Burkhard Militzer | Research UC Berkeley

Research Bio

Burkhard Militzer is a Professor of Earth and Planetary Science. His research focuses on studying Earth and Planetary Science problems using computer simulation techniques that were developed in condensed matter physics. Recent studies focused hydrogen-helium mixtures in Jupiter and whether this planet has a rocky core. The comparison of theory and experiment is very important, but with computer simulations one can study much higher pressures than are accessible in experiments, and that is needed to understand giant planet interiors.

Research Expertise and Interest

density functional methods, equation of state calculations, planetary interiors, materials at high pressure, theoretical mineral physics, path integration Monte Carlo, planet formation, quantum Monte Carlo method

In the News

a planet against a blue background is exploded in layered hemispheres resembling clouds, an ocean, an amber layer and a core

A Clue to What Lies Beneath the Bland Surfaces of Uranus and Neptune

New research reveals a new theory on the multiple layers of Uranus and Neptune, as well as their unusual magnetic fields.

Saturn photo with a ring of icy rocks surrounding it

Chrysalis, the Lost Moon That Gave Saturn Its Rings

The new proposal for how Saturn became “Lord of the Rings” in our solar system and how Saturn got its axial tilt will be published this week in the journal Science. The lead author is Jack Wisdom, a professor of planetary science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with key contributions from Burkhard Militzer at the University of California, Berkeley.

Saturn hasn’t always had rings

One of the last acts of NASA’s Cassini spacecraft before its death plunge into Saturn’s hydrogen and helium atmosphere was to coast between the planet and its rings and let them tug it around, essentially acting as a gravity probe.

What magnetic fields can tell us about life on other planets

Every school kid knows that Earth has a magnetic field – it’s what makes compasses align north-south and lets us navigate the oceans. It also protects the atmosphere, and thus life, from the sun’s powerful wind. But what about other Earth-like planets in the galaxy? Do they also have magnetic fields to protect emerging life? A new analysis say they do have a magnetic field, but one generated in a totally novel way.

Helium rain on Jupiter explains lack of neon in atmosphere

When the Galileo probe descended through Jupiter's atmosphere in 1995, it found neon to be one-tenth as abundant as predicted. This unexpected finding has led two UC Berkeley researchers to propose that this is due to a rain of helium that depletes Jupiter's layers of neon as well as helium.

Featured in the Media

Please note: The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or positions of UC Berkeley.

November 25, 2024

Vast Oceans of Water May Be Hiding Within Uranus and Neptune

The New York Times

Jonathan O'Callaghan

Astronomy Professor Burkhard Militzer's "idea could explain a key difference between Jupiter and Saturn, which are mostly composed of hydrogen, and Uranus and Neptune."

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