Two new postdoctoral positions in AI/ML for upstream critical mineral supply

Stanford Mineral-X and the Stanford Intelligent Systems Laboratory (SISL) are pleased to announce two new postdoctoral fellowships in advancing AI- and ML-driven methods for critical mineral supply and resource appraisals.

Postdoctoral Fellowship 1: Optimizing Critical Mineral Supply Chains
This position focuses on upstream supply chain planning for key battery minerals such as lithium and graphite. The fellow will develop a POMDP-based decision-support tool that integrates geological, economic, and geopolitical uncertainty into long-term investment and procurement strategies for a major automotive company.

Qualifications:
Experience with AI planning under uncertainty (POMDPs/RL), supply chain or economic modeling, expert programming (Python; Julia preferred), and a Ph.D. completed within the last three years (by April 1, 2026).

Apply Fellowship 1
Application Deadline: February 1, 2026

Postdoctoral Fellowship 2: Planning Geophysical Surveys for Resource Appraisal
In partnership with SISL, this role develops intelligent planning frameworks for geophysical surveys (e.g., muon tomography) to accelerate mineral resource appraisal under geological uncertainty. The fellow will work on data-driven subsurface modelng, long-horizon survey planning, and sequential model updating.

Qualifications:
Strong understanding and experience with planning under uncertainty, strong skills with complex datasets, background in inverse problems or geoscience preferred, expert programming (Python/Julia), and a Ph.D. completed within the last three years (by Feb 15, 2026).

Apply Fellowship 2
Application Deadline: February 1, 2026