Renata Wentzcovitch

Renata M. Wentzcovitch

Professor of Materials Science and Applied Physics; Professor of Earth and Environmental Science

Renata Wentzcovitch is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering in the Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics Department, Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University.

Her research is devoted to computational quantum mechanical studies of materials at extreme conditions, especially planetary materials. She addresses electronic, structural, and vibrational properties from a fundamental and inter-related perspective. 

Wentzcovitch develops and applies materials simulation methods to study materials properties at high pressures and temperatures, especially minerals at planetary interior conditions. Her research interests include: Mineral physics with applications to geophysics (seismology and geodynamics) and geochemistry (water speciation and isotope fractionation in minerals); Thermoelastic properties of materials at extreme conditions; Materials discovery at (exo)planetary interior conditions; H2O-ice physics; Properties of strongly correlated oxides and their crystalline defects; Spin crossover systems; Simulation methods development; and automation of high-throughput phase space sampling calculations. 

Prior to joining the Columbia Engineering faculty in 2017, she was a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota, where she was a member of the graduate faculties in the School of Physics and Astronomy, Department of Earth Sciences, Chemical Physics Program, and Scientific Computation Program, where she served as Director of Graduate Studies. She has been a regular visiting professor at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste (IT) since 1998, Earth-Life Science Institute and Earth and Planetary Sciences Department at Tokyo Institute of Technology since 2002, University of Frankfurt since 2008, University of Science and Technology of China and Beijing Computational Science and Engineering Center since 2012. She is visiting the Center for Computational Quantum Physics at the Flatiron Institute, Simons Foundation in New York. 

She has served in the Chair line of the Division of Computational Physics of the American Physical Society. Now she serves in the President line of the Mineral and Rock Physics Section of the American Geophysical Union.

Research Areas

  • Atmospheric, Ocean, and Earth Physics
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Solid-State Physics
  • Energy Science
  • Quantum Materials
  • Advanced Materials
  • Energy, Mineral, and Materials
  • Sustainable Production of Earth Mineral and Metal Resources
  • Materials Modeling and Simulation
  • Planetary Materials Simulation and Discovery

 

Additional Information

  • Professional Experience
    • Professor of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, 2017
    • Professor of Earth and Environmental Science, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, 2017-
    • Member of the graduate faculty in School of Physics and Astronomy (1996-2016), Department of Earth Science (2010-2016), Chemical Physics Program (1996-2016), Scientific Computing Program (1996-2016), University of Minnesota, 1996-2016
    • Founding director, Virtual Laboratory for Earth and Planetary Materials, University of Minnesota, 2004
    • Professor of Materials Science, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, 2006-2016
    • Associate Professor of Materials Science, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, 2001-2006
    • Assistant Professor of Materials Science, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, 1994-2001
  • Professional Affiliations
    • American Physical Society
    • American Geophysical Union
    • Mineralogical Society of America
    • American Association for Advancement of Science
    • Materials Research Society
  • Honors & Awards
    • Fellow, American Physical Society, 2006
    • Fellow, American Geophysical Union, 2008
    • Humboldt Award for Senior US Scientists, 2008
    • Fellow, Mineralogical Society of America, 2009
    • Fellow, American Association for Advancement of Science, 2012
    • Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2013
    • Wilhelm Heraeus Visiting Professorship Award, University of Frankfurt, 2015-2016
    • Honorary Research Fellow, Birkbeck College, University of London, UK, 1993-1994
    • Shell Land-Grant Professor, University of Minnesota, 1994-1995