The mission of SEES (Synchrotron Earth and Environmental Science) is to advance research and education in synchrotron-based Earth and environmental science to better understand our planet from the atmosphere to the core, to address societally relevant problems, and to train the next generation of scientists. SEES is responsible for the management, operation, and development of multiple user facilities hosted at four DOE-operated US synchrotrons: Advanced Photon Source (APS), Advanced Light Source (ALS), National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), and Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL).
2025 SEES-ISRD Joint Meeting
SEES and ISRD invite you to attend our annual meeting to be held jointly at the University of Chicago on August 11-13, 2025. Keynote speakers will discuss topics in rock and mineral deformation and rheological properties in Earth, and there will be a poster session with a broad scientific focus. All SEES and ISRD researchers are welcome and encouraged to attend. Click here to learn more.
Recent Publications
Exciton-phonon coupling and phonon-assisted exciton relaxation dynamics in In1-xGaxP quantum dots
Li, B.C., Lin, K., Wu, PJ.E. et al. Exciton-phonon coupling and phonon-assisted exciton relaxation dynamics in In1-xGaxP quantum dots. Nat Commun 16, 4424 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58800-8
The Viscosity of Albitic Melt at High Pressures andImplications for the Mobility of Crust‐Forming Magmas
Ashley, A. W., Mookherjee, M., Xu, M., Yu, T., Manthilake, G., & Wang, Y. (2025). The viscosity of albitic melt at high pressures and implications for the mobility of crust-forming magmas. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 130, e2024JB030527.
Structure of ice VII with Hirshfeld atom refinement
Gajda, R., Chodkiewicz, M., Zhang, D., Nguyen, P., Prakapenka, V. & Wozniak, K., Structure of ice VII with Hirshfeld atom refinement, (2025). IUCrJ, 12. https://doi.org/10.1107/S2052252525002581
High-pressure structural behavior of silicon telluride Si2Te3 nanoplates
Li et al, High-pressure structural behavior of silicon telluride Si2Te3 nanoplates, 2025, Phys. Rev. B 111, 144110...
Influence of Pore Water on the Fracture of Silica Sand at Particle Scale
Safi, Mohammad, Khalid A. Alshibli, and Haochen Li. “Influence of Pore Water on the Fracture of Silica Sand at Particle Scale.” Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering 151, no. 7 (2025): 04025055.
In Situ Diffraction and Ex Situ Transmission X-Ray Microscopy Studies of Solid-State Upcycling for NMC Cathodes
Nisbet, Matthew L., Diana Luong, Eva Allen, Sohyun Park, Tiffany L. Kinnibrugh, Joanne E. Stubbs, Peter J. Eng, John T. Vaughey, and Tim T. Fister. “In Situ Diffraction and Ex Situ Transmission X‐Ray Microscopy Studies of Solid‐State Upcycling for NMC Cathodes.” Advanced Energy Materials (2025): 2500698.
Science Highlights
The Viscosity of Albitic Melt at High Pressures andImplications for the Mobility of Crust‐Forming Magmas
Ashley, A. W., Mookherjee, M., Xu, M., Yu, T., Manthilake, G., & Wang, Y. (2025). The viscosity of albitic melt at high pressures and implications for the mobility of crust-forming magmas. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 130, e2024JB030527.
Structure of ice VII with Hirshfeld atom refinement
Gajda, R., Chodkiewicz, M., Zhang, D., Nguyen, P., Prakapenka, V. & Wozniak, K., Structure of ice VII with Hirshfeld atom refinement, (2025). IUCrJ, 12. https://doi.org/10.1107/S2052252525002581
Influence of Pore Water on the Fracture of Silica Sand at Particle Scale
Safi, Mohammad, Khalid A. Alshibli, and Haochen Li. “Influence of Pore Water on the Fracture of Silica Sand at Particle Scale.” Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering 151, no. 7 (2025): 04025055.
In Situ Diffraction and Ex Situ Transmission X-Ray Microscopy Studies of Solid-State Upcycling for NMC Cathodes
Nisbet, Matthew L., Diana Luong, Eva Allen, Sohyun Park, Tiffany L. Kinnibrugh, Joanne E. Stubbs, Peter J. Eng, John T. Vaughey, and Tim T. Fister. “In Situ Diffraction and Ex Situ Transmission X‐Ray Microscopy Studies of Solid‐State Upcycling for NMC Cathodes.” Advanced Energy Materials (2025): 2500698.
Belowground plant carbon and nitrogen exchange: plant-derived carbon inputs and pore structure formation
Jin Ho Lee, Tayler C. Ulbrich, Maxwell Oerther, Yakov Kuzyakov, Andrey K. Guber, Alexandra N. Kravchenko, Belowground plant carbon and nitrogen exchange: plant-derived carbon inputs and pore structure formation, Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Volume 207, 2025, 109833, ISSN 0038-0717, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109833.
Superconducting dome and structural changes in LaRu3Si2 under pressure
Li, Zhuoqi, Shuyuan Huyan, Elizabeth C. Thompson, Tyler J. Slade, Dongzhou Zhang, Young J. Ryu, Wenli Bi, Sergey L. Bud’ko, and Paul C. Canfield. “Superconducting dome and structural changes in LaRu. Phys. Rev B, 111, 144505 (2025), DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.111.144505
Latest Happenings

SCCM 2025 Abstract Submission
We are excited to see the Static, Dynamic, and Shock high-pressure communities merge their...

Abstract Submission Open for Goldschmidt 2025
We are pleased to invite you to submit an abstract to our SEES organized session (09f) at...

GSE staff install 13 BMD mirror
GSECARS staff install the 13 BMD mirror which will allow vertical focusing of the beam for the tomography and DAC programs.

SEES Town Hall at AGU
SEES Principal Investigator Andy Campbell and members of the Executive Committee shared updates...