Assistant Professor in Human-Centered AI in Health

About the role

The Department of Psychological Sciences at Rice University (Houston, Texas) invites applications for a tenure‑track assistant professor position beginning July 1, 2027. The appointment is in the area of Human‑Centered AI in Health and is part of a university‑wide cluster hire. The topic area is open, but the candidate must align with one of the department’s research interest groups: human‑computer interaction & human factors, health psychology & behavioral medicine, industrial‑organizational psychology, cognitive & affective neuroscience, or psychometrics & quantitative psychology. Example topics include (but are not limited to) human‑centered AI design, AI‑supported health decision making, AI‑enabled diagnosis, clinical AI applications, AI‑driven health behavior change interventions, AI explainability and interpretability, AI interface design, patient‑safety AI tools, AI for simulation‑based training, and human‑AI collaboration and agency. The hire will collaborate with scholars across all Rice schools, especially the Schools of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Engineering, and will have access to institutes such as the Houston Methodist‑Rice Digital Health Institute, the Ken Kennedy Institute, and the Institute of Health Resilience and Innovation.

Responsibilities

• Develop and sustain an innovative research program with the potential to secure external funding.
• Teach undergraduate and graduate psychology courses and develop new curriculum as needed.
• Mentor graduate and undergraduate students in research and professional development.
• Provide service to the academic field, the department, and the university.
• Engage in multidisciplinary collaborations across campus and with external partners, including the adjacent Texas Medical Center.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in a relevant discipline (required at the time of employment).
• Ability to teach and train students in psychological sciences.
• Motivation to seek external research funding.
• Fit within one or more of the department’s research interest groups listed above.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated or strong potential for research in human‑centered AI applied to health, covering areas such as AI design, decision making, diagnosis, clinical applications, behavior‑change interventions, explainability, interface design, patient safety, simulation training, and human‑AI collaboration.
• Commitment to high‑quality teaching and mentorship at both graduate and undergraduate levels.
• Evidence of or commitment to contributing to a diverse and inclusive learning community.
• Willingness and ability to collaborate with scholars across Rice’s Schools of Social Sciences, Humanities, Engineering, and with affiliated research institutes.

Department and Institution

The Department of Psychological Sciences trains doctoral students in human factors/HCI (accredited by the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society), cognitive and affective neuroscience, health psychology, industrial‑organizational psychology, and psychometrics & quantitative psychology. In the 2022 U.S. News & World Report rankings, its industrial‑organizational psychology program was #1 nationally. The department also offers professional master’s programs in HF/HCI and industrial‑organizational psychology. Rice University is a private, comprehensive research university located in Houston’s Museum District, enrolling approximately 4,800 undergraduates and 4,100 graduate students. It consistently ranks among the top 20 national universities and top 10 for undergraduate teaching (U.S. News & World Report) and was ranked 13th in the Best Colleges for Psychology in America by Niche in 2026.