Exploring the behavior of Earth and planetary materials

We study mineral and rock physics, applying materials science to understand geophysical processes at large scales.

Lab team outside the lab at the green space in David Rittenhouse Laboratory (DRL)

Travis Hager is standing infront of the bench while he is preparing for an experiment

beaker with a crystal of ice and water. Topped with a heat sink and peltier device. In a bucket fulled of ice crystals.

old instrument to see the orientation of grains

tow blocks of ice over a wood boards subject to heat and pressure changes

Four lab members in a round discussion at the lab

close up to a single ice crystal in contact with water

Five members of the Lab with the Principal Investigator working at Penn

block of ice cube with a copper wire around it conducting heat around it.

Research

Nanoindentation

Faults in the Earth rely on nano to microscopic asperities.

Learn more

Ice mechanics

The presence of particles in ice changes its flow behavior.

Learn more

Contact

Department of Earth and Environmental Science
University of Pennsylvania
160 Hayden Hall
240 South 33rd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6316
phone: (215)746-0090
email: dgoldsby@sas.upenn.edu