Postdoctoral Associate

Details • Blacksburg, VA

6d

About The Position

The Geosciences Department at Virginia Tech invites applications for a postdoctoral scholar in hydrogeodesy working under the advisement of Dr. Manoochehr Shirzaei (Geosciences). The candidate will join an interdisciplinary team of faculty and students researching the deformation of the Earth's surface in response to natural and anthropogenic processes, such as tectonics, sediment and aquifer compaction, fracking, CO2 sequestration, and wastewater injection. A significant task (~80% of the time) of the candidate is developing and applying sophisticated multitemporal SAR interferometric methods in combination with the GNSS observations to measure 3D surface deformation time series and use these datasets to constrain various physical models of crustal deformation, with implication for future seismicity, sea-level rise, and groundwater availability. To this end, various geodetic, geologic, and hydrologic datasets (e.g., InSAR, GNSS, groundwater well levels), modeling approaches (e.g., elastic, viscoelastic, poromechanical), and inference techniques (e.g., Bayesian, Kalman, least squares) will be employed. This effort is expected to result in several publications in peer-reviewed journals. The successful candidate will also have the opportunity to mentor (20% of the time) students and collaborate on grant proposals. This postdoctoral scholar position is anticipated to begin immediately for the duration of one year with the possibility of one additional year extension. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications, and funding is available to support conference travel.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in geodesy, geophysics, geosciences, engineering, applied mathematics, or other related disciplines.
• PhD must be awarded no more than four years prior to the effective date of appointment with a minimum of one year eligibility remaining.
• Record of research and peer-reviewed journal publication.
• Strong knowledge of math, physics and computer programing.
• Strong communication skills.

Nice To Haves

• Expertise in geophysical modeling and/or signal processing
• Experience mentoring students
• Experience working in interdisciplinary teams

Responsibilities

• Developing and applying sophisticated multitemporal SAR interferometric methods in combination with the GNSS observations to measure 3D surface deformation time series
• Using datasets to constrain various physical models of crustal deformation, with implication for future seismicity, sea-level rise, and groundwater availability
• Employing various geodetic, geologic, and hydrologic datasets (e.g., InSAR, GNSS, groundwater well levels), modeling approaches (e.g., elastic, viscoelastic, poromechanical), and inference techniques (e.g., Bayesian, Kalman, least squares)
• Mentor students
• Collaborate on grant proposals

Benefits

• Salary will be commensurate with qualifications, and funding is available to support conference travel.

What This Job Offers

• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees