Introduction  
 

Dr. David London

  


 
         
  This website is directed to prospective graduate students. It describes my research activities and opportunities for the study of pegmatites and related rocks at the University of Oklahoma. The work that I sponsor here, however, pertains to the most fundamental properties of granitic melts and the processes of their crystallization and fractionation. Mineral-melt equilibria, non-equilibrium processes, diffusion in melts, and crystal growth experiments are applicable to igneous rocks in general, and they constitute the tools one needs to understand the underlying principles that make pegmatites. These are (I think) the most challenging rocks on Earth, and it is their complexity as well as their beauty that drew me to them as an undergraduate student at Wesleyan University.

Students and visiting scientists who have worked with me learn various tools of problem-solving, but perhaps the most significant expertise I have to offer is a capable laboratory and extensive experience in experimentation at elevated pressures and temperatures. Seeing is believing, and when we develop testable models that are then born out by experiments, we remove most doubt that plagues the interpretive science of geology. Well-designed and well-executed experimental geochemistry stands that test of time better than most other contributions.

Why Oklahoma? I could say it's because of a central location to my field areas in California, Manitoba, and Connecticut. The truth is, I'm an Okie, born & bred, and it's home. Come experience the good life and immerse yourself in science.