Presentation of the Dana Medal of the Mineralogical Society of America for 2023 to Razvan Caracas

IF 2.7 3区 地球科学 Q2 GEOCHEMISTRY & GEOPHYSICS
Wendy R. Panero
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Razvan Caracas is an expert in ab-initio calculations, that is, calculations that are used to solve the Schrödinger Equation of a suite of electrons and their atomic cores. Unfortunately, solving the Schrödinger Equation exactly, accounting for every electron and every nucleon, is a computationally impossible problem. The science and art of these calculations is to approximate the problem without sacrificing the fundamental physics. This is at the heart of Razvan’s work and where his talents shine: With each scientific contribution is a careful set of calculations grounded in their fundamental physics through these “first-principles” calculations.For example, very shortly after the first description of the post-perovskite phase, a mineral structure proposed to be responsible for seismic transitions observed at the base of the Earth’s mantle, Razvan probed the effects of more realistic chemistry on the transition. In this work, he mapped out how introducing iron and aluminum to the system affected the depth to the transition and the phase’s elastic wave speeds. Both results have withstood the test of time by seismic observations and multiple subsequent experiments on this system.More recently, with the greatly expanded computational capacity of compute clusters, Razvan has focused on the physical and chemical properties of melts that form in low-density conditions after a giant impact event such as that which formed the Moon. 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Abstract

It is my great honor to present my good friend and colleague, Razvan Caracas, the recipient of the 2023 Dana Medal. The Dana Medal recognizes sustained, outstanding scientific contributions through original research in the mineralogical sciences by an individual in the midst of their career.Razvan is a computational mineral physicist who works on an impressive range of problems ranging from the composition of the Earth’s core to the dynamics of Moon formation. His work demonstrates a unique talent, creativity, and collaborative spirit to extend the results derived from the atomic-scale calculations to planet-scale processes. Razvan Caracas is an expert in ab-initio calculations, that is, calculations that are used to solve the Schrödinger Equation of a suite of electrons and their atomic cores. Unfortunately, solving the Schrödinger Equation exactly, accounting for every electron and every nucleon, is a computationally impossible problem. The science and art of these calculations is to approximate the problem without sacrificing the fundamental physics. This is at the heart of Razvan’s work and where his talents shine: With each scientific contribution is a careful set of calculations grounded in their fundamental physics through these “first-principles” calculations.For example, very shortly after the first description of the post-perovskite phase, a mineral structure proposed to be responsible for seismic transitions observed at the base of the Earth’s mantle, Razvan probed the effects of more realistic chemistry on the transition. In this work, he mapped out how introducing iron and aluminum to the system affected the depth to the transition and the phase’s elastic wave speeds. Both results have withstood the test of time by seismic observations and multiple subsequent experiments on this system.More recently, with the greatly expanded computational capacity of compute clusters, Razvan has focused on the physical and chemical properties of melts that form in low-density conditions after a giant impact event such as that which formed the Moon. Recognizing that his calculations were demonstrating fracturing of the melt, Razvan was able to use elegant thermodynamics to interpret the results, mapping out the liquid-gas equilibrium point as a function of composition, as well as identify components of the system that formed in the gaseous state, which indicate components of our proto-atmosphere.Winding its way through his scientific contributions, we see a theme in Razvan’s work where he consistently shares his efforts with both the scientific community and the general public. Beginning as a Ph.D. student and extending across much of his career to date, Razvan has contributed to the development of ABINIT, a software suite to calculate observable properties of materials from first principles. More recently, he is the developer of codes and databases for the interpretation of those ab-initio results. He has also been convenor of workshops and summer schools to introduce others to the tools he’s developed or contributed to. This and other code development and sharing efforts of his are critical contributions that enable scientists to perform and interpret the results of their work.Extending his spirit of sharing his science with the wider public, the exhibition “Moon Impact, a Geological Story” tells the story of the Moon-forming Giant impact in the context of the geological evolution of the Earth and of the solar system. Time flows inside the exhibition, starting with the formation of the solar system and ending with the present day. The exhibition features geologic samples and meteorites, movies, and 3D printed models of the atoms in melts and volcanic gas bubbles stemming from atomistic simulations from Razvan’s computational results. This exhibition opened first in 2021 at two sites in his native Romania before moving to Bulgaria, and now with planned visits in Germany and beyond.Razvan’s scientific productivity has been extraordinary, with more than 115 published papers. This productivity can be attributed to a number of factors. First, he possesses the ability to identify major problems that are of broad interest to solid-Earth geophysicists. Second, he is not only an extraordinarily careful and innovative computational scientist, but he also can develop sophisticated yet computationally feasible approaches and interpretation schemes. Third, he is a willing and enthusiastic collaborator, which has enabled him to develop numerous productive collaborations with scientific colleagues from all over the world.As this year’s Dana Medalist, I look forward to whatever Razvan Caracas tackles next.
向 Razvan Caracas 颁发 2023 年度美国矿物学会戴纳奖章
我非常荣幸地介绍我的好朋友和同事拉兹万-卡拉卡斯(Razvan Caracas)成为2023年度德纳奖章的获得者。拉兹万是一位计算矿物物理学家,他研究的问题范围很广,从地核的组成到月球形成的动力学,令人印象深刻。他的工作展现了独特的才能、创造力和协作精神,将原子尺度计算得出的结果扩展到行星尺度的过程。拉兹万-卡拉卡斯(Razvan Caracas)是非线性计算方面的专家,非线性计算是指用于求解一套电子及其原子核的薛定谔方程的计算。不幸的是,精确求解薛定谔方程,考虑到每个电子和每个核子,在计算上是一个不可能完成的问题。这些计算的科学和艺术在于在不牺牲基本物理学原理的前提下对问题进行近似计算。这正是拉兹万工作的核心所在,也是他才华闪耀的地方:例如,在首次描述后透辉石相(一种矿物结构,被认为是地幔底部观测到的地震转变的原因)后不久,拉兹万就探究了更现实的化学对转变的影响。在这项工作中,他绘制了在系统中引入铁和铝会如何影响转变深度和相的弹性波速。最近,随着计算集群计算能力的大幅提升,拉兹万将重点放在了巨型撞击事件(如月球的形成)后在低密度条件下形成的熔体的物理和化学特性上。拉兹万认识到他的计算显示了熔体的断裂,因此他能够利用优雅的热力学来解释计算结果,绘制出液态-气态平衡点与成分的函数关系图,并识别出系统中以气态形成的成分,这些成分显示了我们原大气层的成分。从博士生开始,到现在的大部分职业生涯,拉兹万都在为 ABINIT 的开发做出贡献,ABINIT 是一套根据第一性原理计算材料可观测特性的软件。最近,他还开发了用于解释这些模拟结果的代码和数据库。他还担任研讨会和暑期班的召集人,向他人介绍他所开发或参与开发的工具。月球撞击,一个地质学的故事 "展览延续了他与更多公众分享科学的精神,在地球和太阳系地质演变的背景下讲述了月球形成巨人撞击的故事。时间在展览中流动,从太阳系的形成开始,直到今天。展览展出了地质样本和陨石、电影,以及根据拉兹万的计算结果进行原子模拟而制作的熔体和火山气泡中原子的 3D 打印模型。该展览于 2021 年首先在他的祖国罗马尼亚的两个地点举办,随后移师保加利亚,现在计划在德国和其他国家举办。拉兹万的科学成就非凡,发表了超过 115 篇论文。这种成就可归功于多个因素。首先,他有能力发现固体地球物理学家普遍感兴趣的重大问题。其次,他不仅是一位异常细心和富有创新精神的计算科学家,而且还能开发出复杂但在计算上可行的方法和解释方案。第三,他是一位乐于助人、热情洋溢的合作者,这使他能够与来自世界各地的科学同行开展大量富有成效的合作。作为今年的达纳奖章获得者,我期待着拉兹万-卡拉卡斯下一步的研究成果。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
American Mineralogist
American Mineralogist 地学-地球化学与地球物理
CiteScore
5.20
自引率
9.70%
发文量
276
审稿时长
1 months
期刊介绍: American Mineralogist: Journal of Earth and Planetary Materials (Am Min), is the flagship journal of the Mineralogical Society of America (MSA), continuously published since 1916. Am Min is home to some of the most important advances in the Earth Sciences. Our mission is a continuance of this heritage: to provide readers with reports on original scientific research, both fundamental and applied, with far reaching implications and far ranging appeal. Topics of interest cover all aspects of planetary evolution, and biological and atmospheric processes mediated by solid-state phenomena. These include, but are not limited to, mineralogy and crystallography, high- and low-temperature geochemistry, petrology, geofluids, bio-geochemistry, bio-mineralogy, synthetic materials of relevance to the Earth and planetary sciences, and breakthroughs in analytical methods of any of the aforementioned.
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