Job Description

The Department of Geology of the University of the Free State (UFS) is offering one (1) postdoctoral research fellow (PDRF) position, to be filled as soon as possible. The task of this PDRF position, for a period of one (1) year, is detailed below.

PDRF: Sustainable Exploration for Orthomagmatic (Critical) Raw Materials in the EU: Charting the Road to the Green Energy Transition.

This PDRF position will be involved with the EU-funded SECMACRET (Sustainable Exploration for Orthmagmatic (Critical) Raw Materials in the EU: Charting the Road to the Green Energy Transition) project, the overarching goal of which is to provide a clearer understanding of the EU's mineral potential, and to develop sustainable exploration techniques for green transition (critical) raw materials hosted in orthomagmatic industry. In this project, the PDRF will be involved in:

• xe2x80x9cMachine Learning for 3D Modeling of Mineral Prospectivityxe2x80x9d. There are three case studies for this task, namely: (1) Ransko deposit, Czech Republic; (2) Suwalki deposit, Poland; and (3) Akanvaara deposit, Finland the datasets to be used in this task will be provided by the Czech Geological Survey (CGS), Poland Geological Survey, and Geological Survey of Finland, respectively.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Conduct innovative research in the above-described tasks.
• Author/co-author at least two (2) publication output per year in DHET-accredited scholarly journal articles.

Competencies

Eligibility requirements:

• Open to all South African and foreign nationals.
• Graduated with a PhD degree in a relevant discipline within the last five years.
• Expertise in 3D modelling of mineral prospectivity in GIS.
• Proficient in programming in R and Python.
• Not hold full-time salaried employment during the fellowship.
• Be able to relocate to and reside at the UFS for the duration of the fellowship.
• Have a valid passport, as there will be at least one trip per year to an EU partner country during the project.

Value of the fellowship:

• R255 000 annual Fellowship.
• R30 000 additional research expenses fund.

Application:
To apply, please email the following documentation by Saturday, 30 September 2023 to Prof. John Carranza (carranzaejm@ufs.ac.za)

• Motivation letter, including a 1-2-page outline of relevant expertise and experience.
• Full CV (including a list of research publications, conference papers and other scholarly output, and contact details of two academic referees who have taught/supervised the applicant during his/her PhD study).
• Copy of transcripts of academic record.
• Copy of doctoral degree certificate.
• Copy of ID document (or copy of passport in case of foreign applicants).

Closing date:
30 September 2023

Commencement of fellowship:
As soon as possible

For enquiries, please contact:
Prof. John Carranza carranzaejm@ufs.ac.za

General:
The UFS is a designated employer and is committed to the pursuit of excellence, diversity, and redress in achieving its equity targets in accordance with the Employment Equity Plan of the University and its Employment Equity goals and targets. Preference will be given to candidates from the under-represented designated groups including candidates with disabilities.

Our Employment Equity Policy is available at :

The University processes personal information in line with its obligations under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and any personal information provided to the University will be treated as confidential and processed in accordance with the rights provided to data subjects under POPIA.

The University reserves the right not to fill the post. The UFS will only consider applications of candidates who meet all the inherent requirements of the position. Applications that are incomplete will not be considered. Communication will be limited to shortlisted candidates only. Should you not be contacted within six weeks of the closing date for applications, you may assume that your application was unsuccessful.

Additional Information

University of the Free State