FT Physics Lecturer, Columbia University

 https://apply.interfolio.com/180104

Description

The Columbia University Department of Physics invites applications for a faculty position at the rank of Lecturer in Discipline, to begin July 1, 2026. This is a full-time, non-tenure track, renewable position, with multi-year reappointments contingent upon successful performance reviews.

The appointment requires teaching physics at the introductory and advanced undergraduate levels, in either lecture or laboratory courses. The appointment includes oversight of the development and modernization of instructional demonstration materials in support of the department’s curriculum.

There will also be opportunities to contribute to the culture and evolution of the undergraduate program in physics.

Application materials received by February 24, 2026 will receive full consideration. Application screening will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

   

Qualifications

Candidates should have a Physics PhD at the time of the appointment, strong background in both teaching and technical / laboratory work, with experience leading both lecture and laboratory courses. This is a full-time, non-tenure track, renewable position, with multi-year reappointments contingent upon successful performance reviews.

 

Application Instructions

All applications must be made through Columbia University’s Academic Search and Recruiting (ASR) system. Please upload the following required materials: cover letter, Curriculum Vitae, statement of teaching philosophy to include a statement of goals for an undergraduate program in physics, and three letters of recommendation.

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

PER Postdoc, MIT

 

Research Associate MIT: Physics Education Research 

RELATE.MIT.edu group, Prof. Dave Pritchard

The REsearch on Learning Assessing and Tutoring Effectively group is studying and improving assessment and learning in novel and impactful ways. Using psychometrics and machine learning we’ve analyzed 180k administrations of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) to discover student misconceptions and then find the degree to which each student or class harbors each misconception.  Our misconceptions are weighted clusters of wrong answers exhibiting an identifiable misconception that are preferentially selected by the subset students who hold this misconception. 

The postdoc will help set the research agenda for our powerful new analysis tools, carry out the research with the group, and write papers.   Research directions include characterizing the nature of misconceptions, studying the effects of various pedagogies on their remediation, and placing them in a cognitive context. An important short-time goal is a web site to analyze administrations of the FCI to inform students and teachers on how deeply they hold each of the ~ 25 misconceptions that we have discovered and (given pre- and post-tests) as well as the extent to which their instruction has reduced these levels.  We also plan to probe the universality of  misconceptions on the FCI by similarly analyzing the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation.  

RELATE has expertise in educational data mining, psychometrics including multi-dimensional item response theory, and experience in designing online experiments and learning environments (including MasteringPhysics.com).  

Our postdocs have collaborated in the physics department teaching and online education development group.  All former RELATE alumni have obtained jobs in academia (~ 7 at MIT) or education companies.

Additionally, the PI is restarting an informal month-long “Puzzles and Paradoxes of Physics” and the postdoc may serve as a co-teacher and co-keeper of the associated puzzles and paradoxes plus discussions.

 

Requisite Knowledge and Skills:

 

Thoughtful analysis skills for understanding data

Understand statistical packages and programming (Python helpful)

Writing impactful and clear research articles

Knowledge of education research literature and teaching experience

A Ph.D or Ed.D in physics involving data analysis, PER, AI, machine learning, statistics and data mining, or cognitive science is necessary.  Applicants must be comfortable working both alone and with others.  

 

Inquiries and applications (cover letter, CV, first author paper, and list of at least three references) should be sent to relateMIT@gmail.com (please include “postdoc application” in subject line). Salary $73k.  Review of applications will begin immediately; starting date Summer 2026. 

 

MIT is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer, and this job has the standard MIT benefits.

 

Prof. David E. Pritchard  dpritch@mit.edu

Room 26-241 Dept. of Physics, MIT

77 Massachusetts Ave. , Cambridge, MA 02139.

PER Postdoc, University of Innsbruck, Austria

 PhD Position in Physics Education Research (Climate Education Focus)

University of Innsbruck, Austria

 

The Physics Education Research Group at the University of Innsbruck (Austria) is inviting applications for a fully funded PhD position in Physics Education Research.

Our group works on central questions in physics education, with a particular focus on climate education. Current research topics include:

 

• Teaching and learning of core physical concepts underlying the climate system
• Designing instruction that fosters informed action perspectives in the context of climate change
• Teacher professional development
• The potential of Bayesian statistics in science education research

 

The position is embedded in ongoing research projects and offers:

• Structured and reliable supervision
• Active support for publishing in international journals
• Support for participation in international conferences
• Integration into a collaborative, internationally well-connected research team

Depending on interest and fit, the position can be extended with additional project hours up to full-time (40 hours/week).

We welcome applicants with a strong background in physics, science education, or a related field, and an interest in rigorous empirical research.

 

Full details and the official job announcement can be found here:
https://lfuonline.uibk.ac.at/public/karriereportal.details?asg_id_in=15621