Bernard D. Coleman

J. W. Gibbs Professor of Thermomechanics

Department of Mechanics and Materials Science

Bernard D. Coleman
Graduate Program in Mechanics
School of Engineering 
Rutgers University
98 Brett Road
Piscataway, NJ 08854-8058

Tel: (732) 445-5558
Fax: (732) 445-0085

Office: Busch Campus
Engineering Building B134

E-mail: bcoleman@jove.rutgers.edu

B.S., Cum Laude, Indiana University, 1951
M.S., Yale University, 1952
Ph.D., Yale University, 1954

Bingham Medal, Society of Rheology, 1984

Laurea (Honoris Causa), University of Rome, Tor Vergata, 1993

Member, College of Fellows, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), 2002-

Honorary Member, International Society for the Interaction of Mathematics with Mechanics (ISIMM), 2002-

Engineering Science Medal, Society of Engineering Science, 2007

J. Willard Gibbs Professor of Thermomechanics at Rutgers University, July 1988-

Presently also Graduate Director of the Program in Mechanics and a member of the Graduate Program in Mathematics, the Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering, and the Center for Molecular Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry.

Previously Senior Fellow of the Mellon Institute (1957-1988) and Professor of Mathematics (1967-1988), Biology (1974-1988), and Chemistry (1984-1988) at Carnegie Mellon University.

 

Curriculum Vitae (pdf)


 

Research Interests

The mathematical sciences in general, with emphasis on continuum mechanics, thermodynamics of materials with memory, materials science, solid state physics, and such topics in molecular biology as DNA topology, the elastic rod model of DNA, and DNA-protein interactions.


 

Pertinent Publications

 
On surface diffusion, motion by curvature, and variational problems for complex materials:

  • B.D. Coleman, . Marcus, and V.J. Mizel, On the thermodynamics of periodic phases, Arch. Rational Mech. Anal., 117, 321-347 (1992).
  • F. Bethuel, H. Brezis, B.D. Coleman, and F. Helein, Bifurcation analysis of minimizing harmonic maps describing the equilibrium of nematic phases between cylinders, Arch. Rational Mech. Anal., 118, 149-168 (1992).
  • B.D. Coleman, R.S. Falk, and M. Moakher, Stability of cylindrical bodies in the theory of surface diffusion, Physica D, 89, >23-135 (1995). download (683K, pdf)._
  • B.D. Coleman, R.S. Falk, and M. Moakher, Space-time finite element methods for surface diffusion with applications to the theory of the stability of cylinders, SIAM J. Sci. Comp., 17, 1434-1448 (1996). 
  • S. Asvadurov, B.D. Coleman, R.S. Falk, and M. Moakher, Similarity solutions in the theory of curvature driven diffusion along planar curves:  I. Symmetric curves expanding in time, Physica D, 121, 263-274 (1998). download (655K, pdf).  
  • S. Asvadurov and B.D. Coleman, Similarity solutions in the theory of curvature driven diffusion along planar curves: II Curves that travel at constant speed, Physica D, 132, 175-188 (1999). download (177K, pdf).

 

 

On the rheology of neck formation in polymeric rods:

  • B.D. Coleman and L.J. Zapas, Theory of the instability and failure of viscoelastic materials in tension. J.Polymer Science:_ Polymer Physics Edition, 17, 2215-2224 (1979). download (593K, pdf).
  • _B.D. Coleman and D.C. Newman, On the rheology of cold drawing. I. Elastic materials, J.Polymer Science: Part B: Polymer Physics, 26, 1801-1822 (1988). download (995K, pdf).
  • B.D. Coleman and D.C. Newman, On the rheology of cold drawing. II. Viscoelastic materials, J.Polymer Science: Part B: Polymer Physics, 30, 25-47 (1992). download (1,596K, pdf).
  • B.D. Coleman and D.C. Newman, Rheology of neck formation in the cold drawing of polymeric fibers, J. Appl. Polymer Science, 45, 997-1004 (1992). download (544K, pdf).

This paper and the paper of Coleman and Zapas above were strongly influenced by two papers of Zapas and Crissman on neck formation:_ download (446K, pdf) and download (360K, pdf).

 

 
On the theory of rods and its application to molecular biology:  

  • B.D. Coleman and E.H. Dill, Flexure waves in elastic rods, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 91, 2663-2673 (1992).
  • B.D. Coleman, E.H. Dill, M. Lembo, Z. Lu, and I. Tobias, On the dynamics of rods in the theory of Kirchhoff and Clebsch, Arch. Rational Mech. Anal., 121, 339-359 (1993).
  • B.D. Coleman and J.-M. Xu, On the interaction of solitary waves of flexure in elastic rods, Acta Mechanica, 110, 173-182 (1995).
  • B.D. Coleman, E.H. Dill and D. Swigon, On the dynamics of flexure and stretch of elastic rods, Arch. Rational Mech. Anal., 129, 147-174 (1995).
  • B.D. Coleman, I. Tobias, and W.K. Olson, The dependence of DNA tertiary structure on end conditions:  Theory and implications for topological transitions, J. Chem. Phys., 101, 10990-10996 (1994).
  • B.D. Coleman, I. Tobias, and D. Swigon, Theory of the influence of end conditions on self-contact in DNA loops, J. Chem. Phys., 103, 9101-9109   (1995).
  • I. Tobias, B.D. Coleman, and M. Lembo, A class of exact dynamical solutions in the elastic rod model of DNA with implications for the theory of fluctuations in the torsional motion of plasmids,  J. Chem. Phys., 105, 2517- 2526 (1996).
  • B.D. Coleman, M. Lembo, and I. Tobias, A new class of flexure-free torsional vibrations of Annular Rods, Meccanica, 31, 565-575 (1996).
  • D. Swigon, B.D. Coleman, and I. Tobias, The elastic rod model for DNA and its application to the tertiary structure of DNA minicircles in mononucleosomes, Biophys. J, 74, 2515-2530 (1998). download (233K, pdf).
  • I. Tobias, D. Swigon, and B.D. Coleman, Elastic stability of DNA configurations: I. General theory, Phys. Rev. E, 61, 747-758 (2000). download (198K, pdf).  
  • B.D. Coleman, D. Swigon, and I. Tobias, Elastic stability of DNA configurations: II. Supercoiled plasmids with self-contact, Phys. Rev. E, 61, 759-770 (2000). download (227K, pdf).
  • B.D. Coleman and D. Swigon, Theory of Supercoiled Elastic Rings with Self-Contact and Its Application to DNA Plasmids, J. Elasticity 60, 173-221 (2000). download (503K, pdf).
  • B.D. Coleman and D. Swigon, Theory of Self-Contact in DNA Molecules Modeled as Elastic Rods. In: Nuovi progressi nella fisica matematica dall'eredita di Dario Graffi, pp. 281-295, Atti dei Convegni Lincei, Vol. 177, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome, 2002. download B/W reprint (1M, pdf). download grayscale reprint (better images, 2.9M, pdf).
  • B.D. Coleman, W.K. Olson, and D. Swigon, Theory of sequence-dependent DNA elasticity, J. Chem. Phys., 118, 7124-7140 (2003).
    download (717K, pdf)._
  • B.D. Coleman & D. Swigon, Theory of self-contact in Kirchhoff rods with applications to supercoiling of knotted and unknotted DNA plasmids, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Lond. A, 362, 1281-1299 (2004). download (1.9M, pdf).
  • W.K. Olson, D. Swigon, & B.D. Coleman, Implications of the dependence of the elastic properties of DNA on nucleotide sequence, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Lond. A, 362, 1403-1422 (2004). download (1M, pdf).
  • D. Swigon, B.D. Coleman, & W.K. Olson, Modeling the Lac repressor-operator assembly: The influence of DNA looping on Lac repressor conformation, PNAS, 103, 9879-9884 (2006). download (1M, pdf).
  • Y.Y. Biton, B.D. Coleman, & D. Swigon, On bifurcations of of intrinsically curved, electrically charged, rod‑like structures that model DNA molecules in solution, J. Elasticity, 87, 187-210 (2007). download (601K, pdf).
  • Y.Y. Biton & B.D. Coleman, Applications of a theory of sequence dependent DNA elasticity that accounts for intramolecular electrostatic forces. In: Continuum Models and Discrete Systems 11, in press (2008), Les Presses de l'Ecole des Mines de Paris. download (1.2M, pdf).

 

Research on attractive electrostatic forces between protein molecules of equal charge:

  • S.N. Timasheff & B.D. Coleman, On light-scattering studies of isoionic proteins, Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 87, 63-69 (1960), download (pdf).
  • S.N. Timasheff, H.M. Dintzis, J.G. Kirkwood, & B. D. Coleman, Light Scattering Investigation of Charge Fluctuations in Isoionic Serum Albumin Solutions, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 79, 782-791 (1957).  download (pdf).
  • S. N. Timasheff, H. M. Dintzis, J. G. Kirkwood, & B. D. Coleman, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 41, 710-714 (1955). download (pdf).

These last three papers were influenced by two papers of Kirkwood and Shumaker:

  • J.G. Kirkwood and J.B. Shumaker, The Influence of Dipole Moment Fluctuations on the Dielectric Increment of Proteins in Solution, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 38, No. 10, 855-862 (1952). download (pdf).
  • J.G. Kirkwood and J.B. Shumaker, Forces Between Protein Molecules in Solution Arising from Fluctuations in Proton Charge and Configuration, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 38, No. 10, 863-871 (1952). download (pdf).

 


Publications with honorary citation:

  • B.D. Coleman and W. Noll, Foundations of linear viscoelasticity, Rev. Modern Phys., 33, 239-249 (1961).  [Listed by The Science Citation Index as among the 100 most cited papers in the Reviews of Modern Physics for the period 1955-1986.]
  • B.D. Coleman and T.G Fox, General theory of stationary random sequences with applications to the tacticity of polymers, J. Polymer Sci., A1, 3183-3196 (1963).  [Reprinted in 1996 with commentaries along with 16 other papers selected by a board of review as the "most important and influential" published in the Journal of Polymer Science during its first 50 years.]
  • B.D. Coleman and W. Noll, An approximation theorem for functionals, with applications in continuum mechanics, Arch. Rational Mech. Anal., 6, 355-370 (1960).  [Featured as a "citation classic" in the January 13, 1986, issue of Current Contents.]
  • B.D. Coleman and W. Noll, The thermodynamics of elastic materials with heat conduction and viscosity, Arch. Rational Mech. Anal.,13, 167-178 (1963).  [Featured as a "citation classic" in the October 22, 1990, issue of Current Contents.]
  • B.D. Coleman, Thermodynamics of materials with memory, Arch. Rational Mech. Anal., 17, 1-46 (1964).  [Featured as a "citation classic" in the October 22, 1990, issue of Current Contents.]



Essay in memory of Clifford Ambrose Truesdell:

  • B.D. Coleman, Memories of Clifford Truesdell, J. Elasticity, 70, 1-13 (2003). download (76K, pdf).