Bio
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.
Education
- B.A. Haverford College, 1980
- Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania, 1987
Positions
- Professor of Physics
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 of Fellows - Junior Fellows. Harvard Society of Fellows. 1987
Courses Taught
- PHYSICS 464: Quantum Mechanics I
- PHYSICS 151L9D: Introductory Mechanics (Discussion Component)
- PHYSICS 136: Acoustics and Music
- PHYSICS 122DL: General Physics II - Electricity and Magnetism
- MUSIC 126: Acoustics and Music
In the News
- Faculty Council Approves New Undergraduate Curriculum (Apr 4, 2024)
- Conjuring Coltrane (Jan 5, 2021)
- Visualizing the Exotic Patterns of the Crystals of the Cosmos (Sep 18, 2015)
- Duke weds econ/poli-sci master's degree (May 8, 2015)
- Visualizing how matter changes from one state to another, on an atomic level (Mar 3, 2015)
- Faculty Council Reboots Campus Conversation on Diversity (Jan 22, 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
- Brzinski, Ted, Sebastian Deffner, Nathan C. Keim, Enkeleida Lushi, and Joshua E. S. Socolar. “Editorial: DSNP Dissertation Award 2025 - Pushing the limits of active metamaterials.” Physical Review. E 113, no. 3–1 (March 2026): 030001. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.113.030001.
- Zhao, Y., J. Barés, H. Zheng, and J. E. S. Socolar. “Dynamical Heterogeneity in Shear-Jammed Granular Systems.” EPJ Web of Conferences 340 (December 1, 2025). https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202534004009.
- Socolar, J. E. S. “Quasicrystalline structure of the hat monotile tilings.” Physical Review B 108, no. 22 (December 1, 2023). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.108.224109.
- Basak, Rituparna, Ryan Kozlowski, Luis A. Pugnaloni, M. Kramar, Joshua E. S. Socolar, C Manuel Carlevaro, and Lou Kondic. “Evolution of force networks during stick-slip motion of an intruder in a granular material: Topological measures extracted from experimental data.” Physical Review. E 108, no. 5–1 (November 2023): 054903. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.108.054903.
- Socolar, Joshua E. S. “Quasicrystalline structure of the Smith monotile tilings,” May 1, 2023.