From Meteorites to Steel: A Carbon-Cutting Discovery
Michele Simoncell, P. Crone Research Fellow, University of Cambridge (2021-2024), Assistant Professor at Columbia University (2025-) and his team used the facility to predict from theory the existence of materials with thermal properties hybrid between crystals and glasses, and experimental colleagues measured these properties in a material found in meteorites and on Mars!
What did they find!
Michele and the team, Nicola Marzari from the Swiss Federal Technology Institute of Lausanne and Francesco Mauri from Sapienza University of Rome formulated a new equation to explain how heat moves through different types of materials, from perfectly ordered crystals that are more conductive upon lowering temperature, to disordered glasses that are less conductive upon lowering temperature.
They used such an equation and quantum-accurate simulations to predict from theory materials that display hybrid crystal-glass conduction properties. In particular, they predicted that a “silica tridymite” material would feature these hybrid properties, practically resulting in a capability to carry heat that is unaffected by temperature. Experiments performed on a sample extracted from a meteorite proved them right.
They also discovered that similar materials could form in refractory bricks used in furnaces for steel production, suggesting a new way to improve heat management and reduce carbon emissions in one of the world’s most energy-intensive industrial sectors. 
In research published on July 11 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Simoncelli and his collaborators predicted the existence of a material with hybrid crystal-glass thermal properties, and a team of experimentalists led by Etienne Balan, Daniele Fournier, and Massimiliano Marangolo from the Sorbonne University in Paris confirmed it with measurements.
Kelvin 2
The research involved quantitative evaluation of atomistic vibrational properties which is computationally expensive and requires using HPC.
Michele Simoncelli started the research as part of the TCM group at University of Cambridge and concluded it at the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University in the city of New York (2025).
Computational resources were provided by Kelvin2 (funded by EPSRC) and the UK National Supercomputing Service ARCHER2, for which access was obtained via the UKCP consortium and funded by EPSRC.
Impact on the environment
This discovery could transform how we design materials that manage heat in extreme environments. Since steel production is a major source of global carbon emissions, these materials could help industries better control heat and reduce energy waste. In the long term, this work may lead to more efficient manufacturing and a lower environmental impact in critical sectors like steel production.