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I am a computational mineral physicist whose research spans a wide range of topics in planetary mineralogy, going from the supercritical state that dominated the protolunar disk, to the internal structure of exoplanets. With the help of atomistic simulations, I try to understand the Earth’s evolution during Hadean, decipher the formation and evolution of the primordial atmosphere and hydrosphere, and explore what conditions planets must fulfill to make prebiotic chemistry thrive.

Over the years I have worked on all the major mineral components of the deep Earth, on water ice and other molecular crystals, and on a series of technological materials. I have a background in both Geology and Materials Sciences. After undergraduate studies at the Univ. of Bucharest (Romania) where I worked on crystal morphology, I pursued a PhD degree working on the physical properties of modulated crystals at the Catholic Univ. of Louvain (Belgium). My activity in high-pressure mineral physics took off at the University of Minnesota (USA) and continued during the Carnegie Fellowship at the Carnegie Institution of Washington (USA), and the Humboldt Fellowship at the Univ. of Bayreuth (Germany). Nowadays I am a senior researcher at the Institute de Physique du Globe de Paris (France).

 

 

 

NEWS (from my twitter feed)

#HPC support from @CINES_FRANCE @PRACE_RI @Genci_fr Sigma2 was essential. There are many millions of computing hours behind these results. Un grand merci!
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r_caracas Retweeted
@CEEDOslo: It has arrived….today is our last official day as a Norwegian Centre of Excellence! It has been 10 years of amazing science looking into the fundamental questions for understanding our planet @UniOslo @unioslo_mn @forskningsradet 1/3 https://t.co/SIyikMda6m
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r_caracas Retweeted
@CommsEarth: Volatile loss during the Moon-forming impact can explain the observed depletion trend in Earth’s mantle.

@INSU_CNRS @IPGP_officiel @CEEDOslo @r_caracas

https://t.co/tOqtJaGKTE https://t.co/ZvdNjiqvdJ
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And yes, there still is a lot of exciting stuff ! https://t.co/hRrVztPh85
The fourth leg of our adventure with the #MoonImpact #exhibition just ended in @VisitPlovdiv today, bringing together Impact and Hidden groups from @CircleU_eu Heading now to Munich! @ERCGrantees @ERC_Research @CORDIS_EU @IPGP_officiel @INSU_CNRS @CEEDOslo @CompSci_UiO https://t.co/3BlYFiVHQE
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Poste IE en développement python @IPGP_officiel a partir de 1 mars 2023. Développement et parallélisation du package UMD (https://t.co/IGdiao6mLK) dans le cadre de l'@erc_Research IMPACT @CORDIS_EU @erc @INSU_CNRS
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Adrien and Fanny talking about #FAIR data and various #openaccess #licenses @IPGP_officiel @ERC_Research @CORDIS_EU @CEEDOslo A very important aspect of our research nowadays https://t.co/VOPgQ5eNCY
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After the little grey elephant (aka #vapor #liquid immiscibility dome) a nice poster #agu2022 about the UMD code (https://t.co/7grKGii7f5) @ERC_Research @IPGP_officiel @INSU_CNRS @CEEDOslo
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r_caracas Retweeted
@AGuitou: Razvan Caracas (@IPGP_officiel @INSU_CNRS ) showing a small grey elephant to explain how the Moon formed at #AGU2022 conference. https://t.co/nXwfYBuOLJ
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Just when you would think that #AGU2022 is getting better, you stumble on a one hour long queue to pick up your badge https://t.co/1lqgDveKwN
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As #AGU2022 is approaching, visiting Dept Earth Sciences at @UChicago nice discussions and many projects about #minerals #atmosphere #planets and #exoplanets with some #coffee on the side @IPGP_officiel @INSU_CNRS @ERC_Research @CORDIS_EU @CEEDOslo https://t.co/ullPFzdBgN
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r_caracas Retweeted
@CNRS: 🇺🇸🇫🇷 En marge de la visite officielle du président @EmmanuelMacron aux États-Unis, le @CNRS vient d’inaugurer son 4e International research center (IRC), signé avec l'@UChicago, en présence de @sretailleau, ministre @sup_recherche.

➡️ https://t.co/li4AlVoCaR
#CNRSinternational🌎 https://t.co/3RCyRybQGK
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r_caracas Retweeted
@NobelPrize: "If you want to be a scientist, you have to withstand failure."

Listen to chemistry laureate Ben Feringa give advice to young science students on how to tackle failures.

Watch the full student session with Feringa here: https://t.co/JOfBlQK7qg https://t.co/aOvDBhvc4x
bc93b
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Yet more nice and good news: Elected fellow of the @MinSocAm Such an immense honor! I am deeply grateful. @IPGP_officiel @CEEDOslo @INSU_CNRS @CNRS_Paris @UniOslo @ERC_Research @ERCGrantees @CORDIS_EU @univ_paris_cite https://t.co/SoAmGn06pw
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r_caracas Retweeted
@PhysicsToday: Marie Curie was born #OTD 1867. Best known for her pioneering work on radioactivity, she also developed medical x-ray equipment and led efforts to deploy it to the battlefield during World War I #IDMP2022 @aapmHQ https://t.co/AVYuUefHam
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