From Airlie House in 1977 to Granlibakken in 2012: 35 Years of evolution of mineral physics

•Francis Birch is “father of mineral physics.” Orson Anderson coined the term “mineral physics”.•First mineral physics conference at Airlie House in 1977.•Static high pressure-temperature experiments now performed in diamond-anvil cells and multi-anvil apparatus.•Mineral physics is now a core discipline of geophysics.•Synchrotron radiation facilities have changed the nature of experimental mineral physics.

The first scientific conference focused on mineral physics was held at the Airlie House in Warrenton, Virginia in October 1977. In the ensuing 35 years, many other meetings were convened, dedicated journals were founded, national programs were established, all of which marked the emergence of the discipline of mineral physics into the mainstream of geosciences. At the onset of the 21st century, mineral physicists find themselves with many challenging problems and many exciting opportunities for research at high pressures and temperatures, made possible in large measure to access to synchrotron radiation facilities throughout the world. In this paper, we highlight this evolution of the field of mineral physics over this 35-year period from Airlie House to the Joint COMPRES Annual Meeting and High-Pressure Mineral Physics Seminar-8 at the Granlibakken Conference Center on Lake Tahoe in 2012.