Postdoctoral Researcher in Data-Driven Micromagnetic Modelling

The Department of Earth Sciences is looking for a highly motivated Postdoctoral candidate with a PhD background in Earth Sciences or another appropriate field. You will work on the project “Data-Driven Micromagnetic Modelling”.

This study contributes to SPARK, an ERC Consolidator project that aims to unlock magnetic information stored in nanoscale vortex-state particles in rocks and other geological materials. These particles are predicted to be exceptionally stable magnetic recorders, yet their internal magnetic structure and recording behaviour remain largely enigmatic. Your work will focus on developing computational tools to bridge the gap between high-resolution magnetic observations and micromagnetic simulations.

You will lead the computational and data-driven development of a novel extension to the micromagnetic modelling code MERRILL, enabling reconstruction of internal magnetic configurations in individual vortex-state particles directly from experimental data.

• Assessing the magnetic stability of vortex-state particles as a function of their size, shape, and mineralogy by developing data-driven micromagnetic computational simulations.
• Extending MERRILL with a data-driven workflow that incorporates constraints from Quantum Scanning Microscope and slice-and-view FIB-SEM measurements, enabling efficient convergence towards the most likely internal magnetic configuration of a particle.
• Contributing to the acquisition, processing, and interpretation of both high-resolution wide-field Quantum Diamond Microscope and Quantum Scanning Microscope data.
• Publishing both your scientific findings and the tools developed in a FAIR manner, contributing to open and reusable science and computational workflows.

You will work closely with two PhD candidates, who focus on the empirical characterization of vortex-state particles and the development of Nanomagnetic Tomography, and bring a geology-oriented background (e.g., from mineralogical or petrological courses or research projects during BSc and MSc studies). Together, you will combine complementary computational and experimental approaches to establish a robust, data-driven framework for identifying which vortex-state particles reliably record the Earth’s magnetic field. The development of the MERRILL extension will be done in collaboration with prof. Williams from Edinburgh University and prof. Fabian from NTNU Trondheim.

The project is embedded in the Paleomagnetic Laboratory Fort Hoofddijk, which hosts two Quantum Diamond Microscopes and a Quantum Scanning Microscope, enabling magnetic imaging at spatial resolutions from micrometres down to the nanometre scale. Advanced FIB-SEM facilities are available at Utrecht University’s Electron Microscopy Center. The project further benefits from excellent dedicated CPU and GPU computing infrastructure to support large-scale numerical modelling and data analysis.

This is a full-time, two-year postdoctoral position funded by an ERC Consolidator Grant SPARK awarded to Dr Lennart de Groot.