Summary
Rick Kraus is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Professional history
- 2024-Present: Associate Professor of Physics, University of Nevada, Reno
- 2014-2023: Research Scientist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- 2013-2014: Lawrence Postdoctoral Fellow, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Professional awards
- Neil Ashcroft Early Career Award, American Physical Society, 2023
- Early-Mid Career Award, Lawrence Livermore National Lab, 2022
- Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, 2019
- Top 100 Discoveries of the Year (#62), Discover Magazine, 2015
- Young Alumni of the Year, College of Science at the University of Nevada, Reno, 2014
- Outstanding Student/Post-doc Award, American Physical Society-SCCM, 2013
- Mineral and Rock Physics Outstanding Graduate Research Award, AGU, 2012
- Jamieson Award for High Pressure Research, Gordon Research Conference, 2012
Research interests
- Discovering the relations between process, structure, property, and performance at extreme conditions.
- Modeling giant impacts and implications for the formation of terrestrial planets.
- Determining the interior structure and thermal history of rocky planets.
- Exploring the systematics of melting and vaporization.
- Understanding the kinetics of phase transitions and chemical reactions at high pressure.
- Testing the fundamentals of shock waves in heterogeneous and porous materials.
- Developing a deeper understanding of planetary defense mechanisms
- Communicating uncertainty from experimental data through numerical models to predictions.
- Supporting our efforts to achieve an Inertial Fusion Energy Pilot Plant.
Education
- Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, 2013
- M.S. in Applied Physics, Harvard University, 2013
- M.Phil. in Physics, University of Cambridge, 2008
- B.S. in Physics, University of Nevada, Reno, 2007
Selected publications
- R.G. Kraus, R.J. Hemley, S.J. Ali, J.L. Belof, L.X. Benedict, J. Bernier, D.G. Braun, R.E. Cohen, G.W. Collins, F. Coppari, M.P. Desjarlais, D.E. Fratanduono, S. Hamel, A. Krygier, A. Lazicki, J.M. McNaney, M. Millot, P.C. Myint, M.G. Newman, J.R. Rygg, D.M. Sterbentz, S.T. Stewart, L. Stixrude, D.C. Swift, C. Wehrenberg, J.H. Eggert, Measuring the melting curve of iron at super-Earth core conditions, Science, Vol 375, 202-205, 2022
- R.G. Kraus, F. Coppari, D.E. Fratanduono, R.F. Smith, A. Lazicki, C. Wehrenberg, J.H. Eggert, J.R. Rygg, G.W. Collins, Melting of Tantalum at Multimegabar Pressures on the Nanosecond Timescale, Physical Review Letters, V126, 255701, 2021
- D.E. Fratanduono, M. Millot, D.G. Braun, S.J. Ali, A Fernandez-Panella, C.T. Seagle, J-P. Davis, J.L. Brown, Y. Akahama, R.G. Kraus, M.C. Marshall, R.F. Smith, E.F. O’Bannon, J.M. McNaney, J.H. Eggert, Establishing gold and platinum standards to 1 terapascal using shockless compression, Science, V372, 1063-1068, 2021
- A. Lazicki, D. McGonegle, J. R. Rygg, D. G. Braun, D. C. Swift, M. G. Gorman, R. F. Smith, P. G. Heighway, A. Higginbotham, M. J. Suggit, D. E. Fratanduono, F. Coppari, C. E. Wehrenberg, R. G. Kraus, D. Erskine, J. V. Bernier, J. M. Mcnaney, R. E. Rudd, G. W. Collins, J. H. Eggert, and J. S. Wark, Metastability of diamond ramp-compressed to 2 terapascals, Nature, V589, 5320535, 2021
- E. J. Davies, M.S. Duncan, S. Root, R.G. Kraus, D.K. Spaulding, S.B. Jacobsen, S.T. Stewart, Temperature and Density on the Forsterite Liquid-Vapor Phase Boundary, Journal of Geophysical Research-Planets, V126, e2020JE006745, 2021
- S.J. Ali, D.C. Swift, C.J. Wu, and R.G. Kraus, Development of uncertainty-aware equation-of-state models: Application to copper, Journal of Applied Physics, V128, 185902, 2020
- E. J. Davies, P. J. Carter, S. Root, R. G. Kraus, D. K. Spaulding, S. T. Stewart, S. B. Jacobsen, Silicate Melting and Vaporization during Rocky Planet formation, JGR: Planets, 2020
- M. G. Newman, R. G. Kraus, M. Akin, J. Bernier, A. Dillman, M. Homel, S. Lee, J. Lind, J. Mosenfelder, N. Sinclair, D. Pagan, P. Asmow, In-situ observation of phase changes in shock compressed forsterite, GRL, 2018