Located in downtown Toronto, the largest and most culturally diverse city in Canada, is situated on the territory of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Mississaugas of the Credit and the Wendat Peoples. The Department of Architectural Science (DAS) in the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) invites applications for a NSERC Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Building Science.
Building science bridges architecture and engineering, seeking to apply building physics to architectural design and assess the interaction among building components, its users, and the environment. In 2008, TMU’s Building Science graduate program (PhD, MASc, MBSc) was the first of its kind, and continues to be a leader amongst such programs across Canada. Graduates benefit from our downtown campus location and proximity to Canada’s leading building science consulting firms.
The Canada Research Chairs Program is a federally funded program that seeks to achieve excellence by attracting and retaining the most accomplished and promising researchers. The Tier 2 CRC is intended for exceptional emerging scholars, i.e., candidates must have been active researchers in their field for fewer than 10 years at the time of nomination. Further details on the CRC eligibility criteria can be found on the Canada Research Chairs website.
In collaboration with TMU, the successful candidate will develop the CRC application. If the successful candidate is external to TMU, they will be appointed to a tenure track position at the rank of Assistant Professor, effective July 1, 2025, and submit a NSERC CRC Tier 2 Nomination application for the October 2025 deadline. If awarded, they will commence their initial five-year term once the results are known and in accordance with the CRC Notice of Award. If the successful candidate is internal to TMU, they will commence their CRC initial term once the results of the October 2025 competition are known and in accordance with the CRC Notice of Award. The NSERC CRC Tier 2 appointment is tenable for five years and renewable once. The appointment is subject to final budgetary approval. All nominations are subject to review and final approval by the CRC Secretariat.
The successful candidate will engage in a combination of research, teaching and service duties, and maintain an inclusive, equitable, and collegial work environment across all activities. The incumbent will be expected to develop and maintain a strong, independent, externally funded research program that will be internationally recognized in five to ten years, to mentor and support diverse trainees, students, future researchers and colleagues in forms such as organizing workshops, co-authoring papers, obtaining patents, and contributing to public policy and professional practice. The incumbent will be expected to teach undergraduate and graduate courses.
Candidates must have a Ph.D. in building science, engineering, architecture, or a related discipline, with expertise in accordance with the Department’s requirements in one or more of the following areas:
Candidates holding or eligible for professional registration are preferred.
Nominees for Tier 2 Chair positions should, at a minimum, be Assistant Professors, or possess the necessary qualifications to be appointed to this rank. Candidates must also:
TMU recognizes that scholars have varying career paths and that career interruptions can be part of an excellent academic record. Candidates are encouraged to provide any relevant information about their experience and/or career interruptions to allow for a fair assessment of their application. Search committee members have been instructed to give careful consideration to diverse experiences and knowledge, and to be sensitive to the impact of career interruptions in their assessments.
Applicants who are more than 10 years from having earned their highest degree (and where career breaks exist, such as pregnancy, parental or extended medical leave, clinical training, etc.) may have their eligibility for a Tier 2 Chair assessed through the program’s Tier 2 justification process.
All eligible leaves (e.g., pregnancy, parental, medical, bereavement) are credited at twice the amount of time taken; part-time leaves will be taken into consideration, calculated according to the percentage of leave taken, and credited at twice the amount of time taken; professional leaves (e.g., sabbatical) are not credited, but certain training or administrative leaves may be considered. Other leaves that have had an impact on the nominee’s research career may be taken into account (e.g., mandatory military service, non-research-related positions, unemployment and training unrelated to the research career). This information must be supported by the information contained in the nominee’s CV. Research interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., closures) are recognized and may be counted as an eligible delay (credited at twice the amount of time) beginning March 1, 2020.
To inquire about CRC eligibility, please contact Dayle Levine, Director, Institutional Programs, Office of Vice-President, Research and Innovation by sending an email to dayle levine@torontomu.ca with "Tier 2 Justification" in the subject line.
This position falls under the jurisdiction of the Toronto Metropolitan Faculty Association (TFA) (www tfanet.ca). Visit us at www torontomu.ca/faculty-affairs to view the TFA collective agreement and a summary of TFA benefits.
Serving a highly diverse student population of over 45,000, with 100+ undergraduate and graduate programs built on the integration of theoretical and practical learning and distinguished by a professionally focused curriculum with a strong emphasis on excellence in teaching, research and creative activities, TMU is a vibrant, urban university known for its culture of innovation, entrepreneurship, community engagement and city-building through its award-winning architecture.
TMU’s Department of Architectural Science (DAS) offers undergraduate and graduate programs to over 500 students of diverse backgrounds. Our faculty prides itself on the excellence of its research, labs, the quality of its teaching, and the impact of its community engagement. We are interested in candidates who will enhance our existing strengths in teaching, research and creativity activities with diverse experiences and perspectives. Our Department is unique in North America with an interdisciplinary model that integrates Architecture, Building Science and Project Management. Our multidisciplinary faculty and students are dedicated to holistically sustainable approaches to the design and development of the built environment. We collaborate across disciplines, merge theory with emergent design technologies, and are committed to building a better future to help people and the planet thrive.
At the intersection of mind and action, TMU is on a transformative path to become Canada’s leading comprehensive innovation university. At TMU and within our department/school, we firmly believe that equity, diversity and inclusion are integral to this path; our current Academic Plan and Strategic Research Plan outline each as core values and we work to embed them in all that we do.
Dedicated to a people first culture, TMU is proud to rank number one on the Forbes list of Canada’s Best Employers for Diversity.
We invite you to explore the range of benefits and supports available to faculty, including access to our diverse faculty and staff networks.
Visit us at @torontomet, @VPFAtorontomet and @TorontoMetHR, and our LinkedIn page.
TMU is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. To find out more about legal and policy obligations please visit the Accessibility and Human Rights websites.
TMU welcomes those who have demonstrated a commitment to upholding the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion and will assist us to expand our capacity for diversity in the broadest sense. In addition, to correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment in Canada, we encourage applications from members of groups that have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, Indigenous peoples of North America, Black-identified persons, other racialized persons, persons with disabilities, and those who identify as women and/or 2SLGBTQ+ people.
Applicants must submit their application online via the Faculty Recruitment Portal by clicking on “Start Application Process” to begin. Consideration of applications will commence January 20, 2025 at 12:00pm EST. The application portal will remain open until a short list is formed and no later than February 20, 2025, at 12:00 EST. The application must contain the following organized in a single PDF (30 MB limit):
Please note that all qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, applications from Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority, in accordance with Canadian immigration regulations.
As part of its efforts to amend the conditions of disadvantage in Canada for under-represented groups, and the under-representation of equity-deserving groups in faculty and academic staff positions, TMU invites all applicants to voluntarily complete an online Diversity Self-ID questionnaire at the time of submitting their application in the recruitment portal.
The information collected will be treated as confidential but will not be anonymous. Applicant Diversity Data containing personal information is accessible by TMU staff in the Office of the Vice Provost, Faculty Affairs (OVPFA), individuals serving on the Department Hiring Committee, and others involved in recruitment, hiring, retention, training, and evaluative processes.
This information is collected under the authority of Toronto Metropolitan University Act and is needed to establish equity, diversity and inclusion goals and plans, take action to achieve those goals, report on progress, and for other related purposes. All personal information that is collected is used, stored, and destroyed in accordance with TMU’s Notice of Collection and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
If you have questions about the collection, use and disclosure of this information by TMU, please contact Zenab Pathan, Director, Faculty Recruitment and Development, VPFA, at zenab.pathan@torontomu.ca.
Any confidential inquiries about the opportunity can be directed to the Department Hiring Committee at archsci.hiring@torontomu.ca.
For more information about TMU’s CRC nomination process, please contact Julia Pyryeskina, Research Proposal Facilitator (CRC Portfolio), at (julia.pyryeskina@torontomu.ca) or Dayle Levine, Director, Institutional Programs, ( dayle.levine@torontomu.ca) in the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation.
Candidates who belong to one or more of the equity-deserving groups recognized at TMU (women, racialized people, First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) Peoples, Black people, persons with disabilities and 2SLGBTQ+ people) are welcome to connect with Debbie Thompson (debbie.thompson@torontomu.ca) Executive Director, Office of the Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion.
Indigenous candidates who would like to learn more about working at Toronto Metropolitan University are welcome to contact James McKay, Indigenous Human Resources Lead at indigenous@torontomu.ca.
For any confidential accommodation needs in order to participate in the recruitment and selection process and/or inquiries regarding accessing the Faculty Recruitment Portal, please contact vpfa@torontomu.ca.