Robert P Behringer, J. B. Duke Professor (secondary appts: Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering & Material Sciences)  

Office Location: 095 Physics
Office Phone: 919-660-2550, 919-660-2553
Email Address: bob@phy.duke.edu
Web Page: http://www.phy.duke.edu/~bob

Research Categories: Condensed Matter

Research Description: Professor Robert P. Behringer is a James B. Duke Professor of Physics. Dr. Behringer's research interests include nonlinear dynamics and low-temperature physics. His studies of nonlinear dynamics include experiments on granular flow, on convection in liquid helium, as well as room temperature fluids, and on convection in porous media. His group has recently pioneered the use of magnetic resonance imaging and novel optical techniques to study flows in porous media. Novel experiments on the flow of granular materials such as sand have yielded new insights into the dynamics of this complex, technically important and intriguing system. Other experiments probe pattern formation phenomena in shear flows and in film flows. Experiments in low-temperature physics probe the unusual and striking properties of superfluid helium.

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

  1. R.P. Behringer, A. Wilkinson, and P. Metzger, Editorial, Granular Matter, vol. 9 (September, 2007), pp. 293 .
  2. T.S. Majmudar, M. sperl, S. Luding and R.P. Behringer, The Jamming Transition in Granular Systems, Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 98 (February, 2007), pp. 058001 .
  3. M. Dutt and R.P. Behringer, Effects of surface friction on a two-dimensional granular system: numerical model of a granular collider experiment, Phys. Rev. E, vol. 75 (2007), pp. 021305 .
  4. R.P. Behringer, K. E. Daniels, T. S. Majmudar, and M. sperl, Fluctuations, correlations, and Transitions in Granulr Materials: Statistical Mechanics for a Non-Conventional System, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A (Accepted, 2007) .
  5. M. Carey, M. Steen, and R.P. Behringer, Binary convection in a porous medium (Preprint, 2007) .

Current Ph.D. Students   (Former Students)

  • Jie Ren  
  • Junyao Tang  
  • Somayeh Farhadi  
  • Peidong Yu  
Postdocs Mentored

  • Jie Zhang (2005 - present)  
  • 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)