Postdoctoral Fellow

Position: Postdoctoral Fellow I
Overview

The Department of Geosciences at Utah State University (USU) seeks a full-time postdoctoral researcher to join the NSF-supported project Bridging Geoscience and Engineering to Interrogate Seismic Cycle Processes in the Earthquake Critical Zone (FRES). This position will be supervised by Dr. Alexis Ault and will involve close collaboration with other project PIs and teams at USU (Srisharan Shreedharan, Brady Cox, Dennis Newell), Brown University (Greg Hirth), and California State University Fullerton (Sinan Akçiz), as well as collaborators based in Turkey and faculty in USU's broader Earthquake Science Group.

The successful candidate will bring innovative approaches to connect earthquake geology, geochemistry, and mechanics to investigate the earthquake critical zone - the upper ~1 km of faults where earthquake energy, fluids, rocks, humans, and infrastructure intersect to drive seismic hazard. Research will focus on the southern San Andreas fault and the Mw7.6 Elbistan earthquake surface rupture in Turkey, two systems at different points in the earthquake cycle.

The postdoc will integrate field-based and experimental observations to advance understanding of deformation in the shallow portion of active faults, shallow rupture dynamics, and interseismic deformation.

Review of applications will begin on December 19th, 2026, and the position will remain open until filled. For further information, contact the search committee chair, Dr. Alexis Ault (alexis.ault).

This position is part of a three-postdoc cluster hire within the Earthquake Science Group, which also includes positions led by Dr. Kelian Dascher-Cousineau () and Dr. Srisharan Shreedharan ().

Applicants may apply for more than one position if their research background is relevant. In such cases, please either:

Submit separate application documents for each position, or Clearly state in your research statement that you wish to be considered for multiple roles.

This is a 12-month, full-time position with benefits. Funding is available for two years, with renewal after year 1 contingent on satisfactory progress toward research goals.

Responsibilities

* Develop and carry out independent and collaborative research, making use of field, laboratory, and/or analytical approaches, to investigate to processes and interactions in the earthquake critical zone.

* Leverage USU's state-of-the-art research facilities including but not limited to the Rock Deformation and Earthquake Mechanics Laboratory, Mineral Microscopy and Spectroscopy Laboratory, and Microscopy Core Facility.

* Engage and collaborate with a team of Earth scientists and engineers at USU and partner institutions.

* Mentor and collaborate with graduate and undergraduate students engaged in the project at USU and partner institutions.

* Disseminate research through presentations at scientific meetings and publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

* PhD in Earth Sciences or related field at the time of appointment with experience in earthquake geology in the field or lab (e.g., microstructural analysis and characterization, rock deformation).

Preferred Qualifications

* Demonstrated expertise in earthquake geology/fault zone processes, structural geology, or experimental rock deformation of Earth materials.

* Strong publication record and demonstrated ability to work across disciplinary boundaries.

* Commitment to mentoring students and contributing to collaborative, team-based science.

Required Documents

Along with the online application, please attach:

Resume to be uploaded at the beginning of your application in the Candidate Profile under "Resume/CV" Two-page (max) statement of research background and interests to be uploaded at the beginning of your application in the Candidate Profile under "Documents 1-10" Two references with contact information to be uploaded at the beginning of your application in the Candidate Profile Please combine all materials into a single PDF and upload it as an attachment in your candidate profile.

The file should be named:

Document size may not exceed 10 MB.

Advertised Salary

Commensurate with experience, plus excellent benefits

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