Research Highlights and News
85. PNAS paper on "Sound velocities of Fe and Fe-Si alloys in the
Earth’s core" accepted (5/08/2012)
This paper reports new experimental results of the compressional wave
velocity of hcp-Fe and Fe-Si alloys at high P-T in order to understand chemical
composition and seismic profiles of the Earth's core.
84. Deep Carbon Observatory Science Highlights on "Investigating
Ferromagnesite as a Deep Mantle Carbon Host" (4/27/2012) (See
Highlights)
Dr. Lin and co-workers' recent results are highlighted in the DCO's
Science Highlights. Deep Carbon Observatory is a new initiative funded by Sloan
Foundation to "achieving transformational understanding of carbon's chemical and
biological roles within Earth".
83. EFree Workshop on "Superconductors and Strongly Correlated
Materials" at GL (4/21/2012)
This workshop is aimed at helping identify more clearly the
distinguishing features of the EFree and Electromagnetic Frontier Thrust that
**cannot** be implemented without the Center. Dr. Lin, DR. Cheng, and JJ
attended the workshop to present results on iron-based compounds, iron pnictides,
and sample synthesis and characterization in extreme environments.
82. Professor Bruce Buffett visited UT Austin as the Edwin Allday
Lecturer (4/12/2012)
During his visit to the Jackson School of Geosciences, Prof. Buffett
gave three lectures:
--"Chemical interactions between the core and the mantle"
--"Dynamics of Earth's interior and geodynamo"
--"Methane hydrates: Origin, evolution and implications for climate change"
81. Geofluids and Misasa-2012, Japan (3/23/2012)
Dr. Lin attended the international symposium "Dynamics and Evolution of
the Earth's Interior: Special Emphasis on the Role of Fluids". He presented an
invited talk on the spin transition in the lower mantle. Pictures:
with Ito-sensai at Mikuto-san;
with Okuchi-san's family for dinner.
80. High Pressure Synergetic Consortium at the Advanced Photon Source
(HPSynC) (3/2/2012)
Dr. Lin will become a visiting scholar of the HPSynC to help develop
new technical and scientific programs at the Advanced Photon Source for high
pressure diamond anvil cell research.
79. "Sound Velocities of Hydrous Ringwoodite" paper accepted by EPSL (3/2/2012)
(PDF)
Dr. Zhu Mao
and co-workers' manuscript on the sound velocities of hydrous
ringwoodite has been accepted by EPSL. The paper reports high P-T Brillouin
results that help understand the water budget of the transition zone.
Z. Mao, J. F. Lin, S. D. Jacobsen, T. S. Duffy, Y.-Y. Chang, J. Smyth,
D. J. Frost, E. Hauri, and V. B. Prakapenka, Sound velocities of hydrous
ringwoodite to 16 GPa and 673 K, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 2012 (in press).
78. NSF Instrumentation and Facility Grant (2/16/2012)
Dr. Lin to receive a research grant from NSF IF to acquire an Impulsive
Stimulated Light Scattering system to measure elasticity and thermal
conductivity of planetary materials in extreme pressures and temperatures.
Jackson School provides funding match to the grant. (Proposal
Abstract)
77. Youth Project of the RPGE (千人計劃) (RPGE) (1/30/2012)
The Youth Project of the Recruitment Program of Global Experts in China
has awarded Dr. Zhu Mao a Professorship position at the University of Science
and technology in China (USTC). This award is among the most prestigious
professorship program to world-leading young scientists in China.
76. SNAP: Instrument Development Team (IDT) (1/30/2012)
The IDT of the Spallation Neutrons and Pressure Diffractometer (SNAP)
aims to develop "cutting-edge neutron high-pressure instrumentation" at the
Spallation Neutron Source, Oakridge National Lab. Dr. Lin has become a member of
the team and will help to develop new capabilities for studying iron-based
superconductors at HP and LT
as part of the EFree mission.
75. Piston-Cylinder Apparatus from Depth of the Earth(1/13/2012)
A new piston-cylinder apparatus has been installed in the department
thru NSF-IF funding to Dr. Gardner and Dr. Lin. The apparatus can reach to ~4
GPa and ~2000 C with 2mm assemblage. Picture of the apparatus.
74. EFree Highligh Talk, "Iron pnictide superconductors: The new iron era" (1/13/2012)
As an EFree partner,
Dr. Lin visited GL and gave a highlight talk to illustrate
peculiar structural and magnetic transitions of "122" pnictide superconductors
in high pressures and low temperatures. Iron-based superconductors were
discovered in 2008 and thousands of papers have been published since then.
Viktor's thumb-size DAC at GL.
73. Am. Mineral. paper entitled "Electronic spin and valence states
of iron in the lower-mantle silicate perovskite by synchrotron Mössbauer
spectroscopy" accepted (12/9/2011) (PDF)
Dr. Lin coauthors the paper with E. E. Alp, Z. Mao, T. Inoue, C.
McCammon, Y. Xiao, P. Chow, and J. Zhao to reveal that Fe3+ undergoes a spin
transition whereas Fe2+ displays high quadrupole splittings in the lower-mantle
perovskite.
72. Am. Mineral. paper entitled "Vibrational and elastic properties
of ferromagnesite across the electronic spin-pairing transition of iron"
accepted (12/6/2011) (PDF)
The study reports the effects of the spin transition on properties of
ferromagnesite.
71. Dr. Sergio Speziale visited Mineral Physics Lab at the UT Austin (12/1/2011)
Dr. Speziale of the GFZ Postdam visited UT Austin and delivered a talk
entitled "Elastic Anisotropy and Deformation in the Lower Mantle: some Insights
from Mineral Physics" at iPGST Seminar (Picture
of Sergio at UT).
70. Dr. Lin visited Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility (11/14/2011)
Dr. Lin visited BSRF to conduct
radial X-ray diffraction in a laser-heated DAC with Prof. Liu's group. He also
gave a talk entitled "Synchrotron Inelastic X-ray Scattering at High Pressures:
Probing Electronic, Magnetic, Elastic, and Phonon Properties" (Picture: with Dr.
Wu of Peiking U. having Hot Pot lunch).
69. GRL paper, entitled "Thermal equation of state of
lower-mantle ferropericlase across the spin crossover" accepted (11/07/2011)
Dr. Zhu Mao, Dr. Lin, graduate student J. Liu, and Dr. Prakapenka
co-authored this Geophys. Res. Lett paper on elastic properties of
ferropericlase using X-ray diffraction in a laser-heated DAC.
PDF
68. CECAM: Dynamical Properties of Earth and Planetary
Materials Workshop (10/13/2011)
Dr. Lin attended the workshop at Lausanne, Switzerland, and gave an invited
talk on "Electronic and Elastic Properties of Iron-Containing Minerals in
Earth’s Interior". See
abstract.
67. The 31st ICAME Meeting, Kobe, Japan (9/26/2011)
Dr. Lin attended the International Mossbauer Meeting held at the Port
Island, Kobe from 9/25 to 9/30/2011, and gave an invited talk on "Electronic
Spin Transition of Iron in Earth's Lower Mantle". Dr. Lin also chaired oral and
poster sessions. The Meeting was devoted to Dr. Mossbauer, the discover of the
Mossbauer effect, who just passed away recently.
See the legendary Kobe Beef steak--legend
has it that it literally melts in your mouth ($40 for these pcs)!
66. Physical Review Letters (PRL) paper accepted (9/26/2011)
In this PRL article led by Dr. Yamaoka (Dr. Lin's Japanese collaborator),
"Strong coupling between 4f valence instability and 3d ferromagnetism in
YbxFe4Sb12 studied by resonant x-ray emission spectroscopy", the interplay
between 3d and 4f electrons was investigated by synchrotron RXES in a diamond
anvil cell. PDF
65. Brillouin Light Scattering System in Mineral Physics
Laboratory (9/18/2011)
A new BLS system has been built and tested in the Mineral Physics Lab of the
JSB. CDAC, EFree, and JSG fundings are used to build the system. The system will
be mainly used for high-pressure DAC research.
64. Energy Frontier Research in Extreme Environments (EFree)
Annual Meeting at GL, CIW (9/16-17/2011)
Dr. Lin attended the meeting as an academic partner of the program and gave
a talk entitled "Efficient energy transportation and generation: iron pnictide
superconductors in extreme environments". PhD student JJ Wu also presented
"Magnetic and structural transitions of BaFe2As2 superconductors at high
pressures and low temperatures".
63. Dr. Lin's accomplishments recognized in a video
presentation prior to President Powers' 2011 State of the University Address (9/14/2011)
The event took place in the B. Iden Payne Theatre at the UT Austin on Sep.
14th, 2011. Dr. Lin was recognized for his NSF Early Career Award. See President
Powers' address at: http://www.utexas.edu/events/sotu
62. John A. and Katherine G. Jackson Centennial
Teaching Fellowship (8/2011)
Dr. Lin was awarded the Fellowship by Department of the Geological Sciences
of the
Jackson School of Geosciences. The Fellowship provides some funding for
research.
61. The Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS) Meeting,
Taipei, Taiwan. (8/8/2011)
Dr. Lin gave two invited talks at the AOGS Meeting:
1. Elasticity of iron alloys in Earth’s inner core
2. Electronic spin and valence states of iron in the Earth’s lower mantle
60. PRB paper entitled "Phonon density of states of Fe2O3
across high-pressure structural and electronic transitions"
accepted (7/20/2011) PDF
In this paper,
Dr. Lin and co-authors studied the effects of the structural and electronic
transitions on the properties of Fe2O3 using experimental and theoretical
techniques. They show that the structural transition affects the properties of
Fe2O3 significantly.
59. Jill Yang joins Mineral Physics Group (7/6/2011)
Jill joins the group as a PhD student. She just finished a Master degree in
mineral physics from Peking University in 2011.
58. UTeach Outreach: 6 groups of students from this year's summer program
visited Mineral Physics Lab (7/5/2011)
This year's students are from the Geology and Chemistry Camps. Andrea Wheat
gave presentations on "UTeach Outreach: Diamonds, Earth's Core and Mineral Field
Trip". (Picture:
Andrea teaching students about Diamond Anvil Cell)
57. EPSL paper entitled "Iron-rich perovskite in the Earth’s lower mantle"
accepted (7/1/2011)
Dr. Z. Mao and Dr. Lin coauthor this paper on the effect of iron on the
equation of state of the lower-mantle silicate perovskite. Author list includes
Z. Mao, J. F. Lin, H. P. Scott, H. C. Watson, V. B. Prakapenka, Y. Xiao, P.
Chow, C. McCammon.
56. APS User Meeting: HERIX Workshop (5/4/2011)
Dr. Lin attended the workshop and gave an invited talk on "Elasticity of
Iron Alloys in Earth's Inner Core". The workshop aims at the technical and
scientific aspects of the HERIX technique, including high-pressure geophysics
implications.
55. Dr. Zhu Mao rejoins the Mineral Physics Group (6/1/2011)
Dr. Mao joins the Group in June 2011. She is appointed as an EFree/NSF-sponsored
postdoc fellow and will work on a number of high-pressure mineral physics projects.
54. Andrea Wheat joins the Mineral Physics Group (4/24/2011)
Andrea will lead the UTeach Outreach Program that organizes one-month long
geoscience activities this summer. Groups of 9th graders will visit the Mineral
Physics Lab during the program, and Andrea will give hand-on lectures to these
kids about how scientists study planetary interiors.
53. Dr. Changjing Jin visited UT Austin (3/25/2011)
Dr. Jin of the Chinese Academy of Science gave a talk about "Pressure
Effects on the Iron-Based Superconductors" at the joint seminar between Dr. Zhou
and Dr. Lin's groups. Dr. Jin collaborates with the Mineral Physics Group on the
iron-arsenic superconductor project (Picture in
front of the UT Tower).
52. APS-Upgrade Science Case (3/7/2011)
Dr. Lin was invited to give a presentation on the
APS Upgrade Science Case: High-Energy Resolution Inelastic X-ray Scattering at
Advanced Photon Source (APS), Argonne National Laboratory. He discussed the
applications of the technique in geophysics, condensed matter physics,
biophysics, and material science.
51. NSF EAR CAREER Award to Dr. Lin (2/17/2011)
Dr. Lin has been awarded the NSF
CAREER Award. The Award is for five years starting in January 2011. The proposal
focuses on "Phase Diagrams and Elasticity of Iron Alloys in the Earth's Core",
along with UTeach Outreach activities.
Abstract of the Proposal
50. "High Pressure: A New Dimension in the 21st
Century Physical Sciences" Seminar (1/28/2011). (Abstract
and Dr. Mao's short CV)
Dr. Ho-Kwang "Dave" Mao gave an invited talk on the topic at the BEG of the
Jackson School of Geosciences at the UT
Austin. He also attended the Dynamic Workshop during his visit to Austin. Dr.
Mao is the director of the EFree (Energy Frontier Research in Extreme
Environments) in which Dr. Lin's group is an academic member.
49. "Deep Carbon Observatory" Seminar (1/26/2011).
Dr. Russell Hemley gave an invited talk on the Deep Carbon Observatory as a
joint seminar between Jackson School, CFSES, and the Dynamic Workshop at the UT
Austin. He discussed the Sloan Foundation's new initiative on carbon-related
research topics.
48. Workshop on "Dynamic Phenamena under Extremes"
successfully held at AT&T
Center, UT Austin (1/28/2011).
Approximately 82 scientists attended the workshops and presented three days
long seminars and discussions. Attendees also enjoyed social events at Scholz
Garten for Texas BBQ and at Iron Cactus for the Mexican food.
47. Nassau Mossbauer Meeting (1/13/2011).
Dr. Lin attended the Nassau Mossbauer Meeting in Long Island, New York and
gave an invited talk on "Electronic spin transitions of iron in the Earth’s deep
mantle".
46. EFree highlight talk giving by Dr. Lin (1/12/2011).
Dr. Lin visited EFree Center at Geophysical Lab as an EFree partner and gave
a highlight talk on "Transition Metal Iron Compounds in Extreme Environments".
45. GGG paper accepted by PRB (1/10/2011). Former postdoc
fellow Dr. Zhu Mao and Dr. Lin, together with colleagues at Princeton
University, co-author the paper on the high-pressure phase of GGG:
Z. Mao, S. M. Dorfman, S. Shieh, J. F. Lin, V. Prakapenka, Y. Meng, and T. S.
Duffy, Equation of state of a high-pressure phase of Gd3Ga5O12, Phys. Rev. B,
2011 (in press) (PDF).
44. Dr. Lin gave two invited talks at AGU Fall Meeting (12/12/2010).
These talks focused on properties of iron-containing lower-mantle
ferropericlase, perovskite, and post-perovskite across the spin transitions:
1.
Iron-Rich Perovskite and Post-Perovskite in the Lower Mantle
2. Properties of the Deep-Mantle Ferropericlase Across the Spin Crossover
43. Workshop on "Dynamic Phenamena under Extremes" to be held at AT&T
Center, UT Austin (11/2010).
See first circulation to
the invited speakers.
42. Spin transition paper published in GRL (11/2010).
Former postdoc fellow Dr. Zhu Mao, Dr. Lin, undergraduate researcher Caleb
Jacobs, and co-workers published new results on electronic structures of iron in
silicate post-perovskite in the lowermost mantle (PDF).
41. NSF EAR CAREER Award to Dr. Lin (11/2010)
Dr. Lin's proposal will be recommended for the
CAREER Award starting January 2011 and ending December 2015. The proposal
focuses on "Phase Diagrams and Elasticity of Iron Alloys in the Earth's Core",
along with UTeach Outreach activities.
Abstract of the Proposal
40. Dr. Lin visited Peking University and Chinese Academy of Sciences
(Institute of Physics and
Institute of Geochemistry (Guiyang)), and gave the following
talks:
(9/30/2010)
--A New Spin on Mineral Physics of
the Earth’s Interior
--Solid state geophysics under extreme environments: from electronic
structures to Earth’s interior
He also conducted high-pressure experiments at Beijing Synchrotron
Radiation Facility at the
high-pressure beamline (Picture:
eating delicious lamb back BBQ with Pro. Liu's group
members).
39. GRL paper accepted. Postdoc fellow Dr. Zhu Mao, Dr.
Lin, and collaborators report new results on electronic spin states of Fe in
lower-mantle silicate post-perovskite.
(9/24/2010)
"Electronic spin and valence states of Fe in CaIrO3-type post-perovskite in
the Earth's lowermost mantle" by Z. Mao, J.F. Lin, C. Jacobs, H. Watson, Y.
Xiao, P. Chow, E.E. Alp and V. B. Prakapenka.
38. PRB paper accepted. This paper is a result of the
EFree effort on understanding Fe-based superconductors in extreme environments.
(9/10/2010)
H. Yamaoka, I. Jarrige, A. Ikeda-Ohno, S. Tsutsui, J. F. Lin, N. Takeshita,
K. Miyazawa, A. Iyo, H. Kito, H. Eisaki, N. Hiraoka, H. Ishii, and K.D. Tsuei,
Hybridization and suppression of the superconductivity in CeFeAsO1-y: pressure
and temperature dependences of the electronic structure, Phys. Rev. B, 2010 (in
press).
37. Professor Lars Stixrude visited JSG as
the distinguished Qualline Lecturer. He gave two talks on
"Silicate Liquids in the Earth's Deep Interior" and "Protons to
Planets: First Principles Materials Simulation as a Window into Earth and Planetary
Processes" Picture of Lars at UT (9/10/2010)
36. CO2 successfully loaded into diamond
anvil cells. Dr. Lin and Dr. Iota have successfully used the AIR Gas Loader to
load ultrapure CO2 into sample chambers in DACs for further laser and X-ray
spectroscopic studies. See CO2 at 33 GPa (8/1/2010)
35. Dr. Lin's article "Resonant X-ray Emission Study
of the Lower-Mantle Ferropericlase at High Pressures" published in American
Mineralogist (8/12/10)
PDF
34. Dr. Lin's article, Shear wave anisotropy of textured hcp-Fe in
Earth's inner core, accepted by EPSL (8/10/2010). This article reports
shear wave anisotropy of hcp-Fe up to 172 GPa using high-pressure Nuclear
Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scatterring techniques.
J. F. Lin, Z. Mao, H. Yavas, J. Zhao, and L. Dubrovinsky, Shear wave
anisotropy of textured hcp-Fe in Earth's inner core, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett.,
2010 (in press).
33. Dr. Gopal Pradhan joins Mineral Physics Lab as EFree postdoc
researcher on 7/23/2010. Mr. Junjie Wu also joins the Lab as a visiting student
from Chinese Academy of Science. Both will work on EFree and
CDAC-related projects.
32. Jeff Liu and James Lu join Mineral Physics Lab as graduate
students.
31. PRB paper on pressure-induced transitions published. Dr.
Lin co-authored the paper with collaborators in Japan. The study used resonant
X-ray emission to understand valence transitions.
H. Yamaoka, I. Jarrige, N. Tsujii, J. F. Lin, N. Hiraoka, H. Ishii,
and K.-D. Tsuei, Temperature and pressure-induced valence transitions in
YbNi2Ge2 and YbPd2Si2, 82, 035111, Phys. Rev. B, 2010 (PDF).
30. UTeach Outreach: Elementary school students
from Austin Independent School District visited Mineral Physics Lab (6/22/2010)
Fourth graders in the UTeach Outreach summer program visited the Mineral Physics Lab.
Undergraduate lab assistant Caleb Jacobs gave a theme presentation on "UTeach Outreach: Diamonds, Earth's Core and Mineral Field
Trip". (Picture of the visit)
29. UTeach Outreach: Elementary school science teachers
from Austin Independent School District visited Mineral Physics Lab (6/8/2010)
UTeach started at The University of Texas at Austin in 1997 as a new way to
prepare secondary science, math and computer science teachers. Dr. Lin teams up
with the UTeach Outreach summer program by showing the Mineral Physics Lab to
elementary school students and teachers.
This year's theme is "UTeach Outreach: Diamonds, Earth's Core and Mineral Field
Trip". (Picture of the visit)
28. AIR Gas Loading System in Commission
(AIR is named from Afu, Iota, Roger)
Dr. Lin, Dr. Iota, and Mr. Roger Gary built the gas loading system and
tested it working at 22000 psi for Ar gas DAC loading. Dr. Mao and Caleb Jacobs
also participated in the building process (Picture
of the system with Dr. Lin and Roger).
27. "A Pressing Matter: Planetary Interiors Research
under Pressures" given
by Dr. Lin at Undergraduate Geology Society (UGS) meeting (4/26/10)
Invited by the UGS president Ted Cross, Dr. Lin discussed how pressures
affect planetary materials properties using his recent research results as
examples.
26. Dr. Lin's article "Resonant X-ray Emission Study
of the Lower-Mantle Ferropericlase at High Pressures" accepted by American
Mineralogist (4/21/10)
Dr. Lin co-authors this article with collaborators (Zhu Mao, Ignace Jarrige,
Yuming Xiao, Paul Chow, Takuo Okuchi, Nozomu Hiraoka, and Steven Jacobsen). The
paper employed this new synchrotron technique to understand the spin transition
in ferropericlase.
25. "Laboratory Journey to the Earth's Core" given
by Dr. Lin at iPGST Brown Bag Seminar (4/13/10)
Dr. Lin presented new mineral physics results on understanding Earth's inner
core anisotropy and sound velocities as well as crystal structure(s) in this talk.
24. Foundation Advisory Counsel members visited the
Mineral Physics Lab (3/26/10)
During the Jackson School's Advisory Council meeting, Dr. Lin showed the
members the lab facilities and research projects.
The Advisory Council generally consists of high level, senior personnel from
industry. Through their efforts and personal contributions the Jackson School's
Foundation has the largest endowment for a geoscience program in the country.
23. Dr. Lin's paper entitled "High-Pressure X-ray
Diffraction and X-ray Emission Studies on Iron-Bearing Silicate Perovskite under
High Pressures" accepted by the journal of
High Pressure Research (3/24/10)
Dr. Lin co-author this paper with Sergio Speziale, Vitali B. Prakapenka,
Przemek Dera, Babara Lavina, Heather Watson. The paper reports the effect of
iron spin states on the EoS of silicate perovskite.
22. Dr. Dave Rubie visited Jackson School as the Edwin
Allday Lecturer (2/26/10)
Dr. Rubie of the Bayerisches Geoinstitut, University of Bayreuth gave three
lectures during his visit:
1. Experimental studies related to the early evolution of the Earth
2. Accretion and early differentiation of the Earth
3. Reaction kinetics in the mantle
21. "Mineral Physics Research under Extreme Environments"
talk given by Dr. Lin at the Bureau of Economic Geology (2/12/10)
Dr. Lin presented a talk about studying materials properties under extreme
environments at the Jackson School's BEG.
20. "Journey to the Core-Mantle Boundary": Dr. Tom Duffy
of the Princeton University visited UT Austin and presented a talk at the Tech
Session about Earth's core-mantle region (2/5/10)
19. "High-spin low-spin transition in Mg0.75Fe0.25O
magnesiowüstite at high pressures under hydrostatic conditions" published in J.
Exp. Theor. Phys. Letters (90, 617-622, 2009). (12/22/09)
Dr. Lin coauthored this paper with I. S. Lyubutin, A. G. Gavriliuk, K. V.
Frolov, and I. A. Troyan. This paper reports the spin transition of Fe in
magnesiowustite in quasihydrostatic He medium and Fe clustering effects on the
spin transition.
18. Dr. Lin awarded UT SRA (Summer Research Assignment) Award
for summer 2010 (12/15/09)
UT Austin's Faculty Development Review Committees has selected Dr. Lin's
application for the SRA 2010 to conduct research on the spin transition of iron
in the lower-mantle minerals. This SRA award will provide two months of summer
salary support to Dr. Lin in 2010.
17. Dr. Lin to serve as a member of the AGU Eos
Editorial Advisory Board (12/10/09)
Dr. Lin is invited by Dr. Richman, executive editor of the American
Geophysical Union Eos, to serve as an editorial member of the Eos
for a term of two years, through December 2011. Dr. Lin will help with the
review of feature articles in mineral physics, other Eos submissions, and
cross-disciplinary articles.
16. Caleb Jacobs joins the Mineral Physics Lab (10/9/09)
Caleb will be a part-time undergraduate research assistant working on a
number of mineral physics problems. His research is sponsored by the NSF REU and
Thomas and Ray Burke Foundation at the Jackson School of Geosciences.
15. NSF REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) awarded
(10/9/09)
Dr. Lin's request to NSF REU program to support an undergraduate student to
work in the Mineral Physics Lab has been awarded This request of $9488 will
support a part-time undergraduate research for a whole year.
14. EFree (Energy Frontier Research in Extreme Environments) Research
Center Inauguration Meeting (9/11/09)
As an academic partner,
Dr. Lin attended the EFree kickoff meeting on September 11th, 2009 at
Geophysical Lab. This meeting signifies the beginning of a new era on
research collaborations among EFree members. With the Jackson School matching,
the EFree funding to Dr. Lin will support a postdoc and involve a number of
graduate students' PhD theses.
13. Dr. Zhu Mao joined Mineral Physics Lab. (7/27/09)
Dr. Mao is a postdoc fellow in the Department of Geological Sciences,
Jackson School of Geosciences. Dr. Mao finished her PhD degree from Princeton
University under the supervision of Professor Tomas Duffy. Dr. Mao's PhD thesis
focused on the effects of water on elasticity of transition zone minerals.
12. Tour de China/Korea
in Mineral Physics Research (7/7-7/23/09).
In July 2009, Dr. Lin visited Seoul National University, Institute for
High-Energy Physics at Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing University, Harbin
Institute of Technology, and Jilin University to give a number of invited talks
on mineral physics of the lower mantle and core, high-pressure synchrotron
techniques,
and forum on energy frontier research.
See the lecture announcement at
Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility.
See the group picture at Jilin
University.
11. Dr. Lin gave an invited talk, "New Synchrotron Lights on Physics of the
Earth's Interior", at National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Taiwan on
June 12th, 2009.
In this talk, Dr. Lin used recent high-pressure experimental results to
illustrate new research opportunities on using synchrotron lights coupled with
diamond anvil cell techniques to study the Earth's interior.
10. Optical Raman system has been setup (5/21/09).
The optical Raman system in the Mineral Physics Lab has been successfully
constructed by Dr. Lin. Raman spectrum of quartz is collected as a preliminary
test. The system consists of a Coherent Verdi V2 laser, Andor EMCCD, Andor
SR303i spectrometer, and various optics. The system will be primarily used for
high P-T experiments and ruby fluorescence measurements.
9. EFree (Energy Frontier Research in Extreme Environments) proposal to the
Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs), BES, DOE has been selected for an
award (announced in April 2009).
This EFree center will be led by Dr. Mao of the
Geophysical Lab. Dr. Lin's group is a member of the EFree and has an initial
requested funding of $500,000 for five years. Dr. Lin's group will focus on
studying 3d
transition metal oxides under extreme environments
and development and applications of the dynamic diamond
anvil cell technique. Dr. Lin used to work in the Geophysical Lab for 3 years
(2002-2005).
8. "Deformation of the lower-mantle ferropericlase across the electronic
spin transition" published in Physics and Chemistry of Minerals on April
21st, 2009. PDF
Dr. Lin, H.-R. Wenk, M. Voltolini, S. Speziale, J. Shu, and T. Duffy
co-authored this article that addresses the effects of the spin transition on
the deformation and elastic strength of ferropericlase in the lower-mantle
pressures.
7. Partnership with the CDAC (Carnegie-DOE Alliance Center of Excellence
for High-Pressure Science and Technology).
Dr. Lin's mineral physics group is now a partner of the CDAC program
starting Feb. 2009. Dr. Lin used to be a research scientist in the CDAC program
for 2 years (in 2003-2005). Thru this partnership which supports graduate
student stipend/tuition and research (at a level of ~$44.7K for the first year),
Dr. Lin's group focuses on studying 3d transition metal oxides (TMO) and f-band
metals under extreme environments using an array of synchrotron-based X-ray
spectroscopies, mainly inelastic X-ray scattering, in a diamond anvil cell. The
funding is expected to increase to $70-75K for the second year and thereafter.
Further information on the CDAC program can be found at:
http://cdac.gl.ciw.edu/
6. "Mossbauer study of lower-mantle ferropericlase at high P-T" published
in American Mineralogist on April 1st, 2009.
PDF
Dr. Lin and co-workers used synchrotron Mossbauer spectroscopy coupled with
the laser-heated diamond anvil cell technique to investigate the electronic spin
states of iron in ferropericlase under relevant pressure-temperature conditions
of the lower mantle. This study enhances our understanding on the hyperfine
parameters of iron ions across the spin crossover in lower-mantle
ferropericlase.
5. "Fe-Si Alloy in Earth's Core" published in GRL on 03/28/2009.
In this paper Dr. Lin and co-workers have reached to unprecedented
pressure-temperature conditions (pressure as high as 240 GPa and temperature as
high as 3000 K) in the laser-heated diamond anvil cell to study the phase
relation of an Fe-Si alloy relevant to the Earth's core. The main thrust of the
study is to understand the effect of a candidate light element such as Si on the
crystal structure of iron in the core. PDF
4. "Mineral Physics Quest to the Earth's Core"
Dr. L. Dubrovinsky and Dr. Lin co-authored
this feature article in Eos.
Trans. American Geophysical Union (90, 3, pages 21,28, 2009) that summarize
recent new findings and frontiers about the nature of the core from mineral
physics research.
Picture: (left) A cutaway of the Earth’s interior reveals seismic anisotropy
of the inner core (middle). (tight) Elastic anisotropy could be explained if the
bcc iron-based alloy in the inner core had preferable orientation along Earth’s
rotation axis (similar to that of Atomium, right, a 102 meter tall monument,
built for the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels, Belgium, which forms the shape of
an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times) or a dominant amount of
prefer-oriented hcp iron.
3. Dr. Lin's proposal, "Electronic Spin Transition of Iron in the Earth’s
Lower Mantle", funded by NSF Geophysics (EAR-0838221)
This proposal aims to study the nature of electronic spin transitions of
iron in the lower mantle mineral assemblage, including ferropericlase,
perovskite, and post-perovskite, with emphasis on associated properties
influencing the chemical and physical dynamics of the lower mantle. The
proposal is for 2009-2011.
2. "Predominant Intermediate-Spin Ferrous Iron in Lowermost Mantle Post-Perovskite
and Perovskite"
Dr. Lin and co-workers discovered unexpected intermediate-spin state of iron
in Earth's lower-mantle silicate post-perovskite and perovskite. The
results are published as an Advanced Online Publication in Nature Geoscience,
September, 2008 (download the
article in pdf). See Jackson School's new release for the article at:
http://www.jsg.utexas.edu/news/rels/091508b.html
1. "Frontiers and Grand Challenges in Mineral Physics of the Deep Mantle"
A special Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. issue, edited by J. F. Lin, S.-i.
Karato, J. Bass, E. Ohtani, and C. Prewitt published in November 2008. Take a
first look at
the preface of the special issue.
The papers in this special
issue are divided into three sections: (I) Transport and rheological properties,
(II) Elasticity, (III) Phase transitions. Each section of the special issue
begins with an introductory paper which reviews recent developments and
discusses arising issues presented in the papers of each section.
0. Dr. Lin becomes a faculty in the Department of
Geological Sciences, the University of Texas at Austin
On July 1st, 2008, Dr. Lin starts his new career as an assistant professor
in the Jackson School to build a mineral research program here at Texas. Jackson
School provides a generous startup package as well as reduced teaching load to
Dr. Lin. Very first picture of Afu with his
kids at UT in 4/18/08
