
Dr Oliver Lord
MSc, PhD
Expertise
I study the deep interior of the Earth (and the properties of matter more generally) by recreating extremes of pressure and temperature using laboratory experiments and computer simulations.
Current positions
Royal Society University Research Fellow and Proleptic Lecturer
School of Earth Sciences
Contact
Media contact
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Biography
I am Royal Society funded University Research Fellow and the head of the Petrology Group in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. I have been located in Bristol almost continuously since completing my PhD in Experimental Petrology in 2009, under Professor Mike Walter, first as a post-doctoral research assistant and then a NERC fellow, except for a brief post-doctoral stint at the Department of Earth Sciences, UCL. Before then I studied Geology at what is now the School of Geography, Geology and the Environment at the University of Leicester (and which was then just the Geology Department). As well as research, I teach metamorphic petrology to 1st and 2nd year undergraduates, igneous petrology to 3rd and 4th year undergraduates and co-leads an annual field trip to Kinlochleven in Scotland to teach the art and science of geological mapping.
Research interests
Oliver studies the behaviour of matter at extreme conditions of pressure and temperature using a wide range of experimental techniques including micro-fabrication and laser-heated diamond anvil cell and large volume press experiments often in combination with various forms of X-ray analysis at Synchrotron user facilities (where he spends a lot of time), Raman spectroscopy, neutron diffraction and ab-initio computations. Oliver uses these techniques (and develops new ones) to try to better understand the interior structure and dynamics of the Earth and planets. He also enjoys collaborating with others to apply these capabilities to a range of problems that cut across geology, physics and engineering, including the phase diagrams and physical properties of transition metals, the mechanical and optical behaviour of current technological materials and the synthesis of novel superconducting compounds.
Oliver is currently working on a number of projects, funded by the Royal Society and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), listed below. My research has also led to the development of various software tools, which I am in the process of making available on GitHub.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Extreme metallurgy of planetary cores and transition metals
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Earth SciencesDates
01/04/2022 to 31/03/2025
Enhanced Research Expenses for Royal Society Research Fellows
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Earth SciencesDates
01/10/2021 to 30/09/2023
Dielectric properties of aqueous fluids at depth
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Earth SciencesDates
01/11/2020 to 31/10/2023
The physical properties of volatile bearing liquids in the upper mantle
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Earth SciencesDates
01/03/2020 to 30/09/2022
The influence of volatiles on lower mantle phase relations
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Earth SciencesDates
01/12/2017 to 30/09/2022
Thesis supervisions
Publications
Recent publications
01/03/2022Hydrous silicate melts and the deep mantle H2O cycle
Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Internal resistive heating of non-metallic samples to 3000 K and >60 GPa in the diamond anvil cell
Review of Scientific Instruments
Thermal stress reduces carbonate production of benthic foraminifera and changes the material properties of their shells
ICES Journal of Marine Science
Ontogenetic disparity in early planktic foraminifers
Journal of Micropalaeontology
Structural ordering in liquid gallium under extreme conditions
Physical Review Letters