CORNELL UNIVERSITY – DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY STUDIES
Postdoctoral Research Position in Cybersecurity Expertise
The Department of Science & Technology Studies, jointly with the Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, invite applications for a postdoctoral research position focused on cybersecurity expertise, broadly construed. Anticipated start date is in August 2020, for a one-year appointment with possibility of renewal contingent on performance and funding availability.
This position is funded by National Science Foundation grant 1553069, “Enacting Cybersecurity Expertise,” and is supervised by Principal Investigator Rebecca Slayton. The postdoctoral researcher will be expected to pursue research that contributes to achieving project goals, but will have considerable latitude in defining specific areas of empirical focus. Potential focal areas could include, but are not limited to, the following examples:
• How policymakers and regulators in electric or nuclear power sector attempt to acquire, maintain, or perform the expertise needed to design and enforce cybersecurity requirements;
• The history of efforts to professionalize critical infrastructure cybersecurity expertise, whether nationally or transnationally;
• The development and influence of transnational communities of experts, such as network operator or cybersecurity incident response networks;
• Ethnographic studies of how specific critical infrastructure organizations attempt to bridge the divide between operational technology and information security.
This list is only intended to be suggestive; many other possibilities exist.
Responsibilities will include developing and refining research questions, identifying appropriate research sites, establishing relationships with informants, conducting interviews and observational research, gathering documentary evidence, analyzing results, publishing research in peer-reviewed journals, and presenting findings at professional conferences. The postdoctoral researcher will be expected to demonstrate leadership and independence, while also working collaboratively with the principal investigator to achieve research objectives.
Required qualifications: Applicants should have earned a Ph.D. in a relevant field such as science & technology studies, anthropology, sociology, history, or information science, between August 2017 and August 2020. Competitive candidates will have successful record of empirical social scientific research in a topic relevant to critical infrastructure and/or information security, including publications and presentations and professional conferences.
Application process: The following application materials should be submitted to Academic Jobs Online at https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/14478
• A cover letter articulating what you find interesting about the project, potential research foci, and relevant qualifications;
• A curriculum vita;
• A brief (less than 10,000 words) writing sample;
• Names and contact information for three references.
Review of applications will begin on November 1, 2019, and will continue until the position is filled.