Two Research Chairs; Tier 1 and Tier 2 in Visual Science

Two Canada Research Chairs (Tier 1 and Tier
2) in Visual Science

Faculty of Science, York University

The Faculty of Science seeks to appoint two Canada Research Chairs (CRCs) – one Tier 1 and one Tier 2 – in Visual Science as part of York University’s commitment to achieve international excellence in visual science.

The positions are research-enhanced faculty positions partially funded by the recently approved Canada First Research Excellence Fund “Vision :
Science to Application” (VISTA) program. The successful candidates are expected to engage with and benefit from the VISTA program led by York’s internationally renowned Centre for Vision Research, and focused on the intersection between biological and computational vision. The VISTA program will be supported by a total of $100 million in funding over the next seven years. The incumbents will receive enhanced research support, a reduced teaching load, and competitive access to general VISTA research and training funds for the duration of the program.

Applications are invited from outstanding established and emerging world-class researchers with expertise in any area of theoretical, empirical, or applied visual science relevant for York’s Faculty of Science and to the “Vision :
Science to Applications” (VISTA) Program. Possible areas of interest and expertise include (but are not limited to) image analysis in biological and / or non-biological structures, computational / theoretical neuroscience (including protein networks that drive neurotransmission), experimental studies of protein networks that underlie vision and cognition, biophysics of sensory transduction, neurophysiological or neuroimaging studies of the visual system (broadly defined), the development of vision-based or vision-assistive technologies, kinematic analysis of visual behavior, and / or development of statistical methodology for the analysis of complex high-dimensional data sets generated by vision-related experiments.

Candidates must be appointable to one of the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Statistics or Physics and Astronomy. Successful candidates will be eligible for prompt appointment to the Faculty of Graduate Studies. Pedagogical innovation in high priority areas such as experiential education and technology-enhanced learning is an asset.

Tier 1 Chair : The successful candidate will have a Ph.D. in a relevant discipline and is expected to be an internationally recognized research leader at the top of their field, preferably holding the rank of Full Professor. The incumbent should have an outstanding research record demonstrating excellence and eminence in the field, and a proven ability to attract substantial peer-reviewed external research funding.

The incumbent will also have a superior record of attracting and supervising graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, demonstrated excellence in teaching, and the capacity to initiate and develop collaborative relationships with other researchers in related fields. The successful candidate will be expected to foster research linkages within and beyond York, and provide strong and effective leadership for the growing faculty complement in visual science.

Tier 1 Chairs have a seven-year term, are renewable, and are intended for exceptional researchers.

Tier 2 Chair : The successful candidate will have a Ph.D. in a relevant discipline and a minimum of three years of postdoctoral experience at the time of taking up the appointment, with a prior faculty appointment, or equivalent qualifications, preferred. Tier 2 Chairs have a five-year term, are once renewable, and are intended for exceptional emerging researchers (i.e., typically fewer than 10 years experience at the time of the nomination as an active researcher in their field, with consideration for career breaks) who have the acknowledged potential to lead their field of research.

The successful candidate will be appointed to a tenure-track position at the Assistant or Associate Professor level. The incumbent should have an outstanding early career record including training and research awards and publications in high-quality refereed journals,…