My Top Ten Papers

1. R.W. Cumberland, M. Weinberger, J.J. Gilman, S.M. Clark, S.H. Tolbert and R.B. Kaner, Osmium Diboride, An Ultra-incompressible, Hard Material, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 127(20) 7264-7265 (2005).

A paradigm shift in our search for new superhard materials with the development of the first layered transition metal diboride. 443 citations.

2 .S. Speziale, A.A. Milner, V.E. Lee, S.M. Clark, M.P. Pasternak, and R. Jeanloz, Iron spin transition in Earth’s Mantle, PNAS, 102(50) 17918-17922 (2005).

These very accurate measurements measured for the first time the volume change of the low to high spin transition. 205 citations.

3. M.J. Walter, G.P. Bulanova, L.S. Armstrong, S. Keshav, J.D. Blundy, G. Gudfinnsson, O.T. Lord, A.R. Lennie, S.M. Clark, C.B. Smith and L. Gobbo, Primary carbonatite melt from deeply subducted oceanic crust, Nature 454 622-625 doi:10.1038/nature07132 (2008).

Here we demonstrated that carbonatites impart a ‘stain’ on mantle rocks that impart a unique chemical and isotopic signature to mantle derived magmas erupted at the Earth’s surface. 227 citations.

4. J.E. Oh, P.J.M. Monteiro, S.S. Jun and S.M. Clark, The evolution of strength and crystalline phases for alkali-activated ground blast furnace slag and fly ash based geopolymers, Cem. Conc. Res. 40(2) 189-196 (2010).

This real time diffraction study revealed the underlying chemical mechanisms imparting strength in green cements. 368 citations.

5. O.T. Lord, M.J. Walter, R. Dasgupta, D. Walker and S.M. Clark, Melting in the Fe-C system to 70 GPa Earth and Planetary Science Letters 284 157-167 (2009).

We developed a method for measuring compositions of eutectic melts at high-pressure and showed that Fe₇C₃ rather than Fe₃C is the most likely carbide in the Earth’s core. 228 citations.

6. M. Kunz, A.A. MacDowell, W.A. Caldwell, D. Cambie, R.S. Celestre, E.E. Domning, R.M. Duarte, A.E. Gleason, J.M. Glossinger, N. Kelez, D.W. Plate, T. Yu, J.M. Zaug, H.A. Padmore, R. Jeanloz, A.P. Alivisatos, and S.M. Clark. A beamline for high pressure studies at the Advanced Light Source with a superconducting bending magnet as the source, J. Synch. Rad. 12(5) 650-658 (2005).

This describes a high-pressure, high-temperature beamline which I development at the ALS. It has been operating for over ten years and has produced over 200 publications. 150 citations.

7. J.M. Zaug, A.K. Soper and S.M. Clark, The pressure-dependent structures of amorphous red phosphorus and the origin of the first sharp diffraction peak, Nature Materials 7 890-899 (2008).

This paper demonstrated the feasibility of structure solution of amorphous materials under high pressure and explained the origins of the first strong diffraction peak in amorphous materials. 107 citations.

8. S. Shaw, S.M. Clark and C.M.B. Henderson, Hydrothermal formation of the calcium silicate hydrates tobermorite (Ca₅Si₆O₁₆(OH)₂.4H₂O) and xonotlite (Ca₂Si₆O(OH)₂): an in situ synchrotron study, Chem. Geol. 167(1-2) 129-140 (2000).

Here we determined the critical chemical; factors for improved containment of nuclear waste. 258 citations.

9. D. Zaziski, S. Prilliman, E.C. Scher, M. Casula, J. Wickham, S.M. Clark and A.P. Alivisatos, Critical size for fracture during solid-solid phase transformations, Nano Letters 4(5) 943-946 (2004).

This paper demonstrated that materials will only fracture at sizes above a critical minimum size. 66 citations.

10. N.J. Chinnery, A.R. Pawley and S.M. Clark, In Situ Observation of 10Å phase from Talc + H₂O at Mantle Pressures and Temperatures, Science 286 940-942 (1999).

We developed a new method for studying deep Earth reactions involving volatiles and demonstrated that more water can be carried in subducting slabs than had been previously believed. 60 citations.