Assistant Professor-Tenure System

Position Summary

The Michigan State University-Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory (PRL) has up to two tenure-track, twelve-month faculty positions available at the Assistant Professor level to complement and/or strengthen PRL mission areas. We are particularly interested in research that addresses fundamental questions in photosynthetic organisms in natural or engineered systems, including plants, algae, or photosynthetic bacteria interpreted broadly.

About the role

The PRL offers a highly collaborative environment for creative, fundamental research on photosynthetic organisms broadly. An important research core within the unit focuses on energy-related science for understanding and improving photosynthetic function through long-standing funding from the DOE Basic Energy Sciences (BES) program (see here and here) to support high risk-high reward basic science. This DOE support coexists with interdisciplinary research conducted by individual PRL lab efforts aimed broadly at studying photosynthetic organisms. More information on the breadth of PRL research is available at https://prl.natsci.msu.edu/research/.

Responsibilities

• Employ state-of-the-art approaches, which may include but are not limited to advanced spectroscopy, imaging, cell biology, genetics and genomics, metabolomics, synthetic biology, phenotyping, predictive modeling, or molecular and structural biology such as cryo-EM.
• Contribute to the PRL core research foci around light capture, energy conversion, and storage while establishing independent research directions.

Requirements

• PhD in relevant field
• Postdoctoral research experience
• Evidence of productivity and potential for independent research
• Demonstrate how research aligns with PRL core research foci and expands the breadth of the PRL research portfolio

Qualifications

• Show evidence of productivity and potential for independent research
• Contribute to the PRL core research foci around light capture, energy conversion, and storage while establishing independent research directions

Skills

• State-of-the-art approaches in photosynthetic research
• Collaborative and interdisciplinary research

Benefits

N/A

Pay

N/A

Schedule

N/A

Contact Information

Josh Vermaas
vermaasj@msu.edu

Application Materials

• 1-page cover letter
• Curriculum Vitae
• Research statement (3-5 pages)
• Statement of teaching and mentoring experience and philosophy (1 page)
• Contact information for three references

Special Instructions

Applications must be submitted as a single PDF file through the MSU applicant page. Questions regarding this position can be directed to the search chair, Josh Vermaas at vermaasj@msu.edu. Complete applications must be received by the end of the day November 2nd, 2026 to receive full consideration. Late submissions will be considered if suitable candidates are not identified by the deadline.