Dear all,

One Post-Doctoral position in experimental rock mechanics is available 
at INGV (Rome).

Regards,
Cristiano

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This position is within the ERC Starting Grant Project GLASS: InteGrated 
Laboratories to investigate the mechanics of  ASeismic vs. Seismic 
faulting. GLASS is funded by the European Research Council through a 
Starting Grant to Dr. Cristiano Collettini (see details below).

_Profile:_

We are looking for a motivated and enthusiastic candidate to fill a 2 
years Post-Doc position, with possible extension to 5 years. The 
Post-Doc position will help in developing a biaxial deformation 
apparatus in a pressure vessel. In particular the Post-Doc will be 
involved in the machine-project development, in the build-up of the 
apparatus and related facilities, in the development of the data 
acquisition system and in the conduction of the first experiments. 
Salary and benefits for the applicant will be negotiated based to the 
experience.

_Research environment:_

The Post-Doc position will be involved in the challenge of building-up a 
world-class rock deformation apparatus and She/He will have attractive 
funding for supporting her/his research. The total budget for GLASS is 
1.514.400 EUR. Successful candidate will work in collaboration with 
engineers, physics, seismologists and geologists at the High-Pressure 
and High-Temperature laboratory of the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e 
Vulcanologia in Rome (some details @ 
http://roma1.rm.ingv.it/laboratories/hp-ht-lab).

_Starting date: November 2010- January 2011. _

Applications should include a CV with academic and professional 
achievements and skills (max 4 pages), a statement of research interests 
and the name and email address of two references. Later applications 
will be considered if the position is not filled.

For more info about the project see 
(http://www.unipg.it/~colle/GlassperWeb.pdf) or send an e-mail to 
Cristiano Collettini: [log in to unmask]

ERC Starting Grant : InteGrated Laboratories to investigate the 
mechanics of ASeismic vs. Seismic faulting, GLASS
Principal Investigator: Dr. Cristiano Collettini
Host institution: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia  (INGV)
Second Beneficiary: University of Perugia
Proposal duration in months 60, starting date 1st October 2010

Earthquakes are potentially catastrophic phenomena that have a huge 
impact on the environment and society. Understanding the physical 
processes responsible for earthquakes and faulting requires high quality 
data and direct observations of the underlying phenomena. However, no 
direct measurements can be made at depth where earthquakes initiate and 
propagate. Our knowledge of the mechanical properties of fault zones 
relies on Earth surface observations and experiments conducted in rock 
deformation laboratories. Despite recent progress, we have much to learn 
about the mechanics of earthquakes and the complex and inherently 
scale-dependent processes that govern earthquake faulting. Numerous 
fundamental questions  concerning the mechanical behaviour of faults 
remain unanswered: What are the rheological properties of fault zone 
materials that govern seismic or aseismic slip behaviour? How do the 
frictional and rheological properties of fault zones vary in space and 
time? How do aseismic and seismic slip interact in time and space?
Here, we propose a novel approach that will employ integrated studies of 
geological, seismological and laboratory data to open new horizons about 
our understanding of seismic and aseismic faulting. Central Italy is a 
unique test site that can serve as a natural laboratory for the 
integration of high resolution data gathered from different disciplines. 
I propose to develop my innovative and multidisciplinary research to 
unravel the physico-chemico processes responsible for faulting phenomena 
ranging from aseismic creep to seismic slip. GLASS will aim to:
(i) locate and analyze different types of transient seismic signals from 
the actively deforming crust, such as fast/slow and high/low frequency 
earthquakes and non volcanic tremors;
(ii) study deformation processes in outcrops of ancient faults that 
represent exhumed analogues of the active structures today;
(iii) characterize the fluid flow and frictional properties of faults in 
rock deformation experiments;
(iv) investigate earthquake nucleation and recurrence by developing 
numerical models that will be constrained by field and experimental data 
and calibrated by seismological records.

The proposed research will allow to create unprecedented insight into 
the mechanics of earthquakes and to investigate deformation processes 
from the crustal to the nano-scale and from a time window ranging from 
the seismic cycle to entire geologic fault history.

-- 

Cristiano Collettini
Geologia Strutturale Geofisica
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra 
Università degli Studi di Perugia
Tel: CHANGED NUMBER ++39 (0)75 5867178
Web: http://www.unipg.it/~colle/