Russell Hemley

Short Bio:

Russell J. Hemley holds the position of Distinguished Chair in the Natural Sciences and Professor of Physics and Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He received his B.A. from Wesleyan University, and M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University, all in chemistry. Previously, he worked at the Carnegie Institution and has held positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Cornell University, and George Washington University. He is a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Honoris Causa Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and is a recipient of the Balzan Prize and Percy W. Bridgman Award, among other honors. He has directed and continues to direct national materials science centers funded by the DOE, and has served on numerous DOE and DoD laboratory committees. He is also a member and former chair of the JASON Advisory Group.

Professor Hemley’s research explores the behavior of matter and materials in extreme environments, notably high pressures and temperatures. These efforts include the discovery and synthesis of novel materials such as very high temperature superconductors, topological, magnetic, and superhard materials; the rational design of new high-pressure materials from first-principles methods; transformations of hydrogen at multimegabar pressures; pressure-induced chemical reactions in molecular and biophysical systems; models for Earth and planetary interiors; development of extreme conditions techniques at x-ray, laser, and neutron facilities; and science issues related to national security. He has authored approximately 660 scientific publications.