L. Catherine Brinson

Sharon C. and Harold L. Yoh, III Distinguished Professor

Appointments and Affiliations

• Sharon C. and Harold L. Yoh, III Distinguished Professor
• Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
• Donald M. Alstadt Chair of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Contact Information

• Office Location: 3379 Fciemas Building, Duke Campus, Durham, NC 27708
• Office Phone: (919) 660-5310
• Email Address: cate.brinson@duke.edu
• Websites:
  • Brinson Lab

Education

• Ph.D. California Institute of Technology, 1990
• M.S. California Institute of Technology, 1986
• B.S. Virginia Polytech Institute and State University, 1985

Research Interests

Study of advanced material systems and developing new methods to characterize and to model material behavior. Her lab’s research objective is to characterize and model advanced materials systems, at scales spanning the range of molecular interactions, micromechanical and macroscopic behavior.

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

• A.C. Eringen Medal. Society of Engineering Science (SES). 2022
• Fellow. American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). 2020
• Nadai Medal. American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). 2014

Courses Taught

• ME 555: Advanced Topics in Mechanical Engineering
• ME 592: Research Independent Study in Mechanical Engineering or Material Science

In the News

• A Fun, Free Crash Course on How Modern Materials Shape Our World (Feb 7, 2022 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• Brinson Named 2022 A.C. Eringen Medalist (Jan 13, 2022 | Duke Engineering News)
• Innovative Textile Vents to Release Heat When You Sweat (Jan 5, 2022 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• Duke MEMS: Writing New Recipes for High-Performance Materials (Feb 26, 2021 | Duke Engineering News)
• Brinson Named Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (Nov 25, 2020 | Duke Engineering News)
• Six From Duke Elected Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (Nov 24, 2020)
• Cate Brinson: In the Kitchen with NanoMine (Nov 19, 2020 | Rate of Change Podcast | Duke Engineering)
• aiM: AI for Understanding and Designing Materials—Filling an AI and Materials Science Training Gap (Sep 21, 2020 | Duke Engineering News)
• Women’s History Month 2020: Reflections from Duke Women (Mar 4, 2020 | Duke Today)
• DNA-Based Nanobots Earn Duke MEMS Its Fifth DMREF Award for Materials Science (Sep 9, 2019 | Duke Engineering News)
• New Yoh Professorship Is a Gift to Future Engineers (Jun 25, 2019 | Duke Engineering News)
• Duke Adds 21 Faculty to Distinguished Faculty Rank (May 7, 2019)
• $5M NSF Project: Liberating Data to Discover New Polymer Nanocomposites and Metamaterials (Feb 13, 2019 | Duke Engineering News)
• Catherine Brinson: Finding Hard Answers for Soft Matter (Aug 25, 2017)

Representative Publications

• Collinson, DW; von Windheim, N; Gall, K; Brinson, LC, Direct evidence of interfacial crystallization preventing weld formation during fused filament fabrication of poly(ether ether ketone), Additive Manufacturing, vol 51 (2022) [10.1016/j.addma.2022.102604] [abs].
• Deagen, ME; Brinson, LC; Vaia, RA; Schadler, LS, The materials tetrahedron has a “digital twin”, Mrs Bulletin (2022) [10.1557/s43577-021-00214-0] [abs].
• Li, X; Ma, B; Dai, J; Sui, C; Pande, D; Smith, DR; Brinson, LC; Hsu, P-C, Metalized polyamide heterostructure as a moisture-responsive actuator for multimodal adaptive personal heat management., Science Advances, vol 7 no. 51 (2021) [10.1126/sciadv.abj7906] [abs].
• Collinson, DW; Sheridan, RJ; Palmeri, MJ; Brinson, LC, Best practices and recommendations for accurate nanomechanical characterization of heterogeneous polymer systems with atomic force microscopy, Progress in Polymer Science, vol 119 (2021) [10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2021.101420] [abs].
• Collinson, DW; Kolluru, PV; Von Windheim, N; Brinson, LC, Distribution of rubber particles in the weld zone of fused filament fabricated acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and the impact on weld strength, Additive Manufacturing, vol 41 (2021) [10.1016/j.addma.2021.101964] [abs].