Director search

The director sets the strategic direction for the CEBC with regard to research, education and outreach and is eligible for joint appointment as a tenured faculty member in chemical & petroleum engineering. The director has unique opportunities to focus, develop and grow their own research program synergistically within the CEBC and collaboratively with a large and diverse KU research community and industry partners. 

The Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis strives to invent cleaner, safer, energy-efficient technologies that protect the planet and human health while preparing the next generation of scientists and engineers for a rapidly changing and globally competitive marketplace. It accomplishes this urgent mission by bringing together a diverse team of chemists, engineers, data scientists and economists focused on achieving economically viable and sustainable breakthroughs. Understanding that even the most elegant discoveries in the laboratory will not benefit society if they cannot be practiced commercially, the CEBC partners with companies and institutions to set research priorities. 

The University of Kansas is the state’s flagship university, an R1 institution, and a member of the Association of American Universities, with 40 graduate programs ranked by US News. Founded in 1865, KU enrolls more than 29,000 students, employs nearly 2,900 faculty members, and offers its programs in nine locations, including online through Jayhawk Global and at its research residential campus on beautiful and historic Mt. Oread in Lawrence, Kansas. Lawrence has a lively downtown and a thriving arts and music scene, and its local government has enacted ordinances supporting equality for all members of its population.

Including the CEBC, the Office of Research oversees 9 university research centers, two state surveys and more than a dozen core laboratories. Faculty and staff on all KU campuses generated $466.2 million in externally funded research expenditures in FY 2023. Collectively, that activity fuels KU’s mission to be an institution “making discoveries that change the world.” It’s also among the reasons KU retains membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities — one of just 38 U.S. public institutions among 71 that are transforming lives through education, research and innovation. 

As a premier international research university, KU is committed to a culture of care focused on inclusion and belonging that nurtures the growth and development of all. KU holds steadfast in the belief that a variety of values, interests, experiences, and intellectual and cultural viewpoints enrich learning and our workplace. The CEBC actively seeks applications from members of groups underrepresented in higher education.