Welcome to Professor Russell J. Hemley’s Research Group

Russell Hemley’s research focuses on the high-pressure behavior of materials, particularly Earth and planetary materials; transformations of hydrogen at multimegabar pressures; novel high-pressure compound formation and pressure-induced chemical reactions in molecular systems; synthesis and characterization of new superhard materials, superconductors, and magnetic materials; pressure-induced amorphization; the effects of pressure on amorphous solids; the rational design of new high-pressure materials from first-principles methods; models for Earth and planetary interiors; fabrication of single-crystal diamond by chemical vapor deposition; development of high-pressure methods and analytical techniques such as micro-optical spectroscopy, synchrotron infrared spectroscopy, synchrotron x-ray diffraction, and spectroscopy, laser heating, magnetic susceptibility, electrical conductivity, and high-pressure cryogenic methods; science issues related to national security.