The critical shortage of abundant, affordable, and clean energy calls upon novel materials with extreme properties for energy production, storage, conversion, and transfer that are superior to materials that now exist or are in use today. Twenty-first century energy technology also demands enhanced performance from existing materials under extreme environments of pressure, temperature, chemistry, radiation, and electromagnetic fields. Investigating the behavior of materials in extreme pressures and temperatures, in particular, provides the fundamental knowledge needed to address these problems. These studies are leading to the discovery of both new materials with enhanced performance as well as new physical and chemical phenomena, and take advantage of advances at national x-ray, neutron, and laser facilities. Similar methodologies, as applied to carbon-based materials, are also essential for deepening our understanding and appreciation of the Earth's deep interior. This work aims to answer outstanding questions that include the abundance of carbon within the planet, the depth and nature of the deep biosphere, and the implications of the deep carbon cycle for energy, environment, and climate.

Argonne Physics Division Colloquium Schedule