Robert Hazen

Robert Hazen worked with former Staff Member Larry Finger for two decades to establish the field of high-pressure crystallography -- the study of crystal structures at high pressure. Their work has led to a deeper understanding of compression mechanisms in solids, as well as identification of numerous high-pressure phase transitions in minerals and related compounds. They have also predicted a variety of new structures, including mineral-like compounds that may have applications as ceramics, abrasives, and materials for trapping and isolating the radioactive atoms found in nuclear waste. When they began, their high-pressure work was groundbreaking. Today, researchers around the world use their techniques.

Hazen has turned his attention to a new area -- the study of high-pressure organic synthesis deep within the Earth. Carbon, the central element of life, exists in high-pressure and high-temperature environments. Hazen, in collaboration with other Staff Members at the lab -- George Cody, Marilyn Fogel, Hatten Yoder, and Russell Hemley -- is conducting experiments to examine the pathways by which the simplest organic compounds, like carbon, may have combined deep in the Earth's ancient crust to form the molecules essential to life. Among the most exciting potential outcomes of these studies would be the discovery of the evolutionary sequence of chemical reactions leading to the origin of life.

The organic synthesis work is complemented by studies of carbon and nitrogen isotopes preserved in fossils. Hazen, working with the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism's ion microprobe facility and with paleontologists at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and at Harvard University, is examining extraordinary specimens in which original atoms of ancient life are preserved. These studies hold the promise of understanding biochemical aspects of organisms that became extinct hundreds of millions of years ago.

During the last several years, Hazen has also been an advocate for the reform of science education, at both the K-12 and the undergraduate level. He helped write the National Science Education Standards introduced by President Clinton in 1995, and has served on the Executive Board of the National Research Council's National Committee for Science Education and on advisory boards for NOVA, Encyclopedia Americana, and the National Science Resources Center. In 1997, he coauthored a book with Carnegie's president, Maxine Singer, titled Why Aren't Black Holes Black?: The Unanswered Questions at the Frontiers of Science. Intended to inform and intrigue science enthusiasts beyond the academic sphere, this work examines 14 of the most compelling mysteries facing scientists today. It is the latest of a long list of books about science that Hazen has written.

Fig. 10. Microprobe maps of fossils reveal compositional details that may provide clues about the biochemistry of extinct animals and plants. This cross section of a 50-million-year-old dicotyledon twig from Canada reveals cellular details in ancient carbon.