My research focuses on the behavior of elements and isotopes in the Earth at high pressures and temperatures – conditions where rock melts to become magma.
To study chemistry at these extreme conditions I use a variety equipment, including the piston-cylinder press, multi-anvil press and laser-heated diamond anvil cell. Typically, sample sizes become smaller as sample pressures become higher; to the point where the region of interest in a diamond anvil cell experiment may be <20 microns in diameter – Thinner than a human hair!
In July 2021, I began a position on the faculty of the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Toronto. If you are interested in graduate studies or undergraduate research opportunities as part of my group, please contact me. Information on anticipated opportunities can be found here.
You can find more information about some of my research interests using the links below:
• Platinum group metal behavior in silicate melt and implications for Earth’s accretion
• The solution properties of alloys
• The coupled effects of sulfur and pressure on element partitioning
• Isotopic heterogeneity in the mantle as a result of giant impacts
• Controls on element partitioning
• Olivine-metal Fe-isotope fractionation in Pallasite Meteorites
neil bennett 