Russell J. Hemley

My research explores the behavior of materials over a broad range of conditions from ambient to ultrahigh pressures. This work applies new experimental techniques for investigating materials to >300 GPa (3 million atmospheres) and from millikelvin to >5000 K, together with theoretical methods, to a variety of problems in Earth and planetary science, chemistry and physics, materials science and technology, and most recently biology. Current interests include understanding hydrogen at megabar pressures, a longstanding problem in physical science; transformations in Earth and planetary materials at high pressures and temperatures and their implications for the interiors of the Earth and other planets; observations of new transformations in molecular systems and novel high-pressure molecular compounds; the creation of new materials under pressure, including superconductors, magnetic structures, and superhard materials; the novel behavior of glasses and amorphous solids under pressure; and pressure effects on biomolecules and biological systems. Finally, I am involved in the continued development of new high-pressure techniques, including opposed-anvil methods, micro-optical techniques, synchrotron diffraction and spectroscopy, neutron scattering, and transport methods.