Assistant or Associate Professor of Controlled Environmental Horticulture

Classification Title:

Ast/Aso Prof

Job Description:

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is creating an environment that affirms community across all dimensions. We particularly welcome applicants who can contribute to such an environment through their scholarship, teaching, mentoring, and professional service. If an accommodation due to a disability is needed to apply for this position, please call 352-392-2477 or the Florida Relay System at 800-955-8771 (TDD) or visit Accessibility at UF .

This is a 12-month, tenure-accruing position of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) with 70% research and 30% extension assignment, available at the Mid-Florida Research and Education Center (MREC), Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) at the University of Florida. Tenure will accrue in the Department of Environmental Horticulture. This assignment may change according to the needs of the unit. Because of the IFAS land-grant mission, all faculty are expected to be supportive of and engaged in all three mission areas - Research, Teaching, and Extension - regardless of the assignment split specified in the position description. Academic rank will be commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Duties and Responsibilities

The incumbent is expected to develop a nationally and internationally recognized CEA program specializing in specialty crops, such as vegetables, fruits, ornamental nursery crops, and medicinal plants. The ideal candidate will employ innovative methodologies, hydroponics, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology to study and enhance crop physiology and quality in controlled environments. The focus will be on understanding how environmental factors affect crop growth and development, aiming for efficient and sustainable production in protected environments. The candidate should have a strong interest and experience in optimizing production systems, improving resource efficiency, and ensuring the environmental sustainability of CEA for specialty crops production. Additionally, the successful candidate’s program will aim to develop best management practices necessary for the successful cultivation of controlled environment agricultural crops. We seek candidates who will contribute to the research portfolio of both the Center and the UF Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences. This faculty hire will collaborate closely with on-campus faculty on both CEA research and extension initiatives, fostering interdisciplinary projects and contributing to the development of innovative curricula related to controlled environment agriculture and specialty crops. Faculty are expected to work in partnership with intra- and interdepartmental faculty members as well as industry groups to develop a competitive research and extension program.

The successful candidate will provide leadership, training, and support to county faculty commercial growers, and other stakeholders in implementing CEA practices to protect plants. The faculty member is expected to actively engage in extension education by participating in relevant state extension teams. They will be expected to publish in refereed journals, produce extension publications, and obtain significant extramural funding. The successful candidate will participate in undergraduate and graduate education by chairing and serving on graduate committees, supervising graduate and undergraduate research, and publishing research results. The successful candidate will be encouraged to participate in professional development activities related to teaching and advising and may teach courses and seminars.

Because of the IFAS land-grant mission, all faculty are expected to be supportive of and engaged in all three mission areas—Research, Teaching and Extension—regardless of the assignment split specified in the position description.

Background Information:

The UF/IFAS Mid-Florida Research and Education Center (MREC) in Apopka, Florida is one of 12 University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Research and Education Centers. Located in the heart of Florida (just north or Orlando), the MREC is a center for research, teaching, and extension programs.  Originally established as the Central Florida Research & Education Center (CFREC) in the fall of 1986 by administratively combining research centers at Apopka, Leesburg, and Sanford, a new research and education facility was constructed on land next to the old Apopka center in 2005. Today, UF/IFAS MREC serves a large ornamental, nursery and agricultural industry which has historically cooperated with the Center to develop