People
Prof Bernard Wood
My area of research is experimental petrology, aimed at experimentally simulating conditions within the Earth in order to understand fundamental petrological and geochemical processes. One aspect of this has been the development of quantitative models to predict trace element partitioning between crystals and melts during igneous processes. This research uses high pressure-high temperature experiments in conjunction with microanalysis of mineral and melt phases and theory based on the elastic properties of the minerals.
Dr Mike Cassidy
Mike Cassidy a NERC Independent Research Fellow and the fundamental goal of his future research is to understand the controls over volcanic explosivity. He uses a combination of fieldwork and experimental & analytical petrology to understand how volcanoes can change their eruptive style. Working on volcanoes based in Indonesia, Mexico, Iceland, Chile and the Caribbean
Dr Andrew Matzen
Andrew Matzen is a post-doctoral researcher interested in the formation and evolution of magmas on the Earth and Mars. Broadly, his research focuses on linking the compositions of primary magmas, and their early-crystallizing phases, to the composition and conditions of the mantle sources that melted to produce these magmas.
Dr Duane Smythe
Dr Jon Wade
Jon Wade is a NERC senior research fellow whose research focuses on the chemical processes of planetary formation. In particular, the effects of planetary differentiation on the distribution of elements in the Earth and the fate of water on planetary surfaces. To do this, I use a range of experimental techniques, from atmospheric pressure to pressures found at the Martian core-mantle boundary. Because experiments performed at very high pressures always result in small samples, my other research interest is the refinement of such analytical techniques. This is focused primarily on modeling the electron and X-ray transport in electron microscopes.