Spinlab convection chamber
Ongoing laboratory research programs include the study of mineral physics and the response of planetary materials to high pressures; high resolution geochronology with applications to the origin of planetary crust, magma chamber development, cosmochemistry and more; studies of isotopic fractionation of matter incorporated into the nascent protoplanetary nebula; studies of meteorites (the Department houses one of the largest meteorite collections in the US); and laboratory simulations of rotating planet convection. In the Dept. Physics and Astronomy, the Infrared Laboratory develops instruments for use on telescopes, including the Keck 10 meter, the airborne NASA SOFIA Observatory and, in the future, the James Webb Space Telescope.
Laboratory Facilities
- SpinLab: Jonathan Aurnou
- IRLAB: Ian McLean, James Larkin, Mike Fitgerald
- MegaSIMS Lab: Kevin McKeegan
- SIMS Lab: Kevin McKeegan, Mark Harrison, Axel Schmitt
- Gemini Planet Imager (GPI): Mike Fitzgerald