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@phy.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:
- MUSIC 126: Acoustics and Music
- PHYSICS 136: Acoustics and Music
- PHYSICS 161D: Fundamentals of Physics I
- PHYSICS 590S: Selected Topics in Theoretical Physics
In the News:
- 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:
- Pham, AT; Zhuang, Y; Detwiler, P; Socolar, JES; Charbonneau, P; Yellen, BB, Phase diagram and aggregation dynamics of a monolayer of paramagnetic colloids., Physical review. E, vol 95 no. 5-1 (2017) [10.1103/physreve.95.052607] [abs].
- Socolar, JES; Lubensky, TC; Kane, CL, Mechanical graphene, New Journal of Physics, vol 19 no. 2 (2017), pp. 025003-025003 [10.1088/1367-2630/aa57bb] [abs].
- Oğuz, EC; Socolar, JES; Steinhardt, PJ; Torquato, S, Hyperuniformity of quasicrystals, Physical Review B, vol 95 no. 5 (2017) [10.1103/PhysRevB.95.054119] [abs].
- Rutkowski, DM; Marcoux, C; Socolar, JES; Hall, CK, Formation of limit-periodic structures by quadrupole particles confined to a triangular lattice, Physical review. E, vol 95 no. 1 (2017) [10.1103/PhysRevE.95.012604] [abs].
- Hann, CT; Socolar, JES; Steinhardt, PJ, Local growth of icosahedral quasicrystalline tilings, Physical Review B, vol 94 no. 1 (2016) [10.1103/PhysRevB.94.014113] [abs].