My students, postdoctoral scholars, affiliated researchers and I combine field and theoretical studies to understand the physical and chemical processes in Earth's mid-lower crust and uppermost mantle. Topics of interest include: i) formation and exhumation of ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) rocks; ii) ophiolite emplacement and the formation of inverted metamorphic gradients; iii) role of phase changes in earthquakes, diagenesis, and magmatism in subduction zones; iv) formation and refining of continental crust; v) rheology, velocity anisotropy and phase changes in the lower crust; vi) rock physical properties; vii) laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.