Pearsall Distinguished Lecture Series

During more than 30 years at Duke, George W. Pearsall, ScD, PE, was a beloved teacher, mentor and friend to hundreds of students and colleagues.

The Pearsall Distinguished Lecture Series was created by the faculty as a lasting tribute.

Dean George Pearsall

Past Pearsall Lectures

2024: Joseph DeSimone, Stanford University

The Delicate Interplay Between Light, Interfaces and Design: The Complex Dance That Allows 3D Printing to Scale to Manufacturing

2023: John A. Rogers, Northwestern University

3D Mesostructures and Their Applications in Unusual MEMS Technologies

2022: Graham V. Candler, University of Minnesota

Boundary Layer Stability Analysis of the BOLT Hypersonic Flight Experiments

2020: Dr. Ellen M. Arruda, University of Michigan

Full-Field Methods for Characterizing the Non-Linear Anisotropic Response of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament of the Knee

2019: Dr. Hod Lipson, Columbia University

The Robot Scientist: Automating Discovery, from Cognitive Robotics to Computational Biology

2018: Michimasa Fujino, Honda Aircraft Company

Innovation and Inspiration – The HondaJet

2017: Xiang Zhang, University of California, Berkeley

Soft Meta-Materials: Self-Gauged Assembly, Non-Equilibrium Matters, and 3D Super-Resolution Imaging

2016: Mary C. Boyce, Columbia University

Mechanics of Soft Composites – The Interplay Between Geometrical Structuring and Large Deformation to Achieve Novel Behavior

2015: Mark Asta, University of California, Berkeley

Computationally Aided Materials Discovery and Design

2014: Alexander Smits, Princeton University

Logarithmic Scaling in Wall-Bounded Turbulent Flows

2013: Gang Chen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Nanoengineering for Efficient Heat Transfer and Energy Conversion Materials and Systems