Faculty

Raymond Jeanloz

Professor of EPS & Astronomy

Raymond Jeanloz and his group study the nature and evolution of planetary interiors, as well as the properties of materials at high pressures. Much of their work is based on experiments with laser-heated diamond-anvil cells, and they also pursue shock-wave experiments and quantum mechanical calculations of material properties.

Francis Macdonald

Professor

Francis Macdonald's research focuses on the interactions of tectonics, climate, and biological evolution through Earth history. This work begins with geological mapping, and uses stratigraphic analysis, isotope geochemistry, geochronology, paleomagnetism, and paleontology to reconstruct paleoenvironments and tectonic histories. Recent projects have focused on Snowball Earth, the Great Unconformity, the impact of tropical mountains on global climate, and the tectonic evolution of the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Macdonald was awarded the GSA Young Scientist Award (Donath Medal) in 2014...

Michael Manga

Professor
RESEARCH INTERESTS

Michael Manga studies the geological processes that shape Earth’s surface. This includes understanding the reasons why planets have volcanoes, why those volcanoes erupt in so many different ways, and how those volcanic eruptions affect climate and other Earth systems. He studies how geological processes affect and are affected by groundwater, including the formation of geysers, the effects of earthquakes on fluid flow in Earth’s crust, and the origin of springs and mud volcanoes. He also studies similar processes on other planets, including the...

Burkhard Militzer

Professor of planetary science
As a member of the NASA missions Juno and Cassini, Burkhard Militzer investigates the interior structure and evolution of the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn. His work demonstrated that helium rain occurs deep within Jupiter and that Saturn’s rings are unexpectedly young -- only about 200 million years old. Using first-principles computer simulations, he studies how planetary materials behave under extreme pressures. Most recently, his research has shown that planetary ices such as H₂O, CH₄, and NH₃ spontaneously phase separate in the interiors of Uranus and Neptune,...

Steve Pride

Adjunct Professor

Crusted seismology, poroelasticity, electrical properties of rocks, physics of brittle fracture

James Rector

Professor of EPS & Civil Engineering

Borehole seismology, Reservoir characterization, Seismic wave propagation in sedimentary basins, Multidimensional digital signal processing, Non-invasive imaging of materials.

Paul Renne

Professor in Residence & Director of Berkeley Geochronology Center

Applications of geochronology and paleomagnetism to various problems in the evolution of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.

Mark Richards

Professor of the Graduate School and Department Chair
Research Interests:

Mark Richards is a geophysicist who mainly studies the relationship between interior processes in the Earth and
surface manifestations such as plate tectonics, volcanism, and the rebound of continental land masses following
Ice Age deglaciation. His work has increased our understanding of the relationship between the shape of the Earth’s
gravity field and the history of global plate motions, the genesis of “hotspot” island chains such as Hawaii and Galapagos,
the role of these volcanic islands in biological evolution, the nature of Earth’s largest volcanic...

Barbara A. Romanowicz

Professor of the Graduate School

Deep earth structure and dynamics using seismological tools. Earthquake processes and scaling laws. Real time estimation of earthquake parameters. Development of modern broadband seismic and geophysical observatories on land and in the oceans. Planetary seismology.

David Romps

Professor

Climate physics