The Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science (http://beyond.asu.edu) at Arizona State University invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Scholar to work in the lab of PI Sara Walker (http://emergence.asu.edu/) as part of a John Templeton Foundation–funded project pursued in collaboration with Lee Cronin (University of Glasgow) and Jacob Barandes (Harvard University). The project aims to develop a fundamental physics of causation, bringing together quantum foundations and emerging theories for the physics of life. The anticipated start date is December 1, 2026; however, the date is flexible.
Our current physical theories are extraordinarily successful at predicting the outcomes of experiments, yet they remain remarkably silent about the causal structure of the world — how objects come to exist, how histories are made physical, and what distinguishes the trajectories realized in nature from the vastly larger space of those that are possible. Recent advances in the physics of life, including assembly theory and related frameworks for selection, history, and the emergence of complexity, suggest that causation and time may be more foundational to physics than our current formalisms assume.
This project asks whether such insights can inspire genuinely new foundational physics, and in particular whether a deeper account of causation can illuminate the empirical and operational foundations of quantum theory. We are seeking a researcher who is excited to bridge the empirical structures that give rise to our current theories of quantum mechanics with more foundational approaches to the physics that might underlie them — someone equally at home in the technical machinery of quantum foundations and in the more speculative, generative work of asking what new physics living systems might be pointing us toward.
The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary research environment spanning theoretical physics, complexity science, origins of life, and the foundations of quantum theory, and will collaborate closely across the Walker, Cronin, and Barandes groups.
About The Beyond Center and the ASU-Glasgow Collaboration on the Origin of Life:
Individuals hired for these positions will be part of the Beyond Center (https://beyond.asu.edu/), the School of Earth and Space Exploration (https://sese.asu.edu/ ) and the Walker lab (https://emergence.asu.edu/ ) at Arizona State University, as well as part of the Cronin group (https://www.chem.gla.ac.uk/cronin/) and the School of Chemistry (http://gla.ac.uk/schools/chemistry/) at the University of Glasgow.
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The application deadline is October 31, 2026. Applications will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis for a reserve pool. Applications in the reserve pool may then be reviewed in the order in which they were received until the position is filled. Candidates will be asked to create or use an existing Interfolio Dossier to submit the following application materials:
Please address any science questions to Dr. Sara Walker sara.i.walker@asu.edu or Dr. Leroy Cronin Lee.Cronin@glasgow.ac.uk, and any administrative questions to Jeanette Perez, perezjr@asu.edu.
A background check is required for employment. Arizona State University is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor and an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. ASU’s full nondiscrimination statement (ACD 401) is located on the ASU website at https://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/acd/acd401.html and https://www.asu.edu/titleIX.
In compliance with federal law, ASU prepares an annual report on campus security and fire safety programs and resources. ASU’s Annual Security and Fire Safety Report is available online at https://www.asu.edu/police/PDFs/ASU-Clery-Report.pdf. You may request a hard copy of the report by contacting the ASU Police Department at 480-965-3456.
A background check is required for employment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by law.
See https://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/acd/acd401.html and https://www.asu.edu/titleIX/.
In compliance with federal law, ASU prepares an annual report on campus security and fire safety programs and resources. ASU’s Annual Security and Fire Safety Report is available online at https://www.asu.edu/police/PDFs/ASU-Clery-Report.pdf You may request a hard copy of the report by contacting the ASU Police Department at 480-965-3456.
