The Department of Geosciences at Virginia Tech invites applications for an open-rank faculty position in any area of geoscience that deepens our knowledge of critical, strategic, and economically important elements and mineral resources in the lithosphere. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, geochemistry and mineralogy, ore-forming processes, fluid-rock interactions, occurrences and concentrations of critical elements and minerals, and structural controls on mineralization. Potential applications include mineral exploration and targeting, resource characterization and assessment, critical-element recovery, unconventional and secondary resources and mine wastes, and environmentally responsible resource development.
We welcome applicants who seek discovery through creative combinations of laboratory, experimental, field, computational, and/or data-intensive approaches, and who pursue opportunities across geoscience, engineering, materials science, environmental science, and related fields. Candidates may employ methods ranging from mineralogical and geochemical characterization to experimental petrology, numerical modeling, geospatial analysis, automated mineralogy, machine learning, or other emerging approaches.
The Virginia Tech Department of Geosciences has long-established excellence in mineralogy, geochemistry, fluids, and petrology, including multiple National Academy of Sciences members, recipients of major international medals, and numerous AGU and GSA Fellows. With substantial university investments in critical mineral science, engineering, and workforce development, together with close collaboration between Geosciences and the Department of Mining & Minerals Engineering, the successful candidate will join Virginia Tech during a period of significant growth in the critical mineral and subsurface sciences. We seek an outstanding and ambitious scientist who will help shape this growing initiative, develop an innovative, externally funded research program that spans fundamental and/or applied research, and who will contribute creatively to excellence in undergraduate and graduate education. The successful candidate may be appointed at the assistant, associate, or full professor level, commensurate with experience and qualifications.
Virginia Tech is a comprehensive land-grant university located in Blacksburg, Virginia, a location which offers an exceptional quality of life, a welcoming community, and access to the natural beauty of the Appalachian Mountains. Virginia Tech is united around the motto, Ut Prosim (“That I May Serve”), with a strong commitment to making real-world impact and a collaborative and inclusive academic culture. The university community is dedicated to the transdisciplinary pursuit of discovery and experiential education that prepares tomorrow’s leaders and difference-makers. The Department of Geosciences has nearly forty faculty, many of whom are globally recognized leaders in their field, and shares a positive and friendly culture in which everyone matters and is welcome.