Research Associate

Lancaster Environment Centre (LEC) is seeking to appoint a post-doctoral Research Associate with a Geological Sciences background, and experience in thermochronology, for a fixed term 12 month contract from February 2026, with the potential possibility of a short extension, dependent on funding.

The project will utilise medium and low temperature detrital thermochronological data from Himalayan sediments to constrain the tectonic evolution of the Eastern Himalayan syntaxis. The data will focus on recently acquired (unpublished) ages from detrital rutiles double-dated with U-Pb and He techniques.  The PDRA will work under the guidance of the Principal Investigator of the project (Prof Yani Najman) and collaborator Prof Peter Van der Beek (Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Potsdam, Germany) to carry out the research, including data reduction, modelling, interpretation and leading the publication of the research in an international peer-reviewed journal.  The work will include modelling of the data using PECUBE, ideally undertaken during a two month visit to Peter Van der Beek in Germany, who will lead the modelling element of the project. Prior experience with PECUBE or thermal modelling is therefore highly desirable. The data are already collected, thus allowing sufficient time for modelling, interpretation and write up to publication, within the year’s funding duration.  

The project is funded by an NSF-NERC grant, with NERC as the funder of this position, and funds already in place at Lancaster.

The post is full-time based in Lancaster, UK, with a two month academic visit to Potsdam. 

Lancaster University welcomes applications from all sections of the community and is committed to promoting diversity, and equality of opportunity.

Informal enquiries are encouraged and should be made to Yani Najman or Peter van der Beek by email: y.najman@lancaster.ac.uk , vanderbeek@uni-potsdam.de.