The Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (CBL) of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) invites applications at the Assistant Professor level from individuals who demonstrate a vision for carrying out novel, innovative, and collaborative research and broadening participation in Estuarine and Coastal Ecology. Researchers with interests in estuarine and/or coastal systems, who are exploring questions related to (1) anthropogenic impacts on estuarine or marine ecological processes, (2) experimental studies on animal populations, (3) coastal resilience, and (4) global change biology, are encouraged to apply. You will join faculty with diverse expertise in Chesapeake Bay ecology, as well as coastal systems from the tropics to the poles.

We offer outstanding access to field sites in Chesapeake Bay from a range of research vessels or from shore, state-of-the-art running seawater and environmentally-controlled laboratories, and a broad array of instrumentation. Existing ecosystem research at CBL includes work on species, environmental drivers, and anthropogenic impacts, with questions relevant to Chesapeake Bay and coastal Atlantic habitats, but also to ecosystems around the world. CBL has a tradition of interdisciplinary research and we particularly value researchers with an interest that crosses disciplinary boundaries. We encourage faculty to utilize the Chesapeake Global Collaboratory (CGC) as a facility to develop solutions to environmental problems. We also have firmly established ties providing over a hundred years of service and leadership to regional, national, and international management agencies.

Responsibilities
● Develop and sustain an externally funded research program
● Publish in leading peer-reviewed journals and contribute to scientific leadership in the field;
● Teach graduate level classes, mentor graduate students and postdoctoral researchers through UMCES’ graduate programs, and broaden participation in estuarine and coastal science
● Engage in interdisciplinary collaboration within UMCES and across the University System of Maryland

Qualifications

Required:
● Ph.D. in ecology, marine science, or a closely related field;
● Demonstrated research excellence and a strong publication record appropriate to rank;
● Potential for or demonstrated record of securing competitive external funding;
● Potential for or demonstrated record of high-quality graduate education and student mentoring, including broadening participation; and
● Expertise in any field of ecology related to estuarine and coastal science.

Preferred:
● Interest in conducting a research program that includes the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, with potential to collaborate with UMCES researchers and make effective use of UMCES’ and CBL’s research infrastructure, including the Chesapeake Global Collaboratory (https://www.umces.edu/chesapeake-global-collaboratory), research vessels, flow-through seawater systems, computational resources, and/or other laboratory and field facilities; and
● Experience working at the science–management interface, and interest in problem-
solving
● Entrepreneurial approach for supporting research and education

This is a tenure-track appointment at the Assistant Professor level. It is an exempt, full time 100% FTE position with 75% guaranteed state funding support for salary while the remaining 25% of salary to be externally funded.

of UMCES and the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory

CBL is situated along the Patuxent River in Solomons, Maryland and is the oldest state-supported marine laboratory on the East coast. As a relatively small, independent research and education university within a sizable, highly respected public higher education system, UMCES offers both flexibility and outstanding institutional support to continue to play an outsized role in environmental research, education, and problem solving. As part of UMCES, CBL scientists are developing solutions to help guide our state, nation, and world toward a more environmentally sustainable and equitable future.

CBL and UMCES have research strengths in diverse areas of environmental science. Core areas of research at CBL include estuarine and marine ecology, fisheries, geochemistry, toxicology, and statistics-data science; these are complemented by excellence in research in oceanography, watershed hydrology, landscape ecology, molecular biology, and science communication at the other UMCES research laboratories. The UMCES mission includes advancing world-class fundamental and applied research in the environmental sciences, promoting graduate-level education, furthering community engagement and science application, and providing reliable scientific information and scientific expertise to inform policy decisions at the State, regional, and national levels. Successful candidates will be encouraged to work collegially within both inter- and transdisciplinary frameworks involving colleagues from CBL, across UMCES’s five additional institutions — Appalachian Laboratory, Horn Point Laboratory, the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, the Integration and Application Network, and the Maryland Sea Grant College — as well as other partners with different natural and social science traditions. All faculty are encouraged to contribute to UMCES’s nascent Chesapeake Global Collaborative (CGC) initiative, which aims to leverage “big data” approaches to address modern environmental problems by engaging diverse voices, and developing innovative tools and
products.

UMCES is Maryland’s Graduate University of the Environment and one of the twelve institutions of the University System of Maryland (USM). UMCES faculty are required to mentor graduate students, teach or co-teach graduate-level classes, and participate in collaborative application and outreach of science. Relatively light teaching loads at UMCES allow faculty to spend more time engaged with direct mentoring of graduate students and public engagement. There is a strong commitment to advance objectives in support of diversity, equity, inclusion, and environmental justice. CBL is committed to providing a wide range of networking, sponsoring, and mentoring opportunities for junior faculty.

Required Application Materials:

Applications should include:
● Cover letter
● Curriculum vitae
● 2-page statement of research vision (including management engagement)
● 2-page statement of mentoring and teaching philosophy including broadening
participation
● Contact information for five professional references

Best consideration date: August 10, 2026

Open Until Filled: yes