The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and the College of Science (COS) at Virginia Tech are inviting applications for a 9-month (academic year) research and teaching position at the (Senior) Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor level in applied economics with a focus on invasive and other harmful species. This broadly encompasses any species that pose threats to terrestrial and / or aquatic ecosystems, impact markets, economic decision-making and outcomes. The academic home for this position will be either the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics (in CALS), or the Department of Economics (in COS). The position also carries expectations for funding summer activities through external grants, teaching, or other mechanisms. The successful candidate will have proficiency in theoretical, analytical, and quantitative tools and methods to tackle complex problems as part of a campus-wide invasive species cluster hire.  This position requires occasional travel to attend conferences and meetings.

The individual will be a core member of Virginia Tech’s Invasive Species Collaborative (https://invasivespeciesvt.org/). This newly funded Destination Area (DA) is a university-wide initiative fostering growth in transdisciplinary research to develop solutions to a complex global problem of invasive / harmful species that directly or indirectly impacts the lives or livelihoods of people, and cause substantial losses to the global economy. The position is part of a cluster hire that includes faculty in environmental law and public policy, technology development, environmental data science, global change interactions, genomics, and invasive species-focused extension. The successful candidate is expected to leverage the expertise of the Invasive Species DA community at Virginia Tech and engage in team science with associated faculty. The individual will also have the opportunity to contribute to the development of a center of excellence focusing on invasive species science, technology, management, outreach, and policy.

Required Qualifications

• PhD in economics, applied economics, or a related field combining computational / quantitative modeling and methods with economic theory and / or applications by appointment start date.
• At least one full year of work experience as Post-doctoral researcher, Assistant Professor, or equivalent.

Preferred Qualifications

• Research experience involving invasive / harmful species.
• Experience with team science collaborations and work in transdisciplinary teams.
• Proficiency in tools and methods that can be applied to the economic study of invasive and harmful species, such as:
  - modeling and analyzing dynamic processes over time and space
  - theory and methods of market-based or non-market economic valuation
  - computational / analytical methods and techniques involving large, complex, and unstructured data
  - evolutionary game theory, SIR modeling, social contagions, synthetic populations
  - Sample JEL codes: C1, C5, C6, C7, Q2, Q3,Q5
• Established record of peer-reviewed publications.
• Participation in grant-funded research.
• Evidence of teaching effectiveness at the undergraduate and / or graduate level.