Robert P. Behringer, James B. Duke Professor  

Robert P. Behringer

Office Location: 095 Physics
Email Address: bob@phy.duke.edu
Web Page: http://behringer.phy.duke.edu

Specialties:
Experimental condensed matter physics
Nonlinear dynamics and complex systems

Research Categories: Condensed Matter

Research Description: Dr. Behringer's research interests include granular materials: friction, earthquakes, jamming; nonlinear dynamics; and fluids: Rayleigh-Benard convection, the flow of thin liquid films, porous media flow, and quantum fluids. His studies focus particularly on experiments (with some theory/simulation) that yield new insights into the dynamics and complex behavior of these systems. His experiments involve a number of highly novel approaches, including the use of photoelasticity for probing granular systems, innovative experiments to characterize the stability of surface flows and properties of gels, and magnetic resonance imaging to study flows in porous media.

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

  1. Zheng, H; Wang, D; Chen, DZ; Wang, M; Behringer, RP, Intruder friction effects on granular impact dynamics, Physical Review. E, vol. 98 no. 3 (September, 2018), American Physical Society (APS) [doi]  [abs].
  2. Aumaître, S; Behringer, RP; Cazaubiel, A; Clément, E; Crassous, J; Durian, DJ; Falcon, E; Fauve, S; Fischer, D; Garcimartín, A; Garrabos, Y; Hou, M; Jia, X; Lecoutre, C; Luding, S; Maza, D; Noirhomme, M; Opsomer, E; Palencia, F; Pöschel, T; Schockmel, J; Sperl, M; Stannarius, R; Vandewalle, N; Yu, P, An instrument for studying granular media in low-gravity environment., Review of Scientific Instruments, vol. 89 no. 7 (July, 2018), pp. 075103 [doi]  [abs].
  3. Zheng, H; Wang, D; Barés, J; Behringer, RP, Sinking in a bed of grains activated by shearing., Physical Review. E, vol. 98 no. 1-1 (July, 2018), pp. 010901 [doi]  [abs].
  4. Wang, D; Ren, J; Dijksman, JA; Zheng, H; Behringer, RP, Microscopic Origins of Shear Jamming for 2D Frictional Grains., Physical Review Letters, vol. 120 no. 20 (May, 2018), pp. 208004 [doi]  [abs].
  5. Dijksman, JA; Kovalcinova, L; Ren, J; Behringer, RP; Kramar, M; Mischaikow, K; Kondic, L, Characterizing granular networks using topological metrics., Physical Review. E, vol. 97 no. 4-1 (April, 2018), pp. 042903 [doi]  [abs].

Highlight:
Dr. Behringer's research interests include granular materials: friction, earthquakes, jamming; nonlinear dynamics; and fluids: Rayleigh-Benard convection, the flow of thin liquid films, porous media flow, and quantum fluids. His studies focus particularly on experiments (with some theory/simulation) that yield new insights into the dynamics and complex behavior of these systems. His experiments involve a number of highly novel approaches, including the use of photoelasticity for probing granular systems, innovative experiments to characterize the stability of surface flows and properties of gels, and magnetic resonance imaging to study flows in porous media.

Current Ph.D. Students   (Former Students)

  • Yuchen Zhao  
  • Yue Zhang  
  • Aghil Abed Zadeh  
  • Dong Wang  
  • Eric Sia  
  • Peidong Yu  
Postdocs Mentored

  • Jonathan Bares (November 10, 2013 - present)  
  • Nicolas Brodu (October 1, 2012 - April 01, 2014)  
  • Joshua Dijksman (March 1, 2010 - February 01, 2014)  
  • Jie Zhang (2005 - January 01, 2010)  
  • Matthias Sperl (August, 2004 - November 28, 2006)  
  • Jean-Philippe Matas (2003/12-present)  
  • Brian Utter (2002/12-present)  
  • Karen Daniels (2002/12-present)  
  • Jeanman Sur (2002/12-present)  
  • Scott Paulson (2002/12-present)