This is the final report of a three-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Because planetary interiors are remote, laboratory methods and associated theory are an essential step for interpreting geophysical measurements in terms of quantities that are needed for understanding Earth--temperature, composition, stress state, history, and hazards. One objective is the study of minerals and rocks as materials using experimental methods; another is to develop new methods, as in high pressure research, codes for computation in rock/soil physics, or nuclear-based analysis. Accomplishments include developing a single-crystal x-ray diffraction apparatus with application to materials at extremely high pressure and temperature; P-V-T equations of state and seismic velocity measurements for understanding the composition of Earth`s outer 1,000 km; creating computational tools to explain complex stress-strain histories of rocks; and measuring tungsten/thorium ratios W/Th that agree with the hypothesis that Earth accreted heterogeneously. Work performed in this project applies to geosciences, geothermal energy, mineral and rock properties, seismic detection, and isotope dating.