Hans-Rudolf Wenk

Research Expertise and Interest

crystallography, earth & planetary science, structural geology & rock deformation, seismic anisotropy

Research Description

Hans-Rudolf Wenk received his Ph.D in crystallography at the University of Zurich in 1965 and joined the UC Berkeley faculty in 1967. He has many research collaborations, for example with scientists at the Geophysical Laboratory in Washington DC, with Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, as well as international institutions such as the Universities of Trento/Italy and Metz/France and the GeoForschungsZentrum in Potsdam/Germany.

His current research focuses on understanding anisotropy and the development of preferred orientation in a variety of materials ranging from deformed rocks to metals and bones. Most recently his focus has been on seismic anisotropy and stresses in surficial sediments, tectonically deformed rocks in the crust as well as minerals in the mantle and inner core. Investigations make use of neutron diffraction, synchrotron x-rays and electron microscopy. These experiments can be conducted at temperature-pressure-stress conditions close to those in the deep earth.

In the News

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.
May 14, 2019

Scientists Discover Atomic-Forged Glass on Hiroshima's Beaches

VICE
Matthew Gault
Strange glass particles found on the beaches of Hiroshima are believed to have been created by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in World War II. The particles had been discovered by Mario Wannier, a retired geologist, who says: "They are generally aerodynamic, glassy, rounded -- these particles immediately reminded me of some [rounded] particles I had seen in sediment samples from the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary." Studying the particles with a team that included campus and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers, they discovered that the glass was full of minerals that are unusual in sediment, including anorthite and mullite crystals, which are usually seen around volcanoes and sites of meteorite impact -- in other words, sites of catastrophic destruction. And many of the materials found in the glass were common in Hiroshima during the war, including rubber, stainless steel, concrete, and marble. Earth and planetary science professor Hans-Rudolf Wenk is one of the study's co-authors. For more on this, see the story at Berkeley Lab.
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