“We’re discovering new geological materials that nature knows exist, but that no person has ever seen,” said Wendy Mao, associate professor of geological sciences, of photon science and, by courtesy, of geophysics. Mao’s research involves using extreme environments to answer key questions about Earth and planetary interiors and to provide guidance for the design of new materials for energy-related applications. Students in her Extreme Environments Laboratory analyze how lattice structures and atoms rearrange, and how the properties of materials change as a result of being exposed to extreme conditions. “In my lab, we try to simulate the conditions inside our planet. It’s exciting for me because it involves things that people haven't seen before.”
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Professor Amit Seru joins Professor William P. Barnett and undergraduate student Ingrid Ackermann to discuss takeaways from a November 2022 conference held at Stanford GSB. This conference explored the roles that corporations, financial markets and innovations in finance might play in meeting sustainability challenges by ensuring that sufficient capital is raised and allocated in ways consistent with sustainability goals.
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As the most-used building material on the planet and one of the world’s largest industrial contributors to global warming, concrete has long been a target for reinvention. Stanford scientists say replacing one of concrete’s main ingredients with volcanic rock could slash carbon emissions from manufacture of the material by nearly two-thirds.
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Anna-Katharina von Krauland’s research on potential wind farm development in the US and India could help ease the transition to renewable energy. (Source: Stanford King Center on Global Development)
