Ian

SzumilaHe/His

Ian Szumila joined Carnegie as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Sally Tracy’s group studying the Fe-C system at high pressures through laser shock experiments. Szumila holds a Ph.D. in Geosciences from the University of Rochester and two B.S. degrees in Geology and Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He worked on various research projects relating to shock events. This includes both the study of zircons formed in impact melt sheets of the Sudbury impact structure as well as artificially shocking zircons via flat-plate accelerators and studying their Pb mobility.

He also prepared custom geochemical targets for experiments to much higher pressures achieved via laser shock experiments. Szumila enjoys using his knowledge of experimental petrology techniques and high-pressure equipment, such as piston cylinders, to produce custom targets for these types of experiments. These techniques, combined with laser shock experiments, allow characterization of the material properties of our own planet’s core and mantle and those of exoplanets. Szumila finds the comparative planetology aspect of planetary science to be very compelling. He is interested in science that helps us understand both Earth and the other terrestrial solar system planets and provides insight into the possible geology of exoplanets. By generalizing the processes (e.g., magma ocean dynamics, core formation) that occurred both on our own world and other planets, we can come to a deeper understanding of these events.