Extreme Materials

Discovering new materials at the frontier of human knowledge.

he bipartite sodalite type clathrate structure, which consists of truncated octahedral "host" cages that trap strontium "guest" atoms, was synthesized under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions using a laser heating technique. Image is courtesy o — Creating a carbon-based clathrate.

Our Research

We utilize experimental and theoretical approaches to understand fundamental chemical processes and interactions and to create new and advanced technological and energy-related materials. We use the variable of pressure to synthesize new materials and use a range of spectroscopic techniques to interrogate their structures and properties. We utilize theoretical approaches to predict and search for new compounds and syntheses routes for making stable compounds with desired properties at ambient conditions.

Research Staff

Ronald Cohen - High pressure; materials; planetary science

Yingwei Fei - Earth and planet evolution; planetary interior processes; compositions of the Earth's mantle and core; physical properties of materials at high P and T; materials synthesis at high pressure; development of high-pressure techniques

Zachary Geballe - High pressure; mineralogy

Alexander Goncharov - Metallic hydrogen and related materials; phase transformation and chemical reactivity of simple molecular materials under high pressure and high-temperature conditions; thermal conductivity of Earth and planetary materials; high-temperature superconductivity

Amol Karandikar - High pressure; materials; matter at extreme states

Timothy Strobel - High pressure; materials; research centered around the synthesis and characterization of novel materials for energy and advanced applications

Sally June Tracy - High pressure; matter at extreme states; behavior of materials in extreme environments; mineral physics

Technical Staff

Emma Bullock - Electron Microprobe Lab Manager

Joseph Lai - Instrumentation Engineer

Javier Rojas - Laboratory Engineer

Suzy Vitale - FIB Lab Manager

Jing (Jill) Yang - Laboratory Engineer

Postdoctoral Fellows and Associates

Irina Chuvashova - Ph.D., Crystallography, University of Bayreuth (2017)

Kai Luo - Ph.D., Physics, City University of New York (CUNY) (2015)

Thomas Shiell - Ph.D., Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University (2018)

Wan Si Tang - Ph.D., Université de Picardie Jules Verne (UPJV), Amiens, France (2013)

Li Zhu - Ph.D., Physics, State Key Lab of Superhard Materials, Jilin University, China (2014)

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Tools of the Trade

High-pressure experiments are performed using piston cylinder and multi-anvil presses, laser-heated diamond anvil cells, and dynamic compression facilities. We analyze and characterize experimental samples using our wide-ranging in-house capabilities including SEM, EPMA, FIB, NMR, Raman, FTIR, PPMS, and X-ray diffraction. We use national and international synchrotron facilities to probe samples in situ at micron and sub-micron scales. Theoretical approaches utilize high-performance computing systems both on and off-campus and the Carnegie Memex cluster.

Our instrumentation >>