Tingting Gu
Assistant Professor
Department of Earth Sciences
Background
Tingting Gu earned her PhD in Geology through a joint program between the Carnegie Institution for Science and Peking University, after completing a B.E. in Gemology at China University of Geosciences (Beijing). She studies the stability and transformation of minerals that are important to Earth/planetary evolution and to critical mineral resources. Using high-pressure experiments, microanalytical characterization, and modeling, she investigates mineral structures, element mobility, and volatile behavior across the deep Earth and planetary interiors. Her work integrates experimental mineralogy with geological observations and applications relevant to critical elements, super-deep diamonds, and the deep carbon cycle.
Her research interests include but are not limited to:
- Deep-Earth materials and diamond-based records, focused on how diamond and related materials record deep-Earth processes and Earth material evolution.
- Extreme-condition experimental studies of mineral and resource formation, using high-pressure experiments to investigate material formation and transformation under extreme conditions.
- Nanoscale characterization of inclusions and defects in natural and synthetic materials, examining the structure, chemistry, and formation of nanoscale features and their relation to material properties.
Research Interests
- Diamond geology
- Critical minerals
- Experimental petrology
- Deep-Earth geochemistry
- Nanoscale mineralogy
- Volatile cycling
- Earth and planetary evolution
Teaching Interests
- Earth materials
- Gems and minerals
- Earthquakes and volcanoes
- Mineral physics and characterization