverage the full spectrum of faculty and student talent across Mason; (2) the expansion of Mason’s Arlington Campus with a planned 500,000 square foot Digital InnovAtion Headquarters that will support research and graduate education in close partnership with Northern Virginia’s vibrant technology community; (3) Mason’s planned new School of Computing – the first such school in Virginia, and (4) the Northern Virginia Node of CCI which supports research in security of 5G, autonomous vehicles, advanced manufacturing, and other leading-edge technologies. Cybersecurity is a central facet of all these initiatives, which together reflect hundreds of millions of dollars in new investment that will rapidly elevate Mason’s already leading national position in cybersecurity.

Responsibilities:

In addition to teaching cybersecurity classes, the Professor of Cybersecurity is expected to lead transformative growth in Mason’s cybersecurity research portfolio, and to further encourage and foster new and existing collaborations with the CCI and its partners, and with other academic, industrial, and governmental institutions in the greater Washington, D.C. area. The successful candidate is expected to accelerate the growth of high-quality academic programs, facilitate interdisciplinary research initiatives, and broaden the scope and focus areas of research in Mason with significant potential for commercialization.

Required Qualifications:

Candidates must have earned a doctorate in computer science, computer engineering, information technology, systems engineering, or a related field; and be eligible for a tenured appointment at the rank of associate or full professor. The successful candidate should have an outstanding cybersecurity research and publication record, as well as a commitment to excellence in both graduate and undergraduate education; significant leadership experience, including fostering interdisciplinary research/education and mentoring more junior colleagues; and be a US citizen able to obtain a US government security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications:

Hold a current US government security clearance.

Mason Engineering: The Future of Engineering is Here:

The Volgenau School of Engineering at George Mason University is a fast-growing force for innovation in research and education. The school boasts more than 8,600 students in 37 undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degree programs, including several first-in-the-nation offerings. Of the 250 full-time faculty who comprise the School, 90 are tenured, 50 are tenure-track, 85 are instructional faculty, and 25 are research faculty. As part of a nationally ranked research university, its research teams expended more than $60 million in sponsored research awards last year and has projects with over $400 million in current and anticipated awards. Located in the heart of Northern Virginia’s technology corridor, Mason Engineering stands out for its research in many leading areas including artificial intelligence, data analytics engineering, cybersecurity engineering, biomedical imaging and devices, community-based healthcare, autonomous systems, 5G communications, systems architectures, computational biomedicine, advanced materials and manufacturing, sustainable infrastructure, and more. The School encourages multidisciplinary research and provides faculty with opportunities to work with other disciplines.

About Mason:

George Mason University is the largest public research university in Virginia, with an enrollment of over 38,000 students studying in over 200 degree programs. Mason is an innovative, entrepreneurial institution with national distinction in a range of academic fields. It was classified as an R1 research institution in 2016 by the Carnegie Classifications of Institutes of Higher Education. Mason is located in the City of Fairfax in Northern Virginia at the doorstep of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, with unmatched geographical access to a number of federal agencies and national laboratories. Northern Virginia is also home to one of the largest concentrations of high-tech firms in the nation, providing excellent opportunities for interaction with industry. Fairfax is consistently rated as being among the best places to live in the country and has an outstanding local public school system.

The D.C. metro area is home to a number of companies for which cybersecurity is central to their business. The northern Virginia business community includes a large number of Fortune 500 companies. In addition to its 677-acre main campus in Fairfax, Mason has campuses in Arlington and Prince William counties in Virginia, as well as an international campus in Songdo, Korea.

For full consideration applicants must complete the online application at https://jobs.gmu.edu/ for position number F217AZ; and upload a cover letter, a complete CV with publications, a teaching statement, a research statement, a statement on what diversity and inclusion means to you (to attach as ‘Other Doc’) and the names of three professional references with contact information. For full consideration applicants must apply by January 4, 2021; however the review of applications will continue until the position is filled.