Directory Record for:

Peter J. Heaney

Title(s):

Professor of Geosciences

Department:

Geosciences

College/Admin. Unit:

College of Earth and Mineral Sciences

Office Address:

309 Deike Building

University Park, PA 16802

Office Phone:

(814) 865-6821

Office Fax:

(814) 863-7823

E-Mail Address:

Validate to view address - Send Email via form

http://www.geosc.psu.edu/people/faculty/personalpages/pheaney/index.html

Research Synopsis:

Using techniques that are sensitive to structural disorder at the atomic scale, I examine defects and transition states to infer mechanisms of structural change in minerals and mineral analogs. Current projects include the growth and diagenesis of silica compounds, the formation of polycrystalline diamond, low-temperature cation exchange mechanisms in clays and Mn oxides, and the effects of impurities on displacive phase transitions.

Technologies Impacted by Research:

Synthesis of superhard abrasives and low CTE ceramics; Catalysis using octahedral sieves; Geothermal energy extraction

Selected Publications:

Heaney PJ, Post JE (2001) Evidence for an I2/a to Imab phase transition in the silica polymorph moganite at 570 K. American Mineralogist, 86, 1358-1366.
De S, Heaney PJ, Vicenzi EP, Wang J (2001) Chemical heterogeneity in carbonado, an enigmatic polycrystalline diamond. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 185: 315-330.
Post, J.E., Heaney, P.J., Von Dreele, R., Hanson, J. (2003) Neutron and temperature-resolved synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction study of akaganéite. American Mineralogist, 88, 782-788.