Postdoctoral Research Associate - Acoustic emission monitoring in analog models

Position Title

Appointment Type: Post Doc/Trainee

Summary of Duties and Responsibilities

The Department of Earth, Atmosphere, and Climate within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to focus on acoustic emission monitoring of multiphase deformation experiments. The successful candidate will develop an acoustic monitoring system for an existing ring shear apparatus to monitor the failure of brittle clasts embedded in a fluid during deformation.

These experiments will quantify brittle failure in space and time within a semi-brittle material and connect local deformation mechanisms to large-scale bulk deformation. The results have the potential to inform future treatment of semi-brittle materials in numerical models and other large-scale simulation applications.

• The successful candidate must be able to work independently while also collaborating effectively across disciplines and institutions.
• This project is a collaboration between Iowa State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
• Strong oral and written communication skills are required.

This is a full-time research position with an initial one-year appointment and the possibility of renewal for a second year.

Required Minimum Qualifications

• PhD in geosciences, physics, engineering, or related fields.
• Experience with acoustic emission/ultrasonic/seismic monitoring and data processing.
• Experience with development of experimental setups.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with analog modelling.
• Experience in geophysics or structural geology.

Department/Program & College Description

The Department of the Earth, Atmosphere, and Climate is staffed by 17 faculty and has strengths in climate and paleoclimate, microscale and mesoscale meteorology, hydrology, solid-earth processes, geochemistry, and geoscience education. Undergraduate programs in climate science, earth science, geology, and meteorology serve approximately 200 undergraduate majors.

About 30 M.S. and Ph.D. students are enrolled in the geology and earth science and meteorology graduate programs. Generous support for the Department is provided by an active group of alumni and friends. The Geology Program runs a multi-use field station in northwest Wyoming with a 60-year tradition of providing immersive education for students from across the country.

Departmental research facilities include state-of-the-art laboratories in stable isotope geochemistry, analogue tectonic modeling, and biogeochemistry. University research facilities include a Linux computing cluster with over 330 compute nodes and over 38,000 CPU cores, over 200 GPUs, 200 TB of memory, 2PB of high-speed data storage, and high-speed networking.

The Meteorology program is co-located with the Iowa Environmental Mesonet and its administrator, giving faculty and students direct access to this well-known archive of weather and climate data.

Application Instructions

To apply for this position, please click on "Apply" and complete the Employment Application. Please be prepared to enter or attach the following:

• Resume/Curriculum Vitae
• Letter of Application/Cover Letter
• One peer-reviewed publication authored by the candidate.

Why Choose Iowa State University?

Iowa State Employees enjoy comprehensive health and work-life benefits, including medical and dental, as well as:

• Retirement benefits including defined benefit and defined contribution plans
• Generous vacation, holiday, and sick time and leave plans
• Onsite childcare (Ames, Iowa)
• Life insurance and long-term disability
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Various voluntary benefits and discounts
• Employee Assistance Program
• Wellbeing program
• Iowa State offers WorkFlex options for some positions. WorkFlex offers flexibility on when, where, and how you do your work. For more information, please speak with the Hiring Manager.

If you have questions regarding this application process, please email, or call or Toll Free:.

• Proposed Start Date: February 1, 2027
• Number of Months Employed Per Year: 12 Month Work Period
• Time Type: Full time

Pay Grade

• Post Docs
• Original Posting Date: November 4, 2026
• Posting Close Date: November 25, 2026
• Job Requisition Number: R20182

General ISU compensation information can be found on the University Human Resources website. Please note that this is only a list of ranges and individuals will be paid commensurate with qualifications.