Douglas Holmes

Associate Professor (ME, MSE)

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

Honors and Awards

NSF CAREER Award — CMMI: Mechanics of Materials, 2015

Areas of Interest

Elasticity* Geometry* Structural Stability *Mechanics

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.

Publications

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

Departments or Divisions: Materials Science & Engineering, Mechanical Engineering

Affiliations: Materials by Design, Primary & Affiliated Faculty

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