Postdoctoral position in experimental fault mechanics and earthquake physics

Organisation/Company CNRS Department Laboratoire de géologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure Research Field Geosciences Astronomy Environmental science Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Application Deadline 1 Oct 2026 - 23:59 (UTC) Country France Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 1 Mar 2027 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

The postdoctoral researcher will contribute to the ERC Starting Grant project MEMENTO - Monitoring Earthquake Mechanics under Evolving Natural TectOnic stress, which investigates the role of fault orientation and stress-field evolution throughout the seismic cycle.
The work will primarily focus on triaxial deformation experiments on rock samples containing pre-cut faults subjected to different stress-field evolutions. The experiments will combine mechanical measurements, strain gauges, acoustic emissions, and ultrasonic measurements to characterize deformation, damage, and microseismicity throughout the seismic cycle.
The postdoctoral researcher will also contribute to the installation, instrumentation, and calibration of DANTE, a new biaxial apparatus developed within the project. Depending on the commissioning schedule, the experimental programme may be extended to biaxial configurations capable of simulating earthquakes under different tectonic regimes.

Conduct triaxial deformation experiments on experimental faults:

• Design and optimize the experimental configuration best suited to the scientific objectives of the project;
• Prepare and instrument rock samples;
• Acquire and analyse mechanical, strain, and acoustic-emission data;
• Characterize earthquake nucleation, stick-slip behaviour, and distributed damage.

Contribute to the development, installation, and calibration of the DANTE biaxial apparatus, including the development of experimental protocols and data-acquisition systems.

Present the results at international conferences and publish them in international open-access scientific journals.

The postdoctoral researcher will be based at the Laboratoire de Géologie of the École Normale Supérieure (ENS-PSL) in Paris, a joint research unit bringing together CNRS researchers and ENS-PSL faculty members. The successful candidate will join the Deformations and Structures team, which specializes in the observation and modelling of tectonic processes, from the mineral scale to the lithosphere, and from the seismic cycle to the growth of large geological structures.
The postdoctoral researcher will be supervised by Carolina Giorgetti within the framework of the ERC Starting Grant MEMENTO project, which she leads. The successful candidate will interact with the researchers, engineers, and PhD students involved in the project and will contribute to the development of the laboratory's new experimental capabilities.

Experimental rock mechanics; fault mechanics and earthquake physics; experience with triaxial and/or biaxial deformation apparatuses; instrumentation and data acquisition; experimental data processing and analysis. Experience with acoustic emissions, piezoelectric sensors, ultrasonic measurements, and/or strain gauges would be considered an asset. Experience in the microstructural analysis of rocks and/or fault zones would be highly valued. Scientific programming skills in Python, MATLAB, Julia, or equivalent would also be considered an asset. Required background: PhD in Earth sciences, geophysics, rock mechanics, or a related field. Language: Fluent scientific English. French is optional.