The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is seeking a recent PhD physicist to participate in a research program focused on the structural acoustics of ice, spanning both laboratory and field environments. As this is a newly established program, the selected candidate will have the unique opportunity to pursue a wide variety of innovative research avenues. A strong applicant will possess a solid background in both experimental and theoretical structural acoustics.

Under high pressure, Arctic Ocean ice emits a diverse range of acoustic signals into the water below, resulting from fracturing, sliding, and collisions between ice plates [1]. Prior work has established the elastic properties of laboratory grown ice [2-3], but many questions remain regarding wave propagation and acoustic coupling particularly in fractured samples. This program seeks to reproduce these complex acoustic signatures in a laboratory environment to systematically analyze and understand the fundamental physical mechanisms that generate them.

The Acoustics Division at NRL offers several world-class facilities, including a one-million-gallon acoustic test tank within the Laboratory for Structural Acoustics, and an environmentally controlled freezer facility dedicated to ice acoustics research. Applicants will have the opportunity to propose and execute their own independent laboratory experiments, as well as collaborate with and complement existing research initiatives within the division.

[1] M. D. Collins, A. Turgut, R. Menis, and J. A. Schindall, “Acoustic recordings and modeling under seasonally varying sea ice,” Sci Rep, vol. 9, no. 1, p. 8323, Jun. 2019, doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-44707-0.

[2] B. Hall, S. Johnson, M. Thomas, and T. Rampai, “Review of the design considerations for the laboratory growth of sea ice,” Journal of Glaciology, vol. 69, no. 276, pp. 953–965, Aug. 2023, doi: 10.1017/jog.2022.115.

[3] E. M. Schulson and C. E. Renshaw, “Fracture, Friction, and Permeability of Ice,” Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, vol. 50, no. Volume 50, 2022, pp. 323–343, May 2022, doi: 10.1146/annurev-earth-032320-085507.

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Additional Benefits

Awardees who reside more than 50 miles from their host laboratory and remain on tenure for at least six months are eligible for paid relocation to within the vicinity of their host laboratory.

A group health insurance program is available to awardees and their qualifying dependents in the United States.