My research aims to understand the present state and evolution of the Earth's mantle by high-pressure, high-temperature experimental studies and thermodynamic modelling. My particular interest is in the role of volatiles in mantle processes, and how volatiles such as carbon and water behave in the mantle. Current projects include experimental studies on (1) the buffering capacity of mantle peridotite and implications for diamond formation, (2) melting of carbonated harzburgite, (3) interaction of carbonatitic melts with mantle peridotite, and (4) the synthesis of diamond in systems analogous to nature. Recent graduate student projects include (1) the near-liquidus phase relationships of primitive minette, (2) the melting behavior of mica-clinopyroxenites as models for vein assemblages in the lithospheric mantle, (3) the stability of phlogopite in peridotites, and (4) the effect of halogens on hydrous mantle melting. Recent undergraduate projects have been on melt inclusions, diamond growth, and alkaline igneous rocks in Alberta and British Columbia.