Postdoctoral position in Natural Hazards with a focus on Landslide Prediction

Postdoctoral position in Natural Hazards with a focus on Landslide Prediction

Are you interested in working with predicting landslides, with the support of competent and friendly colleagues in an international environment? Are you looking for an employer that invests in sustainable employeeship and offers safe, favourable working conditions? We welcome you to apply for a postdoctoral position at Uppsala University.

The Department of Earth Sciences at Uppsala University is Sweden´s largest and most versatile department of its kind. The department have approximately 280 employees. Our activities are interdisciplinary and combine natural science and technology with social science. We have research programs in air, water and landscape science; geophysics; natural resources and sustainable development; petrology, mineralogy and tectonics; paleobiology, and wind energy. By investigating the history of Earth, we understand how our planet has developed over time and how sustainable development benefits from this knowledge. For more information: The Department of Earth Sciences

The successful candidate will join the research program Air, Water and Landscape Sciences (LUVAL) and the research group in Geohydrology 

Duties
We are offering an exciting postdoctoral position focused on the analysis, diagnosis, and prediction of landslides using cutting-edge theoretical and statistical frameworks. The successful candidate will work at the frontier of geohazard research, leveraging advanced methods such as the dragon-king theory, the endo-exo framework, log-periodic power law singularity (LPPLS) theory, tipping point dynamics, and other methods developed by Qinghua Lei and Didier Sornette and others. A unique aspect of this position is the opportunity to collaborate with the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), a key partner in the project, and to work with their extensive and high-quality database of ongoing monitored landslides across Norway. This rare access provides an exceptional empirical foundation to test and refine theoretical models. The position offers the freedom to explore new directions, develop original approaches, and contribute to shaping the future of natural hazard forecasting in close collaboration with Qinghua Lei and Didier Sornette and researchers at the NVE. The project is for two years. The duties for this position mainly consist of:

• performing cutting-edge research in the above mentioned area,
• delivering interim results and preparing progress reports,
• presenting results in leading international conferences and journals, and
• interacting with researchers at NVE.

Requirements
PhD degree in geoscience, physics, mathematics, or engineering or a foreign degree equivalent to a PhD degree in the above mentioned fields. The degree needs to be obtained by the time of the decision of employment. Priority will be given to applicants who have completed their degree no more than three years before the deadline for applications. Due to special circumstances, the degree may have been obtained earlier. The three-year period can be extended due to circumstances such as sick leave, parental leave, duties in labour unions, etc.

Additional qualifications
The successful candidate should have a solid base in mathematics and physics as well as experience in scientific programming and data analysis. We seek a highly motivated researcher with a strong background in quantitative modeling and a keen interest in interdisciplinary approaches to natural hazard prediction. We also strongly encourage the postdoctoral candidate to bring their own ideas, methods, and perspectives to the project—creativity, enthusiasm, and research acumen will be highly valued.

The application
The application should include a cover letter of max 2 pages, shortly describing your personal motivation for applying for this postdoctoral position and how you see your role in contributing to the project, as well as your relevant skills, qualifications and research interests. The application should also include a CV (with a full publication list), PhD degree certificate, PhD thesis, and other relevant documents, as well as the contact details of 2-3 referees.

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position of 2 years according to central collective agreement. Full time position. Starting date 2025-09-01 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala

For further information about the position, please contact: Qinghua Lei (qinghua.lei@geo.uu.se)

Please submit your application by 16 May 2025, UFV-PA 2025/1292.

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