November is a busy time of year for many. It’s filled with final exam prep, holiday shopping, and excitement for the end of the year.
November proved to be a groundbreaking month with a UNLV researcher unearthing a newly discovered mineral known as davemaoite. Over in the legal world, a UNLV professor was chosen by President Biden for judgeship, while UNLV experts in other disciplines continued to monitor COVID-19 repercussions. Experts also discussed a variety of issues affecting school systems, and economists analyzed the current state of the casino industry and how it’s affecting Las Vegas’s economy. Finally, experts talked about this year’s holiday season.
Read on to learn more in the newest edition of UNLV Newsmakers.
Check Your Diamonds
UNLV geochemist Oliver Tschauner and colleagues reported in the journal Science in November the discovery of a new mineral on the surface of the Earth. There’s just one catch: it shouldn’t be here. The mineral — entrapped in a diamond and now named “davemaoite” — rose up to the surface from deep within the Earth’s lower mantle. It’s the first time that lower mantle minerals have ever been observed in nature because they usually fall apart when they reach the Earth’s surface, unable to retain their structure outside of a high-pressure environment.
- Oliver Tschauner, head mineralogist on the study, championed the discovery as a possible gateway into further exploration of Earth’s lower mantle: USA…
