Douglas Holmes, PhD

Professor (ME, MSE)

Office 730 Commonwealth Ave., EMA 213
Email dpholmes@bu.edu
Phone (617) 358-1294
Website Mechanics of Slender Structures (MOSS)

In the News

Promotions for ENG Faculty
June 24, 2025
"They exemplify each day the depth and excellence of Boston University’s talented academic community.” [ More ]
Dean Announces First Faculty to Earn New Awards for Lab Equipment
December 18, 2024
“The quality of the research that these inaugural infrastructure awards will support is incredible." [ More ]

Publications

View a complete list of publications chronologically by year.
View a complete list of publications by citation.

Research Areas

Slender structures are ubiquitous. Commonly described by rods, plates, and shells, these thin structures are embodied by carbon nanotubes, air plane wings, blood vessels, spider silk, contact lenses, and human hair. The mechanics of these thin objects are fascinating because geometric nonlinearities will arise even as the material properties remain linear – hair will curl and tangle, skin will wrinkle, and the Venus flytrap will rapidly snap its leaves closed. Professor Holmes is interested in understanding and controlling the mechanics, physics, and geometry of these thin structures, and our lab aims to harness material and structural instability for advanced functionality.
Professor Holmes’ research has utilized elastic instabilities to pattern surfaces with deformable shells, described the mechanics of wrinkling and folding thin films, and quantified the dynamics shape change of snapping beams and shells. His lab has utilized the swelling of elastomers as a means for controlling beam bending, and electrically active polymers for the controlled deformation and buckling of thin structures to control microfluidic fluid flow.

Honors and Awards

NSF CAREER Award — CMMI: Mechanics of Materials, 2015

Additional Affiliations

Division of Materials Science & Engineering

Departments or Divisions: Materials Science & Engineering, Mechanical Engineering

Affiliations: Materials by Design, Primary & Affiliated Faculty

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