Higher Degree by Research Application Portal

We are looking to recruit up to three PhD students through the recently awarded grant for the “Integrative geophysics Under cover: getting images of the Unknown Unknown” project, supported by the Australia Research Council, the University of Western Australia (UWA), the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA), and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).The goal of the project is to develop and extend new algorithms for integrating geophysical and geological data in undercover exploration scenarios at different scales, with applications to idealised and real-world data from Western Australia provided by GSWA. The methods to be investigated include geometrical (geophysical) inversion, trans-dimensional inversion, multi-physics integration, the integration of geophysical inversion with geological modelling, and model space sampling. These approaches aim to explore the space of plausible models and characterise the associated uncertainties.

In support to these goals, the PhD candidate we will hire through this application will work on 3D geophysical (geometrical) inversion for the integration of different geophysical datasets and geological data. In particular, gravity and magnetic data will be used in conjunction with, or constrained by, electromagnetic and/or seismic data, depending on data availability and the PhD candidate's preference. For the integration with geological data, the use of implicit geological modelling within the geophysical inversion will be considered to constrain the shapes of the recovered rock units and to ensure the models' geological consistency.

The PhD candidate will be contributing to the extension of already existing codes and will be proposing, implementing and testing new inversion workflows.

The PhD candidate will be participating in the work carried out by a team of researchers at UWA and will have the possibility to collaborate with various institutions nationally and internationally.

The project is supported by the Australia Research Council, the University of Western Australia (UWA), the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA), and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). It will cover project costs. 

Applicants will need to apply for a Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship to cover tuition fees at UWA and living expenses.

International scholarship round for commencement in 2025 

Open: 1 July 2024 (00:01 AWST) 

Close: 31 August 2024 (23:59 AWST) 

Ranking: 1 September - 10 October 2024 

Offers from: 11 October 2024 

Commencement: 3 February-31 March 2025 

Domestic scholarship round (incl UWA international students) for commencement in 2025 

Open: 1 September 2024 (00:01 AWST) 

Close: 31 October 2024 (23:59 AWST) 

Ranking: 1 November-5 December 2024 

Offers from: 6 December 2024 

Commencement: 3 February-31 March 2025

https://www.uwa.edu.au/study/fees-and-scholarships/hdr-scholarships

jeremie.giraud@uwa.edu.au

vitaliy.ogarko@uwa.edu.au

Skills in geophysics/physics, and/or numerical geology, and capability to code are essential.
Willingness to learn is a requirement. The capability to work independently and to take initiative will be appreciated.

The research will be based at the Centre for Exploration Targeting (School of Earth Sciences) at the University of Western Australia (Perth, Australia) within a dynamic team of students and researchers specialising in geophysics, mathematics, geology and statistics. The projects will be carried out in close collaboration with GSWA, and with researchers from UWA and CSIRO. The PhD candidate will also have the possibilty to collaborate with the Research for Integrative Numerical Geology Team (RING, GeoRessources, University of Lorraine, France, https://www.ring-team.org/home/about), and Monash University (Melbourne, Australia) through the Loop consortium (https://loop3d.org/).

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is a program of independent, supervised research that is assessed solely on the basis of a thesis, sometimes including a creative work component, that is examined externally. The work presented for a PhD must be a substantial and original contribution to scholarship, demonstrating mastery of the subject of interest as well as an advance in that field of knowledge. 

Visit the course webpage for full details of this course including admission requirements, course rules and the relevant CRICOS code/s.