Phillip M. Duxbury
Michigan State University

Professor, Condensed Matter Theory
Room 4260 Biomedical and Physical Science Building,
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1116.
Phone: 517 884-5632, FAX: 517 353-4500
Here is a map

Current Research Interests

See also our group page
(i) Structure determination using distance geometry methods
(ii) Nanoparticles and nanoparticle dispersion. Energy applications.
(iii) Biological signaling networks, particularly the apoptosis network
(iv) Combinatorial optimization methods in statistical physics. Here is a .pdf of my talk at CSC2007
(v) Modeling of grain boundary networks in polycrystals

Teaching

Spring 2008
  • PHY102: Physics Computations I. (Mathematica)
  • PHY480: Computational Physics. This is a junior/senior level undergrad. course on computational physics and includes a graduate level option to participate in an international experience with students from Delft University of Technology.

    Current group

    Erin McGarrity (Postdoc. In Michael Mackay's group) simulation of macromolecules
    Jiwu Liu (PhD student) - MD simulation of macromolecules
    Kim Cooper (PhD student) - Polycrystalline materials
    Luke Granlund (PhD student) - Nanostructure problem
    Daniel Olds (PhD student) - Photovoltaics
    Saurabh Guraji (PhD student) - Nanostructure problem
    Corey Musolff (PhD student) - PDF and EXAFS for atomic structure analysis

    Our New Research Center


    CNDA

    Past students

    Yonsheng (Sean) Li(PhD 1992) (-> software engineering with BellCore)
    Xinhua Yu(PhD 1994) (-> Silicon Valley)
    SeonGon Kim (PhD 1994)(-> Assistant Professor at Mississippi State University)
    Stephanie Palmer(Undergrad, Rhodes Scholar 1997) (-> Postdoc. U. Cal San. Fran.)
    Zhenrong Zhou(Masters, 1999) (-> Hewlett Packard)
    Bransilav Blagojevic(PhD, 1999) (-> Silicon Valley)
    Alexander Donev(Undergrad 2001) (-> Computational math. at Princeton)
    Adam Smith(Undergrad 2001). (-> CMP, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne)
    Jan Meinke (PhD 2002) (-> HLRZ Juelich)
    Radu Dobrin (PhD 2002) (-> Postdoc. Princeton -> Staff at Merck)
    Andreas Glaser (Masters, 2003) (-> PhD at Yale)
    Andrew Jones(Undergraduate, NSF Graduate Fellow 2004) (-> University of Washington, Seattle)
    Erin McGarrity (PhD 2005) (-> Postdoc. with M. Mackay, MSU)
    Chris Farrow (PhD 2007) (-> Postdoc. with S. Billinge, MSU)
    Radu Cojocaru (PhD 2007) (-> Postdoc. at UM/NIH)
    Charles Fay (PhD 2007) (-> Teaching, Ferris State)

    Past Postdocs

    Cristian Moukarzel (1993-5)) (-> Faculty at Merida in Mexico)
    Mikko Alava (1995-6) (-> Faculty at HUT Finland)
    Sorin Bastea(2000) (-> Staff at Livermore Labs.)
    - Visiting positions are also available on a continuing basis through the CMPT visitors program.

    Some recent publications

    You can download the .ps (uncompressed encapsulated postscript) file for some of the later ones

    30. S.G. Kim and P.M. Duxbury

    Cracks and Critical Current

    J. Appl. Phys. 70, 3164-3170 (1991)

    31. X. Yu, P.M. Duxbury, G. Jeffers and M.A. Dubson
    Coalescence and Percolation in Thin Metal Films

    Phys. Rev. B44, 13163-13166 (1991)
    )
    33. P.M. Duxbury, S.G. Kim and P.L. Leath
    Size effect and statistics of fracture in random materials

    Mat. Sci. and Eng. A176 , 25 (1994)
    34. G. Jeffers, M.A. Dubson and P.M. Duxbury
    The island to percolation transition during growth of thin films

    J. Appl. Phys. 75, 5016 (1994)

    35. P.M. Duxbury, M.A. Dubson, X. Yu and G. Jeffers
    Substrate Inhomogeneity and the growth morphology of thin films

    Europhys. letts. 26 , 601 (1994)

    37. P.M. Duxbury and P.L. Leath
    Exactly solvable models of material breakdown

    Phys. Rev. B49, 12676 (1994)

    40. P.M. Duxbury and P.L. Leath
    The failure probability and average strength of disordered systems

    Phys. Rev. Lett. 72, 2805 (1994)

    44. P.M. Duxbury, P.D. Beale and C. Moukarzel
    Breakdown of two-phase random resistor networks

    Phys. Rev. B51, 3476 (1995)

    45. X. Yu and P.M. Duxbury
    Kinetics of non-equilibrium shape change in gold clusters

    Phys. Rev. B52, 2102 (1995)

    46. W. Selke and P.M. Duxbury
    Equilibration of crystal surfaces

    Phys. Rev. B52, 17468 (1995)

    47. C. Moukarzel and P.M. Duxbury
    Stressed backbone and elasticity of random central-force systems

    Phys. Rev. Lett. 75 , 4055 (1995).

    48. M.J. Alava and P.M. Duxbury
    Disorder-induced roughening in the three-dimensional Ising model

    Phys. Rev. B54 , 14990 (1996)

    49. C. Moukarzel, P.M. Duxbury and P.L. Leath
    Infinite-cluster geometry in central-force percolation

    Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 78}, 1480 (1997)

    50. C. Moukarzel, P.M. Duxbury and P.L. Leath
    First-order rigidity on Cayley trees

    Phys. Rev. E55 , 5800 (1997)

    51. Dynamics of crystal surfaces and interfaces
    P.M. Duxbury and T.J. Pence eds. Proceedings of a conference in

    Traverse City Michigan, Plenum, New York (1997).

    52. B. Blagojevic and P.M. Duxbury
    From atomic diffusion to step dynamics in ref. 51. (1997)

    53. V. Raisanen, M. Alava, E. Seppala and P.M. Duxbury
    Quasistatic cracks and minimal energy surfaces

    Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 329 (1998)

    54. S. Bastea and P.M. Duxbury
    Ground state structure of random magnets

    Phys. Rev. E58, 4261 (1998)

    55. C. Moukarzel and P.M. Duxbury
    Comparison of connectivity and rigidity percolation

    In proceedings ``Rigidity theory and applications''

    M.F. Thorpe and P.M. Duxbury eds., Plenum (1999).

    56. C. Moukarzel and P.M. Duxbury
    Comparison of connectivity and rigidity percolation in two dimensions

    Phys. Rev. E59 , 2614 (1999).

    57. P.M. Duxbury, D. Jacobs, M.F. Thorpe and C. Moukarzel,
    Floppy modes and the free energy: Rigidity and connectivity percolation on Bethe lattices

    Phys Rev. E59, 2084 (1999).

    58. S. Bastea, A. Burkov, C. Moukarzel and P.M. Duxbury,
    Combinatorial optimisation methods in disordered systems

    Comm. Comp. Phys. in press

    59. S. Bastea and P.M. Duxbury,
    Active clusters in disordered systems

    Phys. Rev.
    E60, 4961 (1999).
    60. B. Blagojevic and P.M. Duxbury,
    Atomic diffusion, step relaxation and step fluctuations
    Phys. Rev.
    E60 , 1279 (1999).
    61. P.M. Duxbury and R. Dobrin,
    Greedy algorithms in disordered systems
    Physica
    A270 , 263 (1999).
    62. M.J. Alava, P.M. Duxbury, C. Moukarzel and H. Rieger,
    Exact combinatorial algorithms: Ground states of disordered systems
    Domb and Lebowitz series on Phase transitions and critical phenomena, Volume 18 (Academic press, 2001).

    63. E.T. Seppala, M.J. Alava and P.M. Duxbury,
    A periodic elastic medium in which periodicity is relevant,
    Phys. Rev. E62, 3230 (2000).

    64. E.T. Seppala, M.J. Alava and P.M. Duxbury,
    Intermittence and roughening of periodic elastic media,
    Phys. Rev. E in press.

    65. E.T. Seppala, M.J. Alava and P.M. Duxbury,
    Extremal statistics in the energetics of domain walls,
    Phys. Rev. E in press.

    66. P.M. Duxbury and J.H. Meinke,
    Ground state non-universality in the random-field-Ising model,
    preprint - at LANL server

    67. R. Dobrin and P.M. Duxbury,
    Minimal spanning trees on random networks,
    Phys. Rev. Lett. in press

    Conferences

    Short course on Random Combinatorial Problems
    To be held at Michigan State University, May 10-15th 2002.

    Polymers and biopolymers.
    Feb. 2000, East Lansing, MI.

    Rigidity theory and applications
    Held in Traverse City, Michigan, June 1998. The proceedings are published in:
    Rigidity theory and applications M.F. Thorpe and P.M. Duxbury eds., Plenum 1999

    Combinatorial optimization and disordered materials: Recent results and algorithmic challenges
    15th-17th May. 1997, held at the DIMACS center, Rutgers Univ.

    Dynamics of crystal surfaces and interfaces
    Held in Traverse City, Aug. 1996. The proceedings are published in:
    Dynamics of crystal surfaces and interfaces P.M.Duxbury and T. Pence eds., Plenum 1997.

    Here are some links that I am working on

  • Biological physics

  • Scientific Computing