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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;
- Shear jamming and stick-slip behavior in dry granular materials;
- 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
- 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
- Kluge, L; Socolar, JES; Schöll, E, Random logic networks: From classical Boolean to quantum dynamics., Physical Review. E, vol 104 no. 6-1 (2021) [10.1103/physreve.104.064308] [abs].
- Kozlowski, R; Zheng, H; Daniels, KE; Socolar, JES, Stress propagation in locally loaded packings of disks and pentagons., Soft Matter, vol 17 no. 44 (2021), pp. 10120-10127 [10.1039/d1sm01137e] [abs].
- Basak, R; Manuel Carlevaro, C; Kozlowski, R; Cheng, C; Pugnaloni, LA; Kramár, M; Zheng, H; Socolar, JES; Kondic, L, Two Approaches to Quantification of Force Networks in Particulate Systems, Journal of Engineering Mechanics, vol 147 no. 11 (2021) [10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943-7889.0002003] [abs].
- Zhao, Y; Zhao, Y; Wang, D; Zheng, H; Chakraborty, B; Socolar, JES, Ultra-stable shear jammed granular material (2021) [abs].
- 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].