Brief Biography

Yue Meng researches the properties of materials at high pressure and temperature using various methods, including x-ray spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, optical spectroscopy, and neutron diffraction, with applications in physics, chemistry, materials science, and geophysics. As one of the pioneers in developing high-pressure inelastic x-ray scattering, she has applied the technique to studies of electronic bonding changes in several low-Z materials at high pressure. At HPCAT, she is responsible for development and operation of the integrated micro-focused x-ray diffraction and in-situ laser heating system for structural properties under simultaneous high-PT conditions.

Driven by curiosity about diamond and diamond synthesis at high pressure, Yue Meng began high-pressure experiments during her undergraduate years in physics in Jilin University, China. With the curiosity evolving into an interest in the effect of pressure on materials and its application to understanding the Earth’s interior, she pursued her study in high-pressure mineral physics and received the PhD from SUNY Stony Brook in 1994, followed by postdoctoral research at the Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington. The interest in diamond later led her to a senior scientist position at the General Electric Company in 1995 where she continued her high-pressure research career, conducting studies on high-PT synthesis and application of diamond and c-BN with emphasis on the effect of impurity elements on growth and properties of diamond. She has several US and European patents and received the Whitney Technical Achievement Award and Global Outstanding Technical Achievement Award from the Company. She joined HPCAT in 2001.

With experience in both academic and industrial high-pressure research, Yue Meng has utilized pressure to explore a range of phenomena from molecular interactions in condensed oxygen for fundamental understanding of physics and chemistry of matter, thermoelastic properties of high-pressure phases (a, b, g) of Mg₂SiO₄ in the Earth’s transition zone, to new superhard abrasive products with applications that affect our day-to-day lives. Her observation of deviatoric stress in neon medium and its effect on volume-based pressure calibration using gold has generated a series of further studies in the area. Back >>

Other Activities

INVITED TALKS

- ²Dense solid phases of oxygen: molecular interaction at high pressure using synchrotron x-ray probes², Guelph University, Canada, March 2008

- ²Application of inelastic x-ray scattering in the study of electronic properties of low-z materials at high pressure², Geophysical Lab, Carnegie Institution of Washington, November, 2007

- ²Integrated setup of micro-focused XRD with laser heating of DAC at HPCAT², NSLS high-pressure beamline review, October 2007

- ²Integrated approach to high-pressure properties of low-z materials using XRD and IXS², Jilin University and Beihua University, China, May 2007

- ²High-pressure studies of 2^nd-row materials², State University of New York, Stony Brook, December 2006

- ²Hard x-ray radiation induced dissociation of N₂ and O₂ molecules and the formation of ionic nitrogen oxide phases under pressure², Advanced Photon Source, November 2006

- ²High-pressure mineral physics research using synchrotron x-ray probes², Miami University of Ohio, October 2006

- ²Nitrogen oxide system at high pressure², University of Chicago, January 2006

- ²Current status and future plan for radial x-ray diffraction with in-situ laser heating²

Workshop on Rheological and Elasticity Studies at Ultra-High Pressure and Temperature, October 2005

- ²Inelastic x-ray scattering at high pressure and its application in the study of electronic properties of low-z elements², Gordon Research Conference for High-Pressure Research, 2004

- ²The formation of sp³ bonding in compressed BN²

Advanced Photon Source User Meeting, Workshop on Inelastic X-ray Scattering. 2004

- ²Inelastic x-ray scattering & high-pressure electronic structure of boron nitride²

National Synchrotron Light Source User Meeting, Workshop on High-Pressure Mineral Physics, 2003

- ²Synthesis of boron-doped blue grit diamond at high pressure and temperature²

General Electric Company, 1998

- ²Deviatoric stress in a quasi-hydrostatic diamond anvil cell: effect on the volume-based pressure calibration², Gordon Research Conference for High-Pressure Research, short presentation, 1994

SERVICES

- Review papers for Science, Nature Materials, Physical Review Letters, Physical Review B, Physics and Chemistry of Minerals

- Teach ²High-Pressure X-ray Diffraction Experiment² for Neutron X-ray School, Argonne National Laboratory (2005, 2006, 2007)

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