Awards and Scholarships

2023                Dave P. Carlton Centennial Professorship in Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences

2022                Fulbright Scholarship, US Department of State and Poland

2016                Outstanding Young Alumni Award of the National Cheng-Kung University

2015                 Fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America

2014-2019       Faculty Investment Initiative Award, Jackson School of Geosciences, the University of Texas at Austin

2012-2015       Visiting Professorship, Okayama University at Misasa, Japan

2011-2015       NSF-EAR Early Career Award in Geophysics/Petrology/Geochemistry

2014-2023      Total E&P USA Petroleum Faculty Fellowship, Jackson School of Geosciences

2010-2013       Jackson Centennial Teaching Fellowship, Jackson School of Geosciences

2005-2008      Lawrence Livermore Fellowship, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

2002-2004      Carnegie Fellowship, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Research News

240. “Active Geodynamo and Martian Dynamo Cessation” talk at SEES delivered by Prof. Lin (04/15/2024)

Prof. Lin gave an invited talk at SEES (Synchrotron Earth and Environmental Science) to discuss the planetary dynamo scenarios between Earth and Mars.

239. Science Ad. paper on “Martian Dynamo Cessation” (02/16/2024)

This paper reports new thermal conductivity of Fe-S alloys and modelling results to understand the Martian dynamo cessation. PDF

Hsieh, W.-P., F. Deschamps, Y.-C. Tsao, T. Yoshino, and J.F. Lin, A thermally-conductive Martian core and implications for its dynamo cessation, Science Advances (in press), 2024.

238. Collective Motion of hcp-Fe in Earth’s Core published in PNAS

This article reports fast diffusion of hcp-Fe at relevant Earth’s core P-T conditions. Collective motion of iron atoms leads to reduced Vs and enhanced Poisson’s ratio of hcp-Fe, and can explain seismic observations of the region. The article is highlighted in a UT News Release of the Article. Newsweek News.

237. “What’s Driving the Geodynamo?” Scientific Lecture at Texas A&M University

Prof. Lin gave a departmental lecture on “What’s Driving the Geodynamo?” at the Department of Geology and Geophysics, Texas A&M University. He visited Prof. Jin Zhang’s new GeoSpectroscopy Lab. Picture of the seminar.

236. NASA Solar System Working grant (08/2023)

Prof. Lin’s proposal, “Thermal Transport Properties across the Martian Core-Mantle Boundary”, is awarded a 3-yr NASA funding. The team will investigate thermal transport properties of candidate materials in the deep Martian mantle-core boundary conditions to understand dynamic processes in the region. One key question to address is about the demise of Martian dynamo.

235. Dave P. Carlton Centennial Professorship in Geology (07/2023)

Prof. Lin has been awarded Dave P. Carlton Centennial Professorship in Geology by the Jackson School, UT to recognize his scientific contribution and leadership.

234. Prof. Lin visited Faculty of Physics, Adam Mickiewicz University (6/2023)

During the visit, Prof. Lin gave a lecture about “Compressive Strain Engineering of 2D Materials”. He also trained AMU scientists how to conduct high-pressure research.

233. Prof. Lin visited Seoul National University (5/2023)

During the visit, Prof. Lin helped built a CO2 laser heating system. He also gave a lecture about “Energy Sources Powering Planetary Dynamos”.

232. Prof. Lin gave an invited seminar at University of Rochester (4/2023)

Prof. Lin talked about “Transport Properties of Iron Alloys and Dynamo Scenarios in Planetary Cores” in the Center for Matter at Atomic Pressures (CMAP), University of Rochester

231. Prof. Maciej Wiesner of the Adam Mickiewicz University visited Mineral Physics Group, UT Austin (3/2023)

Prof. Wiesner conducted collaborative research on 2D materials in the Mineral Physics Lab.

230. Prof. Lin gave an invited seminar at Rice University (9/2022)

Prof. talked about “Mineralogy and Water in Earth’s Lower Mantle” in the departmental seminar at Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Rice University.

229. Goldschmidt Conference at Honolulu (7/2022)

In the Goldschmidt Conference 2022, Honolulu, USA, Prof. Lin delivered an invited talk about “Transport Properties of Iron Alloys and the Geodynamo”. This project is funded by NSF CSEDI Program. Pineapple Shaved Ice

228. Prof. Lin visited Adam Mickiewicz University as a Fulbright Scholar (6/2022)

During the Fulbright Scholarship visit, Prof. Lin taught a University of Tomorrow course, “Materials of a Habitable Planet” to the university students. Prof. Lin also gave a lecture about “Energy Sources Powering Planetary Dynamos” at the Institute of Geology. Legendary Lech Oak

227. Molten Iron in Exoplanet Cores published in Science (1/2022) 

Dr. Lin co-authored the Science Magazine perspective paper to discuss how iron melting curve at pressure conditions of Earth-like exoplanetary cores helps understanding their dynamic processes and possible magnetic fields.

226. Thermal conductivity and Earth’s core stratification paper published in PNAS (1/2022) 

Dr. Lin co-authored the PNAS paper to report thermal conductivity of Fe-Si alloy at Earth’s core pressure-temperature conditions. The results are modelled to suggest that silicon as a light element can lead to thermal stratification at the topmost outer core.

225. Infrared Laser Heating System at High Pressure (10/2021) 

A new infrared laser heating system has been built in the Mineral Physics Group. The system has double-sided laser heating capability to thousands of K in temperature in a diamond anvil cell. The system will be used for materials synthesis and in situ measurements at high pressure and temperature.

224. Fulbright Scholarship awarded to Prof. Lin (8/2021) 

Prof. Lin has been awarded the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship sponsored by The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State. As a Fulbright scholar, Prof. Lin will visit Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland to deliver scientific seminars, give lectures to students, and conduct scientific research and cultural exchange.

223. Pseudo-proper Ferroelastic Transition from Stishovite to Post-Stishovite in Physical Review Letters (12/2020) 

Graduate student Yanyao Zhang’s paper on the ferroelasticity of post-stishovite transition has been accepted by PRL. This work presents full elasticity results that are modelled using Landau Theory to solve for a long standing issue on the elasticity of the post-stishovite transition. The study has implications to our understanding of seismic scatterers in the mantle along subducting slabs.

222. MRS Tutorial on Compressive Strain Tuning of 2D Materials, MRS Fall Meeting (11/19/2020) 

Dr. Lin gave an invited lecture on “Compressive Strain Tuning of 2D Materials in a High Pressure Diamond Cell” at the MRS Fall Meeting virtually. This tutorial aims to introduce compressive strain tuning techniques and research results to the material science community.

221. Understanding Energy Sources to Power the Geodynamo (7/2020) (read CNN News about the research)

Dr. Lin and collaborators have published two papers, Nature Comm. and PRL, about thermal and electrical conductivities of iron and iron-silicon alloy at high pressure-temperature conditions relevant to the core. Our results show that electrical resistivity of hcp-Fe increases linearly with increasing temperature at a given high pressure. Silicon alloying significantly reduces the thermal conductivity. These results indicate a lower thermal energy source than previously thought.

220. Carbon in Earth’s Interior, AGU Monograph Series 249 (3/2020)

This monograph is primarily a result of the decadal effort of the Extreme Physics and Chemistry (EPC) community of the Deep Carbon Observatory. Prof. Manning, Prof. Mao, and Prof. Lin served as editors of the monograph. Prof. Lin’s group also contributed a chapter on deep-mantle ferromagnesite.

219. PhD student Suyu Fu awarded AGU MRP Best Student Paper Award (12/2019)

Suyu Fu was awarded the Student Award at the AGU Fall Meeting MRP Reception.

218. Zhu Mao awarded MSA Fellowship (10/2019)

Former postdoc fellow Prof. Zhu Mao of the USTC was named MSA Fellow in 2019 class.

217. Jin Liu won MSA Award (10/2019)

Former PhD student Dr. Jin Liu was awarded MSA Award (Mineralogical Society of America) 2019.

216. Jin Liu winning Jamieson Award (8/9/2019)

Former PhD student Dr. Jin Liu awarded Jamieson Award at 2019 AIRAPT Meeting in Rio de Janeiro. The award is to honor Dr. Liu’s contribution to High Pressure Mineral Physics. J. Jamieson made major contributions to High Pressure as a professor at University of Chicago.

215. Prof. Lin visited Sichuan University and gave an invited talk (5/28/2018)

Prof. Lin visited the Institute of Atomic and Molecular Physics at Sichuan University, and have a lecture entitled, “High-Pressure Mineral Physics and Techniques”. He visited Prof. Youjun Zhang’s new shock physics lab. He also toured nearby LeShen Budda Sculpture

214. “Abnormal elasticity of Fe-bearing bridgmanite in the Earth’s lower mantle” paper published in GRL (5/8/2018)

Graduate student Suyu Fu led the team to discover abnormal Vp softening in iron-bearing bridgmanite at lower-mantle pressures using impulsive and Brillouin light scattering techniques. The softening is explained as a result of the iron spin transition. See article here.

213. Prof. Wendy Mao of the Stanford University visited Jackson School as a distinguished Qualline Distinguished Centennial Lecturer (4/19/2018)

Prof. Mao gave the distinguished lecturer entitled, “Viewing Planetary Interiors in a Diamond Cell “, in DeFord Lecture. Wendy at Austin

212. “Keeping up the pressure” (2/16/2018)

News highlight on Methane Hydrate research at UT Austin. Our research team is collaborating with Prof. Felmings,  UT colleagues, and collaborators using research funds from DoE and ExxonMobil to characterize methane hydrates in the Gulf of Mexico reservoirs using micro-Raman spectroscopy at high pressure and cold temperature. News on Science and Technology 

211. “A Low Viscosity Lunar Magma Ocean” paper published in GRL (12/27/2017)

Prof. Nick Dygert and Prof. Lin, together with collaborators at Jackson School and Argonne National Lab, used synchrotron X-ray faciltity at Argonne National Lab to investigate the viscosity of lunar magma at extreme pressure and temperature. Their results indicate that “Moon’s crust underwent resurfacing after forming from magma ocean”: JSG News Release.

210. Prof. Steve Jacobsen visited Jackson School as a distinguished Qualline Distinguished Centennial Lecturer (9/15/2017)

Prof. Jacobsen gave the distinguished lecturer entitled, “Earth’s Deep Water Cycle: Atomic to Geophysical Scales”, in DeFord Lecture. He also gave a guest lecture in Earth Materials class about crystallography.

209. AIRAPT Meeting in Beijing (8/19/2017)

This was the largest AIRAPT Meeting ever. There were almost 1000 attendees at the meeting. Dr. Lin gave a talk on the iron isotope fractionation in the deep Earth revealed by inelastic X-ray scattering.

208. Goldschmidt Conference at Paris (8/17/2017)

Dr. Lin attended the conference and gave two talks about silicate post-perovskite at D” layer and iron isotope fractionation in the deep Earth, respectively.

207. Z Machine Fundamental Science Workshop (7/17/2017)

Dr. Lin attended the workshop and gave a talk on “Melting and Thermal Conductivity of Iron in the Earth’s Core”. The workshop focuses on the fundamental science research on Z at Sandia National Lab.

206. JGR paper, “Lattice thermal conductivity of Fe-bearing bridgmanite in Earth’s deep mantle”, accepted (6/17/2017)

In this paper, we report reduced thermal conductivity of Fe-bearing bridgmanite in Earth’s lower mantle pressures. The results are combined with geodynamic modelling to understand how the reduced thermal conductivity affects mantle heat transfer and convection patterns.

205. Z Pulsed Power Facilities experiments on iron (5/31/2017)
Prof. Lin joined the Z Machine shot on iron at extreme P-T conditions with collaborators at Sandia and from UT Austin, Aaron and Sean. The shot was coupled with VISAR and Ellipsometer for determining not only P-T conditions but also for characterizing thermal transport properties of the iron relevant to Earth’s core and exoplanetary interiors. Z Machine is the world’s most powerful electrical device that can generate 80 trillion watt electrical pulse. Each awarded shot will cost approximately 250k.

204. Physics Colloquium at Argonne National Laboratory (5/19/2017)
Prof. Lin was invited to give a colloquium about “Revealing the physical and chemical nature of iron in the Deep Earth” in the Physics Division of the ANL. He also toured the ALTAS, a particle physics facility.

203. UT Austin Press Release: Experiments Call Origin of Earth’s Iron into Question (2/20/2017).

The University of Texas at Austin releases UTNews about our recent research published in Nature Communications, 2017. The research has found that the Earth’s unique iron signature can’t be explained by the formation of the planet’s core. The results call into question the prevailing theory for why rocks on Earth have more heavy iron isotopes than rocks from other places in the solar system, and opens the door to competing theories. Daily Texan News

202. “Iron Partitioning in the Earth’s Lower Mantle” paper accepted by JGR (2/6/2017).
In this study, the authors report the chemical and physical consequences of the spin transition of iron in ferropericlase and Al-Fe substitution in bridgmanite in the lower mantle using first-principles calculations.
S.Z. Xu, J. F. Lin, and D. Morgan, Iron Partitioning between Ferropericlase and Bridgmanite in the Earth’s Lower Mantle, J. Geophys. Res. (in press), 2017.

201. “Abnormal elasticity of magnesiosiderite” accepted by Phys. Rev. Lett. (APS) (12/8/2016)
In this study, graduate students, Suyu Fu and Jill Yang, and Prof. Lin report experimental observations of abnormal Cij across the spin transition in ferromagnesite at high pressure. The paper is also selected to be an editor’s highlight.
S. Fu, J. Yang, J. F. Lin, Abnormal elasticity of single-crystal magnesiosiderite across the spin transition in Earth’s lower mantle, Phys. Rev. Lett. (in press), 2017. The article is selected as Editor’s Suggestion shown as the first article on PRL website on 1/19/2017. DCO Highlight

200. X-ray Echo Spectroscopy Workshop, Advanced Photon Source (APS) (9/10/2016)
Prof. Lin attended and gave a talk entitled, the workshop and Understanding the physics and chemistry of earth materials in extreme environments by IXS. the workshop aimed to develop new methodology and technique to enhance the capability of inelastic X-ray scattering via X-ray echo spectroscopy.

199. Outstanding Young Alumni Award of the National Cheng-Kung University (8/30/2016)
Prof. Lin will be awarded the Outstanding Young Alumni Award (優秀青年校友獎) from his alma mater, the National Cheng-Kung University, at the School’s Annual Ceremony in November at Tainan, Taiwan. This award recognizes his early career achievement and contribution in earth science research.

198. The Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Urumuqi, China (7/7/2016)
Dr. Lin visited the Institute and gave a talk entitled, Exploring 2D Materials Properties in Extreme Environments. Field trip to China #1 Glacier with Wu, Xiang. The glacier retreats about 5 meters each year.

197. COMPRES Best Poster Award to Jill Yang (6/24/2016)
Graduate student Jill Yang won the best student poster award at the COMPRES Annual Meeting for her research entitled “Single-crystal elasticity of ferropericlase and seismic heterogeneity of lower mantle”. Jill Yang with the poster.

196. “High-Spin Bridgmanite in the Lower Mantle” paper accepted by GRL (6/28/2016)
This topic has been very controversial in the field. Dr. Lin led a team to untangle the spin and valence states of iron in single-crystal Fe,Al-bearing bridgmanite using X-ray emission and Mossbauer spectroscopies at high pressures. Their results show that A-site Fe2+ and Fe3+ are prevalent in the crystal and stay in the high-spin state in the lower mantle conditions.
J. F. Lin, Z. Mao, J. Yang, J. Liu, Y. Xiao, P. Chow, and T. Okuchi, High-Spin Fe2+ and Fe3+ in Single-Crystal Aluminous Bridgmanite in the Lower Mantle, Geophys. Res. Lett. (in press), 2016.

195. Renishaw inVia micro-Raman Spectrscopy (5/24/2016)
The system is funded by funds from DCO, Jackson School and Department of Geological Sciences, and some faculty at DGS. Renishaw system is now available in the Mineral Physics Lab and has a number of functions with 1200 and 2400 gratings:
— 532 nm laser with Eclipse filter with lowest wavenumber at ~10 cm-1;
— 532 nm laser with edge filter (cut-on) with lowest wavenumber at ~50 cm-1;
— 473 nm laser with polarizer/analyzer (polarized Raman setup) with lowest wavenumber at ~150 cm-1;

194. Taiwan Geological Society Annual Meeting, Taipei (5/17/2016)
Dr. Lin delivered a plenary talk, entitled “Deciphering the Enigma of the Earth’s Interior”, at the meeting.

193. EAGER grant from NSF Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS) (5/1/2016)
Dr. Akinwande and Dr. Lin’s proposal, “EAGER: Coupled Opto-Electro-Mechanics in Semiconducting Phosphorene”, is funded by NSF ECCS to investigate newly discovered phosphorene at extreme stress/strain environments.

192. Z-Machine, Sandia National Lab (4/7/2016)
Dr. Lin visited the Z Machine at Sandia and gave an invited talk entitled “Deciphering the Enigma of the Earth’s Core”. During the visit, Dr. Lin discussed collaborative projects with Sandia scientists on using Z Machine to solve outstanding deep-Earth enigma.

191. Elasticity of Methane Hydrate paper accepted by JCP (4/1/2016)
Undergraduate researcher Jenn Beam led the team to investigate elasticity of MH phases at high pressures. The results are applied to understand methane hydrate storage and interiors of icy satellites.
J. Beam, J. Yang, J. Liu, C. Liu, and J. F. Lin, Elasticity of Methane Clathrate Phases at High Pressures, J. Chem. Phys. (in press), 2016.

190. Low-Wavenumber Raman System (3/24/2016)
Dr. Lin has setup a Raman system with ultralow wavenumber capability down to 10 cm-1. The system allows probing Raman characteristics in low wavenumbers in the acoustic phonon regime, and can be used for a number of applications. See my first low-wavenumber Raman spectrum (some TMD oxides).

189. MISASA VI: Frontiers in Earth and Planetary Materials Research: Origin, Evolution and Dynamics (3/10/2016)
Dr. Lin attended the Symposium held at the Institute for Study of Earth’s Interior, Okayama University at Misasa and gave an invited lectur about “Deciphering Chemical and Seismic Heterogeneities of the Earth’s Deep Mantle”. Picture with Takuo, Dobson-san, and Nara.

188. “Seismic Parameters of hcp-Fe Alloyed with Ni and Si” paper accepted by JGR (1/20/2016)
In the paper, we utilized multiple high-pressure synchrotron techniques to measure Vp, Vs, and EoS of an hcp-FeNiSi alloy in order to provide multiple seismic constraints on the seismic profiles and chemical composition of the inner core.
J. Liu, J. F. Lin, A. Alatas, M. Hu, J. Zhao, L. Dubrovinsky, Seismic Parameters of hcp-Fe Alloyed with Ni and Si in the Earth’s Inner Core, J. Geophys. Res., 10.1002/2015JB012625, 2016. PDF

187. Z Machine Proposal entitled “Understanding the Physics and Chemistry of Iron Alloys relevant to the Conditions of Planetary Cores” Approved (1/8/2016)
Dr. Bernstein of the Physics Department and Dr. Lin in the Jackson School will team up to use the Z Machine facility at Sandia to investigate the physics and chemistry of iron alloys in planetary cores.

186. Taiwan Photon Source, NSRRC, Taiwan (12/23/2015)
Dr. Lin visited NSRRC and gave a talk entitled “2D Materials in Extreme Environments”. He also discussed with TPS scientists about future research collaborations.

185. Mineralogical Society of America (MSA) Fellow (11/11/2015)
Dr. Lin has been selected as a fellow of the MSA in 2015. The number of fellows elected each year cannot exceed 0.5% of MSA membership. List of MSA fellows can be found here.

184. Ce115 Heavy Fermion Superconductors paper accepted by PRL (11/11/2015)
In this paper, we used synchrotron X-ray spectroscopy to investigate valence transition and hybridization in Ce115 heavy fermion superconductors at high pressure and low temperature.
H. Yamaoka, Y. Yamamoto, E. F. Schwier, F. Honda, Y. Zekko, Y. Ohta, J. F. Lin, M. Nakatake, H. Iwasawa, M. Arita, K. Shimada, N. Hiraoka, H. Ishii, K.-D. Tsuei, and J. Mizuki, Pressure and temperature dependence of the Ce valence and c-f hybridization gap in Ce115 heavy fermion superconductors, Phys. Rev. B (in press), 2015.

183. Spin Transition of NAL Phase paper accepted by EPSL (11/11/2015)
In this paper, we report the spin transition and its effect on the EoS of NAL phase in the mantle.  This is the first report to show the spin transition in the NAL phase in the subducting slab materials.
Y. Wu, X. Wu, J. F. Lin, C. A. McCammon, Y. Xiao, P. Chow, T. Yoshino, S.M. Zhai, S. Qin, V. B. Prakapenka, Spin transition of ferric iron in the NAL phase: implications for the seismic heterogeneities of subducted slabs in the lower mantle, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. (in press), 2015.

182. Synthesis Workshop of the Deep Carbon Observatory (10/29/2015)
As a member of the DCO’s program, Dr. Lin attended the workshop to represent the Extreme Physics and Chemistry community to discuss synthesis of the EPC efforts for the DCO’s decadal goal.

181. Elasticity of Ferropericlase paper accepted by Scientific Reports (10/26/2015)
In this paper, we report full elastic constants of single crystal ferropericlase at high pressures using combined ISS and BLS techniques in a DAC. These results help understand how the spin transition affects the elasticity of ferripericlase in the lower mantle.
J. Yang, X. Tong, J. F. Lin, N. Tomioka, T. Okuchi, and V. B. Prakapenka, Elasticity of Ferropericlase across the Spin Crossover in the Earth’s Lower Mantle, Sci. Rep., 2015. PDF

180. Institute of Geochemistry at Guiyang (08/18/2015)
Dr. Lin visited the Institute and gave an invited talk entitled “Deciphering the Mineralogy and Seismology of the Earth’s Mantle” in which he addressed mantle geophysics and geochemistry using recent mineral physics results. He also had meetings with Prof. Li, Heping (李和平) and Dr. Dawei Fan (范大伟). He also visited Guilin (贵林) and Yangshuo (阳朔).

179. Northwestern Polytechnical University (08/13/2015)
Dr. Lin visited Prof. Artem Oganov’s group at the University and gave a talk entitled “Exploring 2D Materials Properties in Extremes”. He also visited Terracotta and Huashan Mountain (华山).

178. Metallization of WS2 at HP Just Accepted by ACS Nano (08/11/2015)
UT Austin scientists led by Dr. Nayak, together with collaborators at CAS and George Washington U, have discovered metallization of WS2 at HP that affects its mobility and carrier density.
A. P. Nayak, Z. Yuan, B. Cao, J. Liu, J. Wu, S. T. Moran, T. Li, D. Akinwande, C. Jin, J. F. Lin, Pressure-Modulated Conductivity, Carrier Density, and Mobility of Multilayered Tungsten Disulfide, ACS Nano, DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5b03295, 2015. PDF

177. Zhengzhou University of Light Industry (07/10/2015)
Dr. Lin visited the school and delivered a talk entitled “Exploring 2D Materials Properties in Extremes”. He also visited Dr. Wang, Yong-Qiang’s lab as well as nearby Shaolin Temple, Longmen Cave Buddha, and Yellow River.

176. “Determination of elastic tensor of single crystals” paper accepted by Am. Miner. (06/25/2015)
Determining accurate full elastic constants of single crystals at HP has been a challenge due to intrinsic technical issues. Here we report a new method to determine full elastic tensors using shear wave velocities alone. This paper will open up new research results on elasticity to help understand the physics and chemistry of the Earth’s interior.
D. Fan, Zhu Mao, J. Yang, and J. F. Lin, Determination of the full elastic tensor of single crystals using shear wave velocities by Brillouin spectroscopy, Am. Miner., 2015 (in press).

175. Elasticity of Olivine paper accepted by EPSL (06/24/2015)
In this paper, we report the elasticity of the mantle olivine at high pressure and temperature and apply the results to understand 410-km discontinuity and mantle olivine wedge:
Z. Mao, D. Fan, J. F. Lin, J. Yang, S. N. Tkachev, and V. B. Prakapenka, Elasticity of Single-Crystal Olivine at High Pressures and Temperatures, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 2015 (in press).

174. China University of Geology at Wuhan, Wuhan, China (06/2015)
Dr. Lin visited the CUG at Wuhan’s School of Earth Sciences and gave two talks entitled:
A New Spin on Physics and Chemistry of the Earth’s Deep Mantle
Deciphering the Enigma of the Earth’s Core

173. Editorial Board of the Nature Scientific Reports (06/2015)
Dr. Lin joins the Editorial Board to be an associate editor for the journal.

172. Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan, China (06/2015)
Dr. Lin visited the Wuhan National High Magnetic Field Center at the HUST and gave an invited talk entitled “Exploring 2D Material Properties in Extremes”. The Center houses one of the most powerful magnets in the world.

171. Early Earth, Japan Geoscience Union Meeting (5/24/2015)
Early Earth Session is dedicated to Prof. Eiji Ohtani for his career contribution to the study of the Earth’s interior. Dr. Lin contributed a talk in the session and another in the Deep Carbon Session:
Recent Advanced in Understanding the Elasticity of the Lower Mantle (Invited)
Ferromagnesite as a Potential Deep-Mantle Carbon Carrier

170. “EoS of Bridgmanite” paper accepted by GRL (5/18/2015)
In this paper, we report the effects of the Fe3+ spin transition on the EoS of silicate perovskite in the Earth’s lower mantle:
Z. Mao, J. F. Lin, J. Yang, T. Inoue, and V. B. Prakapenka, Effects of the Fe3+ Spin Transition on the Equation of State of Bridgmanite, Geophys. Rev. Lett., 2015 (in press).

169. Jeff Liu will soon earn a PhD Degree from UT Austin (5/15/2015)
Jeff Liu will soon graduate with a PhD degree in Geophysics. He will become a postdoc fellow at Stanford University in Prof. Wendy Mao’s Group. Pictures of the new PhDs with the supervisor.

168. Avinash Nayak will soon earn a PhD Degree from UT Austin (5/15/2015)
Avinash Nayak will soon graduate with a PhD degree in EE (co-supervised with Prof. Akinwande).
Pictures of the new PhDs with the supervisor.

167. APS User Workshop: HERIX Workshop (5/12/2015)
Dr. Lin attended the APS User Workshop at Argonne National Laboratory and delivered an invited talk entitled “High-Pressure Acoustic Phonons and Elasticity of Iron Alloys and Oxides” in the meeting.

166. Single-Crystal Al,Fe-bearing Silicate Perovskite (4/14/2015)
Dr. Lin visited ISEI at Misasa and successfully synthesized single-crystal Al,Fe-bearing silicate perovskite as big as 300-400 um using the Kawai Apparatus. Dr. Lin also visited nearby holy mountain Daisen and holy sakura Daigo. Afu working on the Kawai Apparatus.

165. DCO International Science Meeting (3/28/2015)
Dr. Lin attended the 2nd DCO International Science Meeting at Munich, Germany. He presented three posters about his group’s research results on DCO-related projects including Ferromagnesite in the Deep Mantle, Thermodynamics of Methane Clathrate Ices, and Graphene in Extreme Conditions. Group Photo.

164. CSEDI, NSF-EAR Funding (3/15/2015)
Dr. Lin’s NSF proposal, “Collaborative project: CSEDI -Understanding Si and Fe differentiation in Earth’s mantle and core through experimental and theoretical research in geochemistry and mineral physics” has been funded by NSF-EAR in Cooperative Studies of the Earth’s Deep Interior (CSEDI). This is a joint project with Prof. Dauphas and Prof. Wentzcovitch to investigate Si and Fe differentiation in the Earth’s interior.

163. SMEC Conference, Florida (3/15/2015)
Dr. Lin attended SMEC Conference held on the Allure of the Seas and delivered three invited talks:
Abnormal Elastic and Vibrational Behaviors of Magnetite at High Pressures
High-Pressure Properties of Transition Metal Dichalcogenides (TMDs)
Elasticity of the Earth’s Mantle Minerals at High Pressure and Temperature

Dr. Lin also visited the Chichen Itza Maya Ruins during the trip.

162. 2D van der Waals Materials (1/31/2015)
Researchers at UT Austin, Rice U, and UT A&M organized a Texas workshop to discuss properties, syntheses, characterizations, and applications of 2D van der Waals materials such as TMDs, graphene, and phosphorene. Dr. Lin presented “Physical Properties of 2D Materials in Extreme Environments” in the Workshop.

161. Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry (1/23/2015)
Dr. Lin visited the GIG of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and gave two invited talks including a plenary talk entitled “Geophysical and Geochemical Consequences of the Spin Transition in Earth’s Deep Mantle” at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Institute. He also went to visit National Danxia Mountain (Chinese Redstone National Park) with Professor Song, Maoshuang and colleagues.

160. NSF EAR Geophysics Grant to Dr. Lin (1/10/2015)
NSF Geophysics Program has awarded Dr. Lin a new grant to investigate “Elasticity and Spin Transitions of Iron in the Earth’s Lower Mantle” for years 2015-2017. This project focuses on understanding the elasticity of lower-mantle ferropericlase and perovskite across the spin transition at high pressures. The project will also sponsor graduate students’ research activities.

159. The 7th North America Mössbauer Symposium, Northeastern University (1/8/2015)
The Symposium was organized Prof. Tim Sage of the Northeastern University, Boston, and Dr. Lin was a co-organizer Boston. Dr. also gave a talk about “Transition Metal Compounds in Extreme Environments”.

158. PhD student Avinash Nayak won the Junior Streetman Prize from UT Austin Cockrell School (1/6/2015)
The Award is given to Avinash to especially recognize his research excellence in studying 2D materials in extreme environments. These results were published in Nature Communications and Nano Letters recently.

157. “Synthesis of large and homogeneous single crystals” paper accepted by American Mineralogist (1/6/2015)
In this paper, we report synthesis of large and homogeneous single crystals such as silicate perovskite and ringwoodite using the Kawaii Apparatus at ISEI. Some of the results for the paper came out from Dr. Lin’s visits to Misasa in the past three years.
T. Okuchi, N. Purevjav, N. Tomioka, J. F. Lin, T. Kuribayashi, L. Schoneveld, H. Hwang, N. Sakamoto, N. Kawasaki, and H. Yurimoto, Synthesis of large and homogeneous single crystals of deep-mantle hydrous minerals by slow cooling quenching at transition zone to lower deep-mantle pressures, Am. Miner., 2015 (in press).

156. Invited Talk at Geophysical Lab, Carnegie Institution (1/6/2015)
Dr. Lin gave an invited talk entitled “Geophysical and Geochemical Consequences of the Spin Transition in Earth’s Deep Mantle” in the Seminar Series of the Geophysical Lab. He also visited the DCO Program where is an academic partner.

155. Invited Talk at Geophysical Lab, Carnegie Institution (1/6/2015)
Dr. Lin gave an invited talk entitled “Geophysical and Geochemical Consequences of the Spin Transition in Earth’s Deep Mantle” in the Seminar Series of the Geophysical Lab. He also visited the DCO Program where is an academic partner.

154. “Pressure-induced band gap opening and closing in monolayer MoS2” accepted by Nano Letters (12/9/2014)
Graduate student Avinash Nayak led the research team to discover bandgap opening and closing in monolayer 2H-MoS2 at high pressures in a DAC. The results are understood through theoretical calculations, and are discussed in the framework of the MoS2 family in terms of how the number of layers affects the optical and vibrational porperties of MoS2 upon compression.
A. P. Nayak, T. Pandey, D. Voiry, J. Liu, S. T. Moran, A. Sharma, C. Tan, C.-H. Chen, L.-J. Li, M. Chhowalla, J. F. Lin, A. Singh, D. Akinwande, Pressure-dependent optical and vibrational properties of the monolayer molybdenum disulfide, Nano Lett., 2014 (in press).

153. “Abnormal acoustic velocities in compressed (Fe,Al)-bearing and basaltic silicate glasses” paper accepted by GRL (12/5/2014)
Graduate student Jin Liu and Dr. Lin report new research results on abnormal elasticity of silicate glasses at high pressures. This is the first report to show the abnormal softening in glasses exists in complex basaltic glass at high pressures.

152. “High-pressure orthorhombic ferromagnesite as a potential deep-mantle carbon carrier” accepted by Scientific Reports (12/3/2014)
Graduate student Jin Liu, Dr. Lin, and U Chicago co-worker V. Prakapenka report a new high-pressure phase of ferromagnesite in the low-spin state. They apply the results to understand ferromagnesite as a potential deep-carbon carrier. This project is funded by the EPC Program of the DCO. See DCO Highlight

151. Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) (11/7/2014)
Dr. Lin visited the newly funded UNIST and gave an invited lecture at the Multidimensional Carbon Center at the UNIST where Prof. Ruoff is the center director. He presented “Exploring Materials Properties in Extreme Environments” using his recent high-pressure DAC research results as highlights including tuning optical and electronic properties of the two-dimensional MoS2. Eating Fugu Hot Pot at Ulsan.

150. William T. Smith Lecture Series at University of Michigan at Ann Arbor(10/17/2014)
Dr. Lin gave the Smith Lecture at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He discussed his recent research results and reviewed current understanding about the “Geophysical and Geochemical Consequences of the Spin Transition in Earth’s Deep Mantle”. Ann Arbor in October and the UM “White House”.

149. Deep Carbon Observatory Annual Meeting at UCLA (10/3-10/5/2014)
Members of the UT Austin’s Mineral Physics Group attended the DCO Meeting at UCLA and gave presentations.
Avinask: Graphene in Extreme Environments
Jeff: Phase diagrams of Carbonate and Iron Carbide
Jenny: Elasticity of Methane Clathrate Hydrate
They also hit the beach nearby.

148. The 17th Chinese High Pressure Meeting, 2014 at Yangzhou (9/3-9/5/2014)
The biannual meeting was well attended by more than approximately 280 attendees. This was the biggest Chinese HP Meeting ever in the history and showed the expansion of the HP research here. Dr. Lin attended the meeting for the first time and gave a plenary talk at the Meeting:
Recent Advances in Understanding Elasticity of the Earth’s Mantle and Core.

147. “IUCr Workshop in Beijing” (8/21/2014)
Dr. Lin attended the Workshop and delivered an invited talk entitled “Transition Metal Compounds in Extreme Environments”.

146. Plenary talk at the CAEP Annual Meeting, 2014 (8/20/2014)
Dr. Lin delivered a plenary talk at the Meeting:
Exploring Frontier Material Properties in Extreme Pressure and Temperature:
Current States and Future Directions in High-Pressure Research

145. “Charge-ordered magnetite” paper accepted by Scientific Reports (8/14/2014)
In this study, Dr. Lin and collaborators used multiple techniques including HERIX, Raman, and XRD to investigate elastic and vibrational behaviors of magnetite at high pressures. They discovered elastic softening and additional Raman band at approximately 8 GPa that can be attributed to the charge ordering of magnetite’s Fe2+/3+ ions:
J. F. Lin, J. Wu, J. Zhu, Z. Mao, A. H. Said, B. M. Leu, J. Cheng, Y. Uwatoko, C. Jin¸ and J. Zhou, Abnormal elastic and vibrational behaviors of magnetite at high pressures, Scientific Reports, 2, 6282, 2014. PDF

144. Lawrence Livermore Fellow Symposium, Lawrence Livermore National Lab (8/14/2014)
Dr. Lin returned back to LLNL for the first time since 2008 and attended the first Lawrence Fellow Symposium to discuss Lawrence Fellowship related topics as well as to give an invited talk on “Transition Metal Compounds in Extreme Environments”. Picture of the Elite Livermore Fellow Group

143. “Superconductivity in Ce122 compounds” accepted by PRL (7/29/2014)
Dr. Lin coauthors the paper with collaborators Yamaoka-san and colleagues at SPring-8 to investigate the role of valence fluctuations in the superconductivity of Ce122 compounds at HP and LT using XAS in the partial fluorescence yield in a DAC:
H. Yamaoka, Y. Ikeda, I. Jarrige, N. Tsujii, Y. Zekko, Y. Yamamoto, J. Mizuki, J. F. Lin, N. Hiraoka, H. Ishii, K.-D. Tsuei, T. C. Kobayashi, F. Honda, and Y. Onuki, Role of valence fluctuations in the superconductivity of Ce122 compounds, Phys. Rev. Lett., 2014 (in press).

142. HPSTAR Summer Science Camp (7/16/2014)
Dr. Lin participated in the Summer Camp and gave an invited lecture about:
Using Mineral Physics Experiments to understand the Earth’s Deep Interior.

141. University of Science and Technology of China and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Solid State Physics (7/8/2014)
Dr. Lin visited Professor Zhu Mao at USTC and Dr. Chen at CAS, Hefei, and gave three invited talks:
Recent Advances in Understanding Seismic Velocities of the Earth’s Interior (at School of Earth and Space Science)
Transition Metal Compounds in Extreme Environments (at Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Solid State Physics)
He also visited Yellow Mountain with Drs. Oganov and Goncharov.

140. “(Fe,Al)-bearing Post-Perovskite” paper accepted by EPSL (6/26/2014)
In this study, Drs. Zhu Mao and Li, together with co-workers, investigated the effects of Fe and Al on the equation of state of silicate post-perovskite in the lowermost mantle conditions.
Z. Mao, J. F. Lin, J. Yang, H. Bian, J. Liu, H. W. Watson, S. Huang, J. Chen, V. B. Prakapenka, Y. Xiao, and P. Chow, (Fe,Al)-bearing post-perovskite in the Earth’s lower mantle, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 2014 (in press).

139. COMPRES Annual Meeting 2014 (6/19/2014)
Members of the Mineral Physics Group attended the Meeting and presented research results. Dr. Lin gave a talk about “Recent Advances in Understanding Elasticity of the Earth’s Mantle and Core”. Some members visited the Multnomah Water Falls.

138. Highlights and Breakthroughs in American Mineralogist Journal (5/20/2014)
Our paper, “Spin and valence state of iron in Al-bearing silicate glass at high pressures studied by synchrotron Mössbauer and X-ray emission spectroscopy”, from Dr. Lin’s group was selected by the American Mineralogist as a Highlights and Breakthroughs article written by Sung Keun Lee, “Absence of pressure-induced electron spin-state transition of iron in silicate glasses upon compression, American Mineralogist, 99, p. 877-878, doi:10.2138/am.2014.4864.

137. Collaborators from U. Okayama at Misasa visited UT Austin (5/16/2014)
Professors Okuchi-san and Tomioka-san, together with PhD student Narangoo-san, from U. Okayama at Misasa visited the Mineral Physics Group at UT Austin. Dr. Lin discussed collaborative projects using neutron, Kawai apparatus, and laser spectroscopies with them during the visit. They also visited the Salt Lick with the group members.

136. “Sound Velocities of bcc- Fe and Fe-Si alloy” accepted by PEPI (5/8/2014)
PhD student Jeff Liu and Dr. Lin collaborate with APS physicists Drs. Alatas and Bi to investigate sound velocities of bcc-Fe and Fe-Si alloy at high P-T using high-energy inelastic X-ray scattering in an externally-heated DAC. This project is part of Jeff Liu’s PhD dissertation:
J. Liu, J. F. Lin, A. Alatas, and W. Bi, Sound velocities of bcc-Fe and Fe0.85Si0.15 alloy at high pressure and temperature, Phys. Earth Planet. Inter., 2014 (in press).

135. “Electronic Transition in Multilayer MoS2” accepted by Nature Communication (3/17/2014)
PhD student Avinash Nayak led the research efforts to investigate the electronic transition and metallization of multilayered MoS2 at high pressues using X-ray and laser spectroscopies in a diamond anvil cell as well as first-priniples calculations.
A. P. Nayak, S. Bhatacharyya, J. Zhu, J. Liu, X. Wu, T. Pandey, A. K. Singh, D. Akinwande, J. F. Lin, Pressure-Induced Electronic Transition in Multilayered MoS2, Nature Communication, 2014 (in press). PDF

134. Iron-Bearing Single-Crystal Silicate Perovskite (3/12/2014)
Dr. Lin visited University of Okayama at Misasa (ISEI) to synthesize single-crytsal mantle samples. 57Fe-bearing silicate perovskite crystals as big as 500-600 um have been successfully synthesized using the Kawai Apparatus at Instute for Study of the Earth’s Interior through the team work of Okuchi-san, Tomioka-san, and Nara-san. Single-crystal perovskite as big as 500-600 um. Japanese BBQ with Misasa colleagues.

133. Elasticity of Iron Workshop at Takarazuka, Japan (2/25/2014)
Dr. Lin attended the Elastic Properties of Iron in Extreme Conditions via X-ray Scattering Workshop in Japan and presented an invited talk entitled “Elasticity of Polycrystalline and Single-Crystal Iron Alloys in the Earth’s Core”. The workshop focused on understanding recent experimental elasticity results of iron and its alloys in the Earth’s core.

132. Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) highlights “Spin Transition in Deep-Mantle Ferromagnesite” (1/30/2014)
Deep Carbon Observatory highlights our recent research paper about “Spin Transition in Deep-Mantle Ferromagnesite” on its website. This research, led by graduate student Jeff Liu, highlights the effects of the spin transition on the thermal equation of state parameters of ferromagnesite, ta candidate deep-mantle carbon carrier:
“One possible means of deep-mantle carbon storage involves an iron-bearing magnesite ((Mg,Fe)CO3) called ferromagnesite for the Mg-rich part of the solid solution system, in which approximately 20 mol% ferrous iron is dissolved in magnesite as carbonated peridotite and eclogite.”. Picture for the Highlight

131. Elasticity of Mantle Magnesite accepted by EPSL (1/15/2014)
PhD student Jill Yang and co-authors investigated high P-T elasticity of magnesite in order to understand the role of this potential deep-carbon carrier in the deep mantle. They found that magnesite exhibits extremely high Vp and Vs anisotropy which may be used as a distinct signature for probing carbonate-rich regions in the deep mantle. This project is funded by DCO’s Extreme Physics and Chemistry Directorate.
J. Yang, Z. Mao, J. F. Lin, and V. B. Prakapenka, Single-crystal elasticity of the deep-mantle magnesite at high pressure and temperature, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 2014 (in press).

130. The 10th LANSCE School on Neutron Scattering at Los Alamos (1/13/2014)
Los Alamos National Laboratory, LANSCE School on Neutron Scattering, Los Alamos (1/2014)
Dr. Lin gave an invited lecture, entitled “Mineral and Material Physics in Extreme Environments” at the 10th Neutron School held at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

129. AGU Fall Meeting 2013 (12/10/2013)
Dr. Lin attended the AGU Meeting and gave an invited talk on “Iron Partitioning and Elasticity across the Spin Transitions of Iron in the Lower Mantle”. In this talk, Dr. Lin highlighted recent research results from the group on the paritioning and elasticity related to the spin transition. Current and former Mineral Physics Group members also had a dinner together at SF China Town’s R & G Lounge (岭南小馆).

128. DCO’s Extreme Physics and Chemistry Workshop (12/7/2013)
Dr. Lin, JSG postdoc fellow Celia Dalou, and graduate students Jill and Dennis attended Deep Carbon Observatory’s EPC Workshop at Stanford University organized ny Professors Craig Manning and Wendy Mao. They gave presentations about spin transition in ferromagnesite (Afu), elasticity of magnesite (Jill), deep CO2 tracers (Celia), and Brillouin/Impulsive Spectroscopies (Dennis) at the workshop.

127. SrFe2As2 paper accepted by Nature’s Scientific Reports (12/4/2013)
Graduate student Junjie Wu, in collaborations with Dr. Lin, Dr. Jin and HPCAT scientists, reports new scientific results in the magnetic and structural transitions of the iron-based superconductor SrFe2As2 parent compound at high pressures and low temperatures. This research has been mainly funded by EFRC’s EFree Program.
J. J. Wu, J. F. Lin, X. C. Wang, Q. Q. Liu, J. L. Zhu, Y. M. Xiao, P. Chow, and C. Q. Jin, Magnetic and structural transitions of the iron-based superconductor SrFe2As2 parent compound at high pressures and low temperatures, Scientific Report, 2013 (in press).

126. Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) Funding Approved (10/31/2013)
Dr. Lin’s group at UT Austin joins the DCO’s Physics and Chemistry of Carbon at Extreme Conditions research funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to investigate the elasticity and phase diagrams of carbonates at extreme environments. The proposal has been approved by the Sloan Foundation for the next 2 years. Prof. Craig Manning of the UCLA is the leader of the research group.

125. Prof. Takuo Okuchi visited UT Austin (10/31/2013)
Prof. Okuchi-san visited the Mineral Physics Group and gave an invited talk on “Clathrate Hydrates” at the iPGST seminar. He and Dr. Lin also conducted high-pressure neutron experiments at SNAP, Oakridge Nat’l Lab before his visit to UT. Okuchi-san visited the Salk Lick BBQ and discovered that the original owner of the Salk Lick, Mrs. Hisako Roberts, was a Hawaiian-born Japanese descent who made the secret ingredient of the world-famous BBQ source (a bit sweet and perhaps with some turiyaki ingredient)–see The New York Times for details. After all, the world’s famous Texas BBQ has a lot of Japanese flavors!

124. “Anomalous perovskite PbRuO3 stabilized under high pressure” paper accepted by PNAS (10/31/2013)
Dr. Lin co-authors the paper with Drs. Cheng, Zhou, and Professor John Goodenough et al. to investigate PbRuO3 perovskite properties at high pressures.
J.-G. Cheng, J.-S. Zhou, K. Kweon, J.A. Alonso, Y. Liu , C.-Q. Jin, J.J. Wu, J.F. Lin, W.-G. Yang, G. Shen, S. Larregola, A. MacDonald, A. Manthiram, G. Hwang, J.B. Goodenough, Anomalous perovskite PbRuO3 stabilized under high pressure, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 2013 (in press).

123. “Spin and valence states of iron in silicate glass” manuscript accepted by American Mineralogist (10/23/2013)
In this study, Profs. Mao/Lin and collaborators used synchrotron Mossbauer and X-ray emission to investigate the spin and valence states of iron in silicate glass. They also propose a new model for analyzing X-ray emission data.
Z. Mao, J. F. Lin, J. Yang, J. Wu, H. C. Watson, Y. Xiao, P. Chow, and J. Zhao, Spin and valence state of iron in Al-bearing silicate glass at high pressures studied by synchrotron Mössbauer and X-ray emission spectroscopy, Am. Miner., 2013 (accepted).

122. Department of Physics, Amherst College (10/4/2013)
Dr. Lin visited Amherst College and gave an invited talk on “Solid State Geophysics under Extreme Environments: from Electronic Spin Transitions to Earth’s Interior” in the departmental seminar. He visited Dr. Larry Hunter’s lab to learn how long-range spin-spin interaction can be measured. This was his first visit to a liberal arts college where he learned how research and undergraduate education are conducted at a fortfront level. Picture: The Spin-Spin Group of co-authors in front of the “spin detector” at Amherst.

121. Inelastic X-ray Scattering Workshop at NSLS-II (10/1/2013)
Dr. Lin attended the workshop and gave an invited talk on “Studying elasticity of materials in extreme environments using high-energy resolution IXS (HERIX)”. As NSLS-II will be online soon, the workshop focused on (1)outlining how IXS will help to address outstanding grand challenge problems in science and technology; potential first experiments along with the corresponding research team. Picture: NSLS-II with attending scientists.

120. “Magnetic and structural transitions in BaFe2As2 superconductor” accepted by PNAS (9/11/2013)
Graduate student JJ Wu and co-workers at Chinese Academy of Science and UT Austin have studied the magnetic and structural transitions of the recently discovered “122” BaFe2As2 pnictide compound at HP-LT, and have found de-coupling of these transitions approaching the superconducting dome. JJ Wu used to be a visiting student at UT Austin, and the work is sponsored by EFree.
J. J. Wu, J. F. Lin, X. C. Wang, Q. Q. Liu, J. L. Zhu, Y. Xiao, P. Chow, and C. Jin, Pressure-decoupled magnetic and structural transitions of the parent compound of iron-based 122 superconductors BaFe2As2, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 110, 17263-17266, 2013.

119. “Spin Transition in Ferromagnesite, a Deep-Mantle Carbon Carrier” accepted by Am. Miner. (9/1/2013)
We have studied the spin transition diagram in ferromagnesite at relevant mantle P-T conditions and investigated the thermal EoS across the spin transition. See DCO Highlight.
J. Liu, J. F. Lin, Z. Mao, and V. B. Prakapenka, Thermal equation of state and spin transition of magnesiosiderite at high pressure and temperature, Am. Miner., 2013 (in press).

118. Goldschmidt Conference in Florence, Italy (8/30/2013)
Dr. Lin attended the Conference and gave an invited talk about “Consequences of the spin transitions in the lower mantle and Geoelectrons”. Spin-Abstract

117. “Spin Transition in Phase D” Paper Accepted by EPSL (8/28/2013)
In this study, we report a spin transition of Fe3+ in phase D and the effect of the transition on equation of state of this potential deep-mantle water carrier in the subducted slabs:
Y.-Y. Chang, S. D. Jacobsen, J. F. Lin, C. R. Bina, S.-M. Thomas, J. Wu, G. Shen, Y. Xiao, P. Chow, D. J. Frost, C. A. McCammon, and P. Dera, Spin transition of Fe3+ in Al-bearing dense hydrous magnesium silicate phase D, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 2013 (in press).

116. HPSTAR at Shanghai and Changchun (8/18/2013)
Dr. Lin visited HPSTAR High-Pressure Program at Shanghai and Changchun, Jilin University’s Superhard Materials Center, and HPSTAR Workshop at Mianyang. He gave four invited talks at these places in which he talked about his recent research results in extreme environments. HPSTAR Changchun with Director Chen.

115. First ISS Signals Observed at UT (7/22/2013)
Dr. Lin and graduate student Dennis Tong have successfully built and tested the Impulsive Light Scattering (ISS) system in the Mineral Physics Lab. First ISS signals were observed from a glass at ambient conditions at 2:40 pm, July 22nd, 2013. The system will be used to measure thermal diffusivity and sound velocities of materials in extreme P-T environments, and is funded by NSF Instrumentation and Facility Program. Picture: ISS system at UT. Picture: First ever ISS spectrum from a glass.

114. UTeach Outreach at Mineral Physics Lab (7/18/2013)
Students from UTeach Outreach Program of the UT Austin visited the Mineral Physics Lab to learn how scientists study the Earth’s interior and materials under extreme environments. Laura, Ian, and Dr. Lin led the instruction and lecture to the students. Picture: Dr. Lin talking with the kids about Diamond Anvil Cell; Picture: Laura giving a lecture.

113. “BiVO4 Single Crystals” JACS paper accepted (7/9/2013)
PhD student Alex Rettie in Professor Mullins’ gorup leads the project to investigate electrical and photoelectrochemical properties of BiVO4 single crystals. Dr. Lin contributed to Raman analyses of the samples.
A. J. E. Rettie, H.-C. Lee, L. G. Marshall, J. F. Lin, C. Capan, J. Lindemuth, J. S. McCloy, J. Zhou, A. J. Bard, and C. B. Mullins, Electrical and Photoelectrochemical Characterization of BiVO4 Single Crystals, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2013 (in press).

112. Dr. Lin visited ISEI to synthesize high-quality perovskite crystals (6/14/2013)
Dr. Lin visited the Institute from May 20th to June 14th, and had successfully synthesized silicate perovskite crystals as big as 500 microns.
Picture: Wagyu Beef BBQ at Kurayoshi

111. “Spin transition in Earth’s transition-zone ringwoodite” paper accepted by Am. Miner. (6/10/2013)
Dr. Lin co-authors the paper with Drs. Lyubutin, Gavriliuk, and colleagues to report the spin transition of Fe2+ in ringwoodite.
I. S. Lyubutin, J. F. Lin, A. G. Gavriliuk, A. A. Mironovich, A. G. Ivanova, and V. V. Roddatis, and A.L. Vasiliev, Spin transition of Fe2+ in Earth’s transition-zone ringwoodite (Mg,Fe)2SiO4 at high pressures, Am. Miner., 98, 1803-1810, 2013. PDF

110. “Heavy fermion compound YbCuAl” paper accepted by PRB (5/10/2013)
Dr. Lin co-authors the paper with Dr. Yamaoka-san and collaborators to study the heavy fermion compound at extreme environments.
H. Yamaoka, N. Tsujii, Y. Utsumi, H. Sato, I. Jarrige, Y. Yamamoto, J. F. Lin, N. Hiraoka, H. Ishii, K.-D. Tsuei, and J. Mizuki, Valence transitions in the heavy fermion compound YbCuAl as a function of temperature and pressure, Phys. Rev. B, 2013 (in press). PDF

109. Reviews of Geophysics Paper on Spin Transition (4/6/2013)
Dr. Lin co-authors the paper, entitled “Effects of the electronic spin transitions of iron in lower-mantle minerals: implications to deep-mantle geophysics and geochemistry”, with Drs. Speziale, Mao, and Marquardt to report in-depth reviews on current understanding of the spin transitions of iron and their associated consequences in the deep mantle.

108. PNAS paper accepted: Quantum critical point and spin fluctuations in the lower-mantle ferropericlase(3/16/2013)
Dr. Lin co-authored the paper with collaborators in Russia, Geophysical Lab, and HPCAT to show the occurence of the quantum critical point in ferropericlase at high pressure and low temperature.
I. S. Lyubutin, V. V. Struzhkin, A. A. Mironovich, A. G. Gavriliuk, P. G. Naumov, J. F. Lin, S. G. Ovchinnikov, S. Sinogeikin, P. Chow, Y. Xiao, and R. J. Hemley, Quantum critical point and spin fluctuations in the lower-mantle ferropericlase, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 2013 (in press).

107. Visiting Professorship at Misasa (3/11/2013)
Dr. Lin spent two weeks visiting the University of Okayama at Misasa to conduct mineral physics experiments with Okuchi-san, Tomioka-san, and Nara-san. They also visted J-PARC Takumi Neutron Beamline to conduct neutron diffraction experiments in a high-pressure cell. Picture: dinner at Kurayoshi

106. Dr. Lin is now an Affiliated Faculty at Texas Materials Institute (TMI) (2/27/2013)
Dr. Lin is now affiliated with the Texas Materials Institute at UT Austin. The TMI was established in 1998 to ensure that UT-Austin achieves excellence in graduate education and research in the broad field of materials. The role of TMI is to be a “virtual” department that guides the destiny of materials science and engineering on the UT campus without imposing the limitations or boundaries inherent to departmental structures.

105. Pyrope paper accepted by American Mineralogist (2/25/2013)
Dr. Zhu Mao and Dr. Lin, together with collaborators, report new results on the hyperfine parameters of pyrope as a way to understand spin states of iron in the deep Mantle.
Z. Mao, J. F. Lin, S. Huang, J. Chen, Y. Xiao, and P. Chow, Synchrotron Mössbauer study of Fe-bearing pyrope at high pressures and temperatures, Am. Miner., 2013 (in press).

104. Science Research Article: Long-Range Spin-Spin Geoelectron (2/21/2013)
Dr. Lin co-authors this Science paper that reports a model for the potential fifith force in nature, the long-range spin interactions, that can be used to understand deep-Earth properties. (PDF). See Fox News release:
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/02/22/scientists-search-for-unparticle/

103. North America Mossbauer Symposium (1/14/2013)
Dr. Lin and co-workers organized the Symposium at the Jackson School of Geosciences from Jan. 10th to Jan. 12th. Approximately 40 scientists attended the Symposium (Picture)

102. HP-LT Neutron Experiments at SNAP (12/15/2012)
Dr. Lin, Luke Marshall, and JJ Wu, together with EFree collaborators Dr. Gurthrie and others, participated in the first HP-LT neutron experiments in a DAC at SNAP of the Spallation Neutron Source. (Picture)

101. GSGG paper published in the journal of Inorganic Chemistry (12/14/2012) (PDF)
Dr. Lin co-authors the paper entitled “Garnet-to-perovskite transition in Gd3Sc2Ga3O12 at high pressure and high temperature” with co-workers at Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

100. Tenured Associate Professorship (12/14/2012)
UT Austin President and Provost have approved Dr. Lin’s tenure promotion to an associate professor.

99. AGU Fall Meeting 2012  (12/4/2012)
Dr. Lin gave an invited talk in a Special Study of the Earth’s Deep Interior Session of the Meeting about “Sound Velocities of the Earth’s Transition Zone Minerals”. Abstract

98. “Geoelectrons: Long-Range Spin-Spin Coupling” Research Article to be published in Science  (12/3/2012)
Dr. Lin coauthors the paper with L. R. Hunter, J. E. Gordon, S. Peck, and D. Ang in “Using the Earth as a Polarized Electron Source to Search for Long-Range Spin-Spin Interactions”.

97. “Electronic transition in high-pressure low temperature CePd2Si2 studied by resonant x-ray emission spectroscopy” paper to be published in PRB  (12/3/2012)
H. Yamaoka, Y. Zekko, A. Kotani, I. Jarrige, N. Tsujii, J. F. Lin, J. Mizuki, N. Hiraoka, H. Ishii, and K.-D. Tsuei, Electronic transition in high-pressure low temperature CePd2Si2 studied by resonant x-ray emission spectroscopy, Phys. Rev. B, 2012 (in press).

96. High-Pressure Talks in Taiwan  (11/30/2012)
Dr. Lin gave three invited talks at NSRRC, NCTU, and NCUK to promote high-pressure research in Taiwan. The activities were sponsored by Taiwanese National Science Foundation’s International Expert Lectureship Program.

95. “Raman and Nuclear Resonant Spectroscopy in Geosciences” chapter accepted for publication in Treatise in Geochemistry, 2nd Edition  (11/20/2012)
Dr. Lin coauthors the paper with Dr. Alp and Dr. Goncharov. The work was edited by Karl K. Turekian and Heinrich D. Holland. PDF

94. “Elasticity of iron-bearing pyrope” paper accepted by EPSL  (11/19/2012)
Graduate student James Lu led the project to understand sound velocities of upper-mantle pyrope using Brillouin Light Scattering in an externally-heated DAC.PDF

93. “Low-Temperature Ruby Pressure Scale” accepted by Journal of Applied Physics (11/18/2012)
H. Yamaoka, Y. Zekko, I. Jarrige, J. F. Lin, N. Hiraoka, H. Ishii, K.-D. Tsuei, and J. Mizuki, Ruby pressure scale in a low-temperature diamond anvil cell, J. Appl. Phys., 2012 (in press). PDF

92. APS High Pressure Interest Group Meeting (11/13/2012)
Dr. Lin gave an invited talk at the Group Meeting to discuss his recent research results on “Transition Metal Iron Compounds in Extreme Pressures and Temperatures”.

91. ISEI Misasa Visiting Porfessorship (9/17/2012)
Dr. Lin starts the position at the Institute to work on mineral physics related research projects with Dr. Takuo Okuchi-san (local host) and Misasa scientists. He visited ISEI from September 17th to October 12th during his 1st trip. 
Picture: with Okuchi-san in front of the Kawai Press

 

90. EFree 4th Annual Meeting at GL (9/12/2012)
Dr. Lin attended the meeting to present research results on iron pnictides at high pressures nad low temperatures. Future research and EFRC review were also discussed at the Meeting.

89. The 6th Asian High Pressure Conference (8/12/2012)
Dr. Lin attended the Meeting in Beijing and gave an invited lecture on “Transition Metal Iron Compounds in Extreme Environments”. (Picture: at Lama Temple in Beijing with Ercan, Jiyong, and Xiang)

88. COMPRES Annual Meeting at Lake Tahoe (7/13/2012)
Dr. Lin and graduate students Jeff/Jill attended the Meeting. Dr Lin gave a lecture on “Sound Velocities of Iron Alloys in Earth’s Core”. At the Meeting, Dr. Lin was elected to serve on the Facility Committee. (Picture: Rafting at Truckee River with Katsura-san)

87. UTeach Outreach (7/13/2012)
Nikki Seymour, an undergraduate researcher, and Dr. Lin gave presentations about Mineral Physics research to UTeach students participants in math, chemistry, or geology focused camps. Many students were underrepresented minorities ranging from 4th to 7th grade and attend schools in Austin, including Wooten Elementary and Burnet Middle School. (Picture: Nikki showing the laser Raman system)

86. ISEI Visiting Professorship to Dr. Lin (5/30/2012)
The Institute for Study of the Earth’s Interior (ISEI) at Okayama University has awarded Dr. Lin a Visiting Professorship for international collaborative research at Misasa. Dr. Lin will spend a few months at the Institute to conduct deep-Earth research projects.

85. PNAS paper on “Sound velocities of Fe and Fe-Si alloys in the Earth’s core” accepted (5/08/2012) (PDF)
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. See CDAC Highlight.

84. Deep Carbon Observatory Science Highlights on “Investigating Ferromagnesite as a Deep Mantle Carbon Host” (4/27/2012) (See DCOHighlight)
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 (毛竹) 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.

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).

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 (07/01/2008)
On July 1st, 2008, Dr. Lin starts his new career as an assistant professor in the Jackson School to build a mineral physics 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