Postdoctoral Scholar - Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Syracuse University invites applications for a Postdoctoral Scholar position in quantitative structural geology and deformation processes. The successful candidate will join a growing research program focused on deformation, fluid pathways, and landscape evolution in the upper crust, and will play a central role in establishing a new experimental deformation laboratory.

Research in the group investigates fault-system evolution, deformation partitioning, and structural controls on fluid flow and mineralization through the integration of analogue modeling, remote sensing, geospatial analysis, and computational methods. Research applications include critical mineral systems, geologic hazards, and Earth-surface processes.

The successful candidate will contribute to projects spanning laboratory experiments, digital image correlation, remote sensing, and quantitative analysis of natural deformation systems, while helping to shape the future direction of a growing research group.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in geoscience, geology, geophysics, geomorphology, engineering, remote sensing, Earth system science, or a closely related discipline by the anticipated start date
• Demonstrated experience in quantitative analysis of geospatial, experimental, image-based, or Earth science datasets.
• Strong quantitative, programming, and data analysis skills.
• Experience developing reproducible computational workflows.
• Evidence of scientific communication through publications, presentations, reports, software, datasets, or related scholarly products.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in an interdisciplinary research environment.

Job Specific Qualifications

Preferred qualifications include experience or interest in one or more of the following:

• Structural geology, tectonics, geomechanics, geomorphology, Earth-surface processes, or related Earth science disciplines.
• Experimental geoscience, laboratory-based research, analogue modeling, rock mechanics, or instrumentation.
• Image processing, computer vision, digital image correlation, photogrammetry, or quantitative analysis of large image-based datasets.
• Remote sensing, geospatial analysis, deformation monitoring, Earth observation, or related spatial datasets.
• Fault systems, distributed deformation, landscape evolution, fluid pathways, mineralization, or related crustal processes.
• Scientific programming in Python, R, MATLAB, or similar languages.
• Experience integrating diverse datasets, including field observations, laboratory measurements, remote-sensing products, geospatial data, or numerical model outputs.
• Experience developing quantitative, transferable, and process-based approaches to Earth science problems.
• Development of reproducible computational workflows using version control, notebooks, open-science tools, or high-performance computing resources.
• Experience mentoring students or collaborating within interdisciplinary research teams.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities include:

• Conducting independent and collaborative research in structural geology, tectonics, and geomechanics.
• Designing, conducting, and analyzing analogue modeling experiments.
• Developing workflows for processing and analyzing large image-based, experimental, and geospatial datasets.
• Writing and modifying scientific software, primarily in Python, for data processing, visualization, and quantitative analysis.
• Assisting with laboratory development, instrumentation, and experimental workflows.
• Publishing research results in peer-reviewed journals and presenting findings at scientific conferences.
• Assisting with mentoring undergraduate and graduate students.

Physical Requirements

N/A

Tools/Equipment

N/A

Application Instructions

In addition to completing an online application, please attach:

• Curriculum vitae
• Cover letter describing research interests, relevant experience, and fit for the position
• Contact information for 3 professional references
• One representative publication, writing sample, software repository, or data-analysis product