CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Jay D. Bass, a professor of geology and of materials science at the University of Illinois, has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the University Claude Bernard Lyon 1 in France.
Bass, 56, was recognized for his work on elastic properties of materials of interest "geological or technological, in extreme conditions of pressure and temperature." His work has played a key role in determining chemical and thermal structures of Earth's mantle, starting from seismological information.
For the last 30 years, Bass has used Brillouin spectroscopy at high pressures and temperatures in his research and has been able to obtain a detailed model of the composition of the mantle to a depth of 2,900 meters.
Bass' work in collaboration with the University Claude Bernard Lyon 1 has enhanced the development of the work of both universities in this field and the careers of the researchers involved.
Bass earned his doctorate at the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1982.
The awarding of the honorary doctorate was announced in May.