The newly added flexibility in core courses allows for greater exploration of the major that typically isn’t covered in high school curricula, said Department Chair Kevin Boyce.

“We can form all sorts of gemstones potentially in space, as long as you have the right chemistry in the right temperature and conditions,” said Stanford Earth professor Wendy Mao.

A new theory that helps explain geological and chemical processes on Mars also suggests the martian environment continues to be dynamic, with implications for both astrobiology and future human exploration of the Red Planet.

A promising lead halide perovskite is great at converting sunlight to electricity, but it breaks down at room temperature. Now scientists have discovered how to stabilize it with pressure from a diamond anvil cell.