Biographical Information:
Professor Renata Wentzcovitch received her Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1988. She develops and applies materials simulation methods to study materials properties at high pressures and temperatures, especially minerals at planetary interior conditions. Her current research interests include: Mineral physics with applications to geophysics (seismology and geodynamics) and geochemistry (water speciation and isotope fractionation in minerals), Materials discovery at (exo)planetary interior conditions, H2O-ice physics, Properties of strongly correlated oxides and their crystalline defects, Spin crossover systems, Simulations methods development.Abstract:
Modeling Earth from Atomic to Global ScaleGeophysics stands on a synergistic tripod consisting of seismology, geodynamics, and mineral physics. It advances by close cooperation between these fields that can be computationally intensive. Mineral physics provides mineral properties needed to interpret seismic tomography and provide input for advanced and more refined geodynamics simulations. Materials simulations have contributed significantly to the integration of these fields. It has complemented experiments by expanding the pressure and temperature range in which properties can be obtained. It has offered access to atomic-scale phenomena that suggested new experimental and seismological data interpretations. This talk overviews the cooperation between computational mineral physics, seismology, and geodynamics. This interdisciplinary dialog has resulted in a modeling field that starts on the atomic and ends on a global scale. A striking and recent example is the spin crossover in ferropericlase, a quantum phenomenon that manifests in global seismic tomographic models.