I am the PI and Director of SEES, an NSF EAR-supported organization to manage and support user facilities advancing Earth and environmental science research at U.S. synchrotron beamlines.

I study the physical and chemical properties of materials under high pressure and high temperature conditions, to better understand the constitution, structure, and evolution of the Earth's interior. Mineral physics plays an essential role providing the material properties as a basis for seismological, petrological, and geodynamical interpretations of the Earth's interior. To achieve this, we perform experiments on minerals and other materials under high pressures and temperatures comparable to those in the mantle and core of our planet. In addition to experiments in our home laboratory, my group makes regular use of synchrotron X-ray sources to probe material properties under these extreme conditions. My research extends also to cosmochemical investigations of the materials that make up the building blocks of the terrestrial planets; analysis of meteorites coupled with experimental studies yield clues to the physical and chemical processing of material in the early solar system.

Education:

1993 Ph.D., University of Chicago (Geophysical Sciences)
1988 B.S. California Institute of Technology (Geophysics)

2022-present Chair, Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago
2018-present Professor, Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago
2019-2021 Deputy Dean, Physical Sciences Division, University of Chicago
2010-2017 Associate Professor, Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago
2005-2010 Assistant Professor, Department of Geology, University of Maryland
1998-2005 Research Scientist, Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago
1995-1997 Senior Research Engineer, GE Superabrasives, General Electric Company
1993-1995 Carnegie Fellow, Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington