Joshua Socolar

Professor of Physics

Prof. Socolar is interested in collective behavior in condensed matter and dynamical systems. His current research interests include:

• Limit-periodic structures, quasicrystals, packing problems, and tiling theory;
• Self-assembly and phases of designed colloidal particles;
• Organization and dynamics of complex networks;
• Topological elasticity of mechanical lattices.

Appointments and Affiliations

• Professor of Physics

Contact Information

• Office Location: 096 Physics Bldg, Durham, NC 27708
• Office Phone: (919) 660-2557
• Email Address: socolar@duke.edu

Education

• Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania, 1987
• B.A. Haverford College, 1980

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

• Top 5% in undergraduate instruction at Duke University. Dean of Arts and Sciences and Dean of Academic Affairs, Trinity College. 2013
• Top 5% in undergraduate instruction at Duke University. Deans of Arts and Sciences and Trinity College. 2011
• Outstanding Referee. American Physics Society. 2008
• Harvard Society Junior Fellows. Harvard Society of Fellows. 1987

Courses Taught

• ISS 293: ISS Research Independent Study
• MUSIC 126: Acoustics and Music
• PHYSICS 136: Acoustics and Music
• PHYSICS 141L9: General Physics I (Lab)
• PHYSICS 151L9: Introductory Mechanics
• PHYSICS 363: Thermal Physics
• PHYSICS 491: Independent Study: Advanced Topics
• PHYSICS 493: Research Independent Study
• PHYSICS 713: Thermal Physics

In the News

• Conjuring Coltrane (Jan 5, 2021)
• Faculty Council Reboots Campus Conversation on Diversity (Jan 20, 2014)
• Faculty to Begin Conversation on Diversity (Jan 14, 2014)
• New Academic Council Chair Begins 2013-14 Term (Sep 16, 2013)
• First Aperiodic Tiling With A Single Shape (Mar 25, 2010 | MIT Technology Review)

Representative Publications

• Jalali, P; Zhao, Y; Socolar, JES, Static and dynamic features of granular material failure due to upward pulling of a buried sphere by a slowly increasing force., Soft Matter, vol 17 no. 10 (2021), pp. 2832-2839 [10.1039/d0sm01914c] [abs].
• Zhao, Y; Barés, J; Socolar, JES, Yielding, rigidity, and tensile stress in sheared columns of hexapod granules., Physical Review. E, vol 101 no. 6-1 (2020) [10.1103/physreve.101.062903] [abs].
• Tian, Z; Shen, C; Li, J; Reit, E; Bachman, H; Socolar, JES; Cummer, SA; Jun Huang, T, Dispersion tuning and route reconfiguration of acoustic waves in valley topological phononic crystals., Nature Communications, vol 11 no. 1 (2020) [10.1038/s41467-020-14553-0] [abs].
• Carlevaro, CM; Kozlowski, R; Pugnaloni, LA; Zheng, H; Socolar, JES; Kondic, L, Intruder in a two-dimensional granular system: Effects of dynamic and static basal friction on stick-slip and clogging dynamics., Physical Review. E, vol 101 no. 1-1 (2020) [10.1103/physreve.101.012909] [abs].
• Zhao, Y; Barés, J; Zheng, H; Bester, CS; Xu, Y; Socolar, JES; Behringer, RP, Jamming transition in non-spherical particle systems: pentagons versus disks, Granular Matter, vol 21 no. 4 (2019) [10.1007/s10035-019-0940-4] [abs].