The Mary and Richard Templeton Centennial Chair in Electrical Engineering

Origin of the Endowed Chair: Mary and Richard Templeton, technology and civic leaders, endowed the Templeton Chair in Electrical Engineering. Mary Templeton is a financial analyst and computer scientist, and Richard Templeton is the CEO, President, and Chairman of the Board of Texas Instruments (TI). 

Dean of the Lyle School of Engineering, Marc Christensen said of the gift, “Electrical engineering spans a broad set of technologies underlying an incredible list of technological marvels ranging from sophisticated cellphones, to biomedical devices, to smarter cars, and even the production of green energy.” The gift from the Templetons will allow SMU “to attract top-tier talent who will bring his or her expertise to bear on real world research challenges while enhancing excellence in the classroom.”

Engineering Fields of Interest: Candidates in all areas of interest within electrical engineering will be considered, including but not limited to the following: smart grids, power systems, signal processing, wireless communications and networking, electromagnetics, general analog/digital mixed mode circuits, biomedical, photonics, MEMS, semiconductor devices, and control systems. Exceptional candidates in other closely related areas will also be considered.

SMU: SMU, a global research university with a liberal arts tradition, has seven degree-granting schools. The University’s 11,000 students, 42 percent of whom are enrolled in graduate studies, benefit from small classes (11:1 student/faculty ratio). The University’s profile benefits from an endowment of $1.5 billion and a recently completed fundraising campaign, which raised a record $1.15 billion to enrich faculty and academic excellence and the campus experience. From its origins, SMU was shaped by the entrepreneurial spirit of the region. The University is nonsectarian in its teaching and committed to academic freedom and open inquiry. To learn more about the rich cultural environment of SMU, please see: http://smu.edu.

The Electrical Engineering Department resides within the Lyle School of Engineering and is located in the Jerry R. Junkins Building, completed in August 2002. The Jerry R. Junkins Building houses a research laboratory complex with a 2,800 square foot Class 10,000 cleanroom. The department offers B.S., M.S., and Ph. D. degrees in Electrical Engineering and the M.S. degree in Telecommunications. Additional information is provided at: http://lyle.smu.edu/ee.

Dallas and the Region: SMU is located in the beautiful residential University Park area of Dallas. The faculty, students, and staff enjoy all the cultural, athletic, and recreational opportunities that the ninth-largest city in the country provides. The Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex is one of the most prolific high-tech industrial centers in the country. With a greater Dallas population exceeding 6.8 million (fourth-largest and fifth-most diverse metropolitan area), the region is home to nearly 20 Fortune 500 companies and the 10th most frequently traveled airport in the world. Dallas boasts the nation’s largest urban arts district, which consists of world-class museums and a luminous cluster of performing arts spaces, highlighted by the Winspear Opera House, described by Opera magazine as America’s finest. With the Trinity River, White Rock Lake, almost 400 parks, and over 125 miles of urban hiking and biking trails, the city provides abundant opportunities to enjoy the outdoors, and the city has been named one of the Greenest Cities in the world. SMU students and faculty utilize the Dallas metropolitan area as an extension of the classroom.

Successful Candidates: This is an exciting opportunity for a dynamic, innovative individual to grow a very successful and distinctive research program in collaboration with other outstanding scholars and researchers in the Department and School. The Engineering Department and the Lyle School are especially interested in individuals who have demonstrated their ability to build and sustain a world class research program. This Chair is best filled by a candidate whose mark on the field of engineering is not yet fully achieved. The Department desires a “spark plug” who will energize and excite students, faculty, the Department, the School, SMU, and the high tech region of the Dallas Metroplex. Thus, in addition to achievement, the Department also seeks “long-term future promise.” The successful candidate will teach both undergraduate and graduate courses as well as develop an innovative, externally funded, research program. Successful candidates will be expected to supervise Master’s and Doctoral students and participate in interdisciplinary research efforts within the School. 

Qualifications: PhD in Electrical Engineering or a related field; eligibility for tenured appointment at the rank of full professor; prior success as well as promise of achievement in an area of substantial interest to the Department and School.

Application Process: Initial application consists of the submission of an updated CV which describes research accomplishments as well as what the candidate is working on now. After reviewing candidates’ CVs, the committee will invite a smaller group of candidates to have conversations and provide one-page research statements, including what the candidates would like to work on in 5 to 10 years and what they would like to build at SMU, in Dallas, and in the Metroplex. Nominations, applications, and inquiries may be sent in confidence. Full consideration will be given to all applications received by August 31, 2017. At a later stage in the process, candidates will be asked to submit the names and contact information for five references. The initial application (described above) should be submitted to: SMUTempleton@academic-search.com 

Assisting the University in this search are Ann Die Hasselmo (Ann.Hasselmo@academic-search.com) and Chris Butler (Chris.Butler@academic-search.com), consultants with Academic Search, Inc., Washington, D.C.

Further information about Southern Methodist University and the Lyle School of Engineering is available at www.smu.edu and http://lyle.smu.edu/ee, as well as from the Profile of the position and institution at: www.academic-search.com/sites/default/files/SMUTempletonProfile.pdf.

SMU will not discriminate in any program or activity on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity and expression. The Executive Director for Access and Equity/Title IX Coordinator is designated to handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies and may be reached at the Perkins Administration Building, Room 204, 6425 Boaz Lane, Dallas, TX 75205, 214-768-3601, accessequity@smu.edu. Women, minorities, veterans and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. Hiring is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of a background check.

*Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681-1688.