Adams and Nicholson studied in 1901 the plastic deformation of calcite and dolomite under conditions of high pressure and low temperature in enclosures made of stainless steel.

Bahkius Roozeboom established the first prediction of the stability fields of graphite and diamond.

Vogt demonstrated in 1912 that the stability of certain minerals can only be reached at high pressure.

Bernal suggested in 1936 that the dicontinuity depth corresponding to the olivine - spinel transformation is approximately 400 km.

Leipunsky calculated in 1939 the field of stability of graphite and diamond starting from their thermodynamic data.

Birch predicted in 1952 that major phase changes happen at certain critical depths in the upper mantle.

Coes invented in 1953 a special high pressure device insuring a solid-medium confinement of mineral to study their behaviour under conditions of high pressure and high temperature.

Jamieson carried out in 1953 the first determination of the pressure-temperature curve for the calcite - aragonite transition.

Bundy and Al realised in 1955 the high pressure synthesis of diamond.

Thompson proposed in 1955 a thermodynamical explanation to the concept of mineralogical facies used to classify metamorphic rocks.

Weir and Al invented in 1959 the diamond anvil cell which will be used for very higher pressure and temperature studies at laboratory.

Coleman and Lee discovered in 1962 the use of aragonite as an indicator of a fast crust uplift.

Bell then Khitarov and al. who were working independently performed in 1963 an experimental determination of the triple point of the phase diagram of aluminium silicates (Al2SiO5).

Ringwood and Major realised in 1966 an experimental demonstration of the olivine-spinel transformation which they could correlate with the seismic discontinuity observed in the mantle at the depth of 400km.

Akimoto and Fujisawa performed in 1966 the experimental demonstration of the olivine-spinel transformation for iron rich mineral compositions.

Meyer and Boyd realised in 1969 the first analyses of inclusions in diamonds.

Young correlated in 1969 the density of dislocations in olivine with the shear stresses in the upper mantle.

Boyd gave in 1973 an estimation of the geothermal gradient from the chemical composition of coexisting pyroxenes in a rock.

Liu established in 1974 that the perovskite structure is predominant in the lower mantle.

Mao and Bell reached in 1976 in their laboratory, a pressure of 1 megabar (1,000,000 bar) verified thanks to the ruby as a static pressure gauge.

Herndon emitted in 1979 the hypothesis that internal Earth’s core (or " seed ")should be made of nickel silicide.

Chopin published in 1984 the first discover of the very high pressure silica polymorph called coesite inside a metamorphic rock.

Sobolev and Shatsky published in 1987 their identification of the in-situ presence of diamond inside a metamorphic rock.

Mao and Al realised in 1989 on metals thought to likely constitute the terrestrial core, the first laboratory experiments at pressures such as those reigning in the core.