Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences
Tohoku University

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Seven Assistant Professor Positions Starting in 2025

Application Deadline: Applications must be submitted by 17:00, Friday, July 26, 2024 (JST)

2024.05.30

The application requirement states that when asking a faculty member to be a mentor, the applicant and the mentor candidate must agree with the "Internal regulations on the mentors of the Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences". In addition, applicants and their mentor candidates must consult the “checklist for the Internal regulations on the mentors of the Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences".
 
The information session (June 17, 2024) has ended. The recording of the session (excluding the Q&A part) and the questions and answers are now available.
 
Number of Positions
 
 Seven Assistant Professor Positions (Following the FRIS fundamental policy of promoting Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, we welcome applications from all backgrounds.)
Organization and Department
Creative Interdisciplinary Research Division, Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences (FRIS), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
Research Areas and Job Description We recruit people in six research areas (1. Materials and Energy, 2. Life and Environments, 3. Information and Systems, 4. Device and Technology, 5. Human and Society, 6. Advanced Basic Science). Successful applicants are expected to promote international interdisciplinary scientific research on their own initiative as Principal Investigators (PIs) and have a strong will to develop new academic disciplines. To achieve these, they are expected to collaborate actively with researchers and research institutions at home and abroad. This recruitment is part of the “Frontier Researchers for Interdisciplinary Sciences Shoshi Program (FRIS Shoshi Program),” a university-wide initiative to support young researchers under the Tohoku University Comprehensive Package for Supporting Young Researchers. For more information about the “FRIS Shoshi Program,” please visit the following URL.
https://www.fris.tohoku.ac.jp/en/about/missions/fostering.html
Research Funding
The following research funding will be provided.
  • Basic research funding of 11 million yen over five years (2.5 million yen per year for the first three years, 2 million yen for the fourth year, and 1.5 million yen for the fifth year, but it allows flexible budget execution by carry-over.)
     
  • Upon review, we provide expenses for overseas travel to present research results at international conferences and conduct collaborative research, for collaborative research with researchers in different fields, for organizing international conferences, and so forth.
In addition to the above, successful applicants are expected to actively seek external competitive funds such as Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI).
Eligibility
 PhD degree by the time of appointment
Starting Date
April 1, 2025 (subject to negotiation)
Term of Appointment
Five years (no reappointment)
Under the tenure track system at FRIS, assistant professors undergo a predetermined review process. Successful completion of this process leads to their appointment as either tenured assistant professors or fixed-term (five-year) associate professors by the end of their appointment term. If they do not pass the review, their term can be extended by one year (maximum two years) after a separate review. Furthermore, although this is not guaranteed, they may remain employed as faculty members in other departments or institutes. For more details, please visit the following URL.
# Tenure track system at FRIS:
https://www.fris.tohoku.ac.jp/en/about/tenure-track.html
 
In the case of taking childcare leave, the term of employment may be extended by up to the number of days taken off for the leave if deemed necessary for educational and research purposes.
Remuneration
Annual salary system. Other allowances will be provided according to the regulations of Tohoku University.
Notes on Application
Applicants must select one area of research they wish to apply from the six research areas indicated above. Please note that the review committee may change the research area of their selection.
When applying, applicants must provide information about their mentors. A mentor must be a full-time professor or associate professor at Tohoku University (visiting or specially appointed professors are not eligible). Prior to applying, applicants must obtain their mentors’ consent regarding the internal regulations on the mentor system and the attached description of their responsibilities shown at the URL below. We prioritize that the mentors can allow FRIS assistant professors to have experiences in various research environments, such as selecting a mentor from outside their previously-affiliated laboratory. Successful applicants must be independent as a PI during the term of their appointment.
For the selection of mentors, the following websites can be helpful. Please visit the URLs below.

# Internal regulations on the mentors and the responsibilities of mentors
https://www.fris.tohoku.ac.jp/media/files/mentorregulations_rev20220620_EN.pdf
(English)
https://www.fris.tohoku.ac.jp/media/files/mentorregulations_rev20220620_JP.pdf
(Japanese)
# Tohoku University Researchers:
https://www.r-info.tohoku.ac.jp/
Application Deadline Applications must be submitted by 17:00, Friday, July 26, 2024 (JST)
Required Documents
Following the instructions in the section “How to Apply”, applicants must complete the application online and electronically submit the documents indicated below. All documents must be prepared in PDF format, and the total file size must not exceed 10 MB. For (3) Research Proposal, please download the template from our website, as shown below.
(1) A list of research achievements such as publications: original research papers, international conference proceedings, books and editorials/commentaries, conference presentations (indicating domestic or international, and with or without invitation), awards, patents, competitive research funds, achievements of collaborative research, and other notable mentions.  

(2) A brief overview of your research achievements (less than 400 words)

(3) A research proposal (in our provided format, within four pages)

(4) A letter of recommendation (in any format)

(5) A summary of up to five significant papers or major achievements, each demonstrating excellence in its field. (If any, please show any numerical indicators that highli
How to Apply
Please apply from the application website below. Once applicants complete the pre-registration, they will receive a URL to complete the registration. They must upload the required documents to “My Page.” After completing the upload, they will receive a confirmation email.
 
# Application website
https://rct4osp.fris.tohoku.ac.jp/en
# You can also visit the application website from the recruitment information page in the FRIS website below.
https://www.fris.tohoku.ac.jp/en/
Inquiries Professor Junji Saida, Managing and Planning Division, FRIS
E-mail: kikaku-hr_atmk_fris.tohoku.ac.jp (Please replace “_atmk_” with “@”)
DEI Promotion
  • Aiming to be a leading research institute in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), FRIS has enacted a fundamental policy of promoting DEI and established a working group to implement this policy. We are committed to creating an environment that facilitates research, education and employment for all members of the institute, and supporting the implementation of this goal.
     
  • Tohoku University promotes activities to increase DEI and encourages people of varied talents from all backgrounds to apply for positions at the university.
    Tohoku University's website about the DEI Declaration is here:
    https://dei.tohoku.ac.jp/vision/about/
     
  • Under Article 8 of the Act on Securing, Etc. of Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and Women in Employment, Tohoku University shall, as a measure for increasing the presence of women among the academic staff, prioritize the hiring of women deemed qualified for each job opening, based on impartial evaluation.
     
  • Tohoku University has published 'Tohoku University ‐ Live as Who You Are ‐ Guidelines for Gender and Sexual Diversity' to provide explanations and details of how those at the university should respond concerning diverse sexuality. The guidelines aim to create an environment in which all students, faculty, and staff respect diverse sexuality in their academic, research, and professional activities. Please see the Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Tohoku University website:
    https://dei.tohoku.ac.jp/vision/consulting/for_minority/
     
  • Tohoku University has the most extensive on-campus childcare system of all Japanese national universities. This network comprises three nurseries: Kawauchi Keyaki Nursery School (capacity: 22) as well as Aobayama Midori Nursery School (116), both open to all university employees and Hoshinoko Nursery School (120), which is open to employees working on Tohoku University Hospital. In addition, Tohoku University Hospital runs a childcare room for mildly ill and convalescent children which is available to all university employees.
     
  • See the following website for information on these and other programs that Tohoku University runs to assist work-life balance, support researchers, and advance gender equality, including measures to promote childcare leave among male employees.
     
  • Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Tohoku University website:
    https://dei.tohoku.ac.jp/vision/consulting/for_family/
    Human Resources and Planning Department website:
    https://c.bureau.tohoku.ac.jp/jinji-top/external/a-4-kosodate/
Other
  • An information session for this recruitment will be held on June 17 (Monday), 2024, between 15:00 and 16:00. If one wishes to attend the session, please complete the registration on the webpage below.
    Registration for information session:
    https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcldumrqjIuGNPnJnOHeqJ1fZu437ZWgLSJ
     
  • After the first screening, as a general rule of the FRIS recruitment process, successful candidates will be asked for an online interview on September 30 (Monday), October 1 (Tuesday) or October 2 (Wednesday), 2024. They will be provided with detailed information in early September 2024.
     
  • FRIS is developing FRIS CoRE (Cooperative Research Environment), a new form of “start-up support” proposed by young researchers at FRIS, that aims to promote interdisciplinary fusion and explore the frontiers of knowledge. It provides under-one-roof access to basic research facilities in different fields –a research environment for daily experiments and discussions. The current experimental facilities are used for life science, chemistry, and engineering, but in the future, FRIS CoRE will expand its collaborative environment for researchers in the humanities and social sciences. FRIS CoRE will also provide facilities in fields other than the mentor's expertise. Please visit the following website to learn the status of FRIS CoRE.
    # FRIS CoRE: https://www.fris.tohoku.ac.jp/fris_core/en/
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