Benjamin John Albert Moulton

Doctorate in Geosciences from University of Toronto (2016). Currently a post-doctoral fellow at the Federal University of São Carlos in the Department of Physics. My research focus on determining the silicate glass and liquid structure, and how it affects their physical and chemical properties. Non-linearities in physical or chemical properties are often attributed to modifications to the structure (e.g. coordination changes of elements), however, these structural changes are poorly constrianed. This is especially true at extreme conditions such as high temperature, high pressure and during the process of crystallization. Understanding these relationships will allow us to design oxide glasses with desirable properties and will allow us to better understand the ongoing processes within volcanoes and deeper within the Earth. Crystallization is the essential process in the manufacturing and production of glass-ceramics. Very few oxide materials (BaSi2O5, CaSiO3) show crystal nucleation in the bulk. This bulk or volume nucleation is essential for producing a glass-ceramic with consistent properties (e.g. equal load-bearing capacity across the material). Thus, understanding why and how these oxide glasses are able to display volume nucleatation is important for creating new functional materials. My research focusing on the structure of these materials at high temperature and during the crystallization process. (Source: Lattes Curriculum)