J. Brian Evans

Brian Evans is interested in the mechanical properties of rocks at elevated temperatures and pressures, and particularly in the interactions among deformation, fluid chemistry, and fluid flow.

Evans received his PhD in Geophysics from MIT in 1978. Following a postdoctoral appointment at MIT, he matriculated to Princeton University as an Assistant Professor. In 1983, he returned to MIT as a faculty member and has remained there since, although he has had visiting appointments at the GeoForschungsZentrum in Potsdam, Germany, and at the University of Montpellier II, France.

Topics I investigate:

• Strength of Rocks at High Temperatures and Pressures
• Effect of Fluids and Impurities on Rock Strength
• Recrystallization and Grain Growth with and without Applied Stress
• Microstructures of Naturally Deformed Rocks
• Applications of Rock Mechanics to Tectonic Problems
• Interrelationship of Porosity, Permeability, and Plastic Flow
• Geophysics