معرفی
About June Wicks
June Wicks is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), with a joint appointment in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Her primary research focuses on mineral physics and planetary interiors, with a particular emphasis on equation of state and phase diagram modeling under extreme conditions. She also explores kinetics of phase transitions and material behavior under high pressures and temperatures using X-ray scattering and laser-driven shock compression techniques.
Affiliations
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (Olin Hall)
- Johns Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute (Malone Hall)
- Wicks Lab (mineralogy and high-energy density physics)
Education
PhD in Earth & Planetary Sciences from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Research Themes
Her work bridges mineralogical studies with planetary science, aiming to unravel how planetary-scale phenomena emerge from atomic-scale interactions. Key themes include:
- Quantifying material properties under extreme conditions (terrestrial and exoplanetary)
- Developing novel experimental techniques for in situ analysis
- Understanding atomic mobility and kinetics in high-pressure systems
Lab & Collaborations
The Wicks Lab hosts interdisciplinary projects involving:
- Graduate students (e.g., Anirudh Hari, Tyler Perez)
- Postdoctoral researchers (e.g., Vinay Rastogi, Melissa Sims)
- Collaborations with national labs (e.g., Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Princeton University)
Teaching & Outreach
June leads the Mineralogy Lecture Series at JHU, integrating cutting-edge research into education. She emphasizes dynamic compression experiments in her coursework and mentors students in lab techniques like X-ray diffraction and shock physics.
Recent Highlights
Notable achievements include:
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship for student Anirudh Hari (2023)
- Development of slurry targets for high-repetition-rate XFEL experiments
- Pioneering studies on MgO viscosity using Richtmyer-Meshkov instability growth
Lab Facilities
Wicks Lab operates at facilities like the Laser Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) in Rochester, NY, where advanced shock-compression experiments are conducted. The lab also maintains close ties with synchrotron facilities for X-ray diffraction studies.
