faculty.John E. Dolbow

John E. Dolbow, Associate Professor

Professor John E. Dolbow came to Duke University from Northwestern University, where he received an MS and PhD in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics. During the course of his graduate study, John was a Computational Science Graduate Fellow for the Department of Energy, and he spent a summer working at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Dr. Dolbow's research concerns the development of computational methods for nonlinear problems in solid mechanics. In particular, he is interested in modeling quasi-static and dynamic fracture of structural components and the evolution of interfaces with nonlinear constitutive laws. A native of New Hampshire, Dr. Dolbow received his Bachelor's Degree in mechanical engineering from the University of New Hampshire. Professor Dolbow's personal web page may be found at http://www.duke.edu/~jdolbow.


Education

• Ph.D. Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Northwestern University, 1999
• M.S. Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Northwestern University
• B.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of New Hampshire, 1995

Professional Experience

• Associate Professor, Department of Divil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University, 2006 - present
• Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University, 1999-2006.
• Graduate Research Assistant, Northwestern University, 1995-1999.
• Visiting Research Associate, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 1998
• Research Assistant, University of New Hampshire, 1994-1995

Sample Publications [complete publication list]

Bellec, J. and J.E. Dolbow (2003). “A note on enrichment functions for modeling crack nucleation.” Communications in Numerical Methods in Engineering, Vol. 19 (12), pp. 921-932.

Dolbow, J. and M.Gosz (2002),“On the Computation of Mixed-Mode Stress Intensity Factors in Functionally Graded Materials,” International Journal of Solids and Structures, 39, 2557-2574.

Ji, H., D.L. Chopp, and J.E. Dolbow (2002), “A Hybrid Extended Finite Element/Level Set Method for Modeling Phase Transformations,” International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 54, 1209-1233.

Dolbow, J.E. & J.C. Nadeau (2002), “On the Use of Effective Properties for the Fracture Analysis of Microstructured Materials,” Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 69, 1607-1634.

Merle, R. & J.E. Dolbow (2002), “Solving Thermal and Phase Change Problems with the Extended Finite Element Method,” Computational Mechanics, 28, 339-350.

Courses Taught

• EGR 75L. Mechanics of Solids
• CE 212. Fracture Mechanics
• CE 251. Engineering Analysis and Computational Mechanics
• CE 254. Introduction to the Finite Element Method
• CE 255. Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis
• CE 256. Computational Methods for Evolving Discontinuities

Honors and Awards

• R. H. Gallagher Young Investigator Award, U.S. Association for Computational Mechanics, 2005.
• Young Researcher Fellowship Award, First MIT Conference on Computational Fluid and Solid Mechanics, 2001
• Robert J. Melosh Award for the Best Student Paper in Finite Element Analysis, Duke University, 1999
• Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellow, 1997-1999
• Walter P. Murphy Graduate Fellowship, Northwestern University, 1995-1996
• Presidential Scholar, University of New Hampshire, 1991-1995
• ASME Regional Student Conference Highest Technical Content Award, 1995

Professional and Service Activities

• Member, American Society of Mechanical Engineers
• Professional Member, American Academy of Mechanics
• Professional Member, Society for Engineering Science
• Member, United States Association for Computational Mechanics
• Member, Tau Beta Pi, The National Engineering Honor Society
• Minisymposium Organizer (with T. Laursen) and Session Chairman, Sixth U.S. National Congress on Computational Mechanics, Dearborn, MI, August 1-3,2001. Minisymposium Title: Computational Mechanics of Sharp Fronts and Interfaces
• Minisymposium Organizer (with S. De and S. Idelsohn) and Session Chairman, First MIT Conference on Computational Fluid and Solid Mechanics, Boston, MA, June 12-15,2001. Minisymposium Title: Meshless Techniques
• Reviewer for the following archival journals: Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering Computers and Structures Engineering Fracture Mechanics Finite Elements in Analysis and Design International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering International Journal of Numerical Methods in Fluids International Journal of Solids and Structures

Current and Ongoing Research

• “Towards Material Systems with Optimized Fracture Response,” J. Dolbow (PI). Lord Foundation of North Carolina
• “Thermomechanical Investigations of High Speed Machining of Aluminum,” J.Dolbow (PI) and T. A. Laursen (co-PI). National Science Foundation
• “Web-based Educational Framework for Analysis,Visualization,and Experimentation:WEAVE,” H. Gavin & J. Dolbow (PIs), National Science Foundation
• “WEAVE -An Innovation Project,” H.Gavin & J.Dolbow (PIs). Duke Center for Instructional Technology
• “Parallel Cluster for Multi-Scale Simulations in Computational Mechanics and Groundwater Hydrology,” J. Dolbow, T. Laursen, & M. Medina (PIs). Lord Foundation of North Carolina