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Adrian Bejan

J.A. Jones Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
148A Engineering Bldg, Box 90300, Durham, NC 27708-0300
148A Engineering Bldg, Box 90300, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


Professor Bejan was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Medal 2018 and the Humboldt Research Award 2019. His research covers engineering science and applied physics: thermodynamics, heat transfer, convection, design, and evolution in nature.

He is ranked among the top 0.01% of the most cited and impactful world scientists (and top 10 in Engineering world wide) in the 2019 citations impact database created by Stanford University’s John Ioannidis, in PLoS Biology.  He is the author of 30 books and 700 …

Current Appointments & Affiliations


J.A. Jones Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering · 1989 - Present Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Pratt School of Engineering
Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science · 1984 - Present Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Pratt School of Engineering

In the News


Published October 10, 2023
Animals’ Rhythm as a Design Element in Robotics
Published May 23, 2023
Why Perfection Is the Enemy of Evolution
Published February 14, 2023
Spring Books from Duke Authors from Wittgenstein to Capoeira

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Recent Publications


Why people shape roofs the same way

Journal Article International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer · May 1, 2025 The roofs of houses look similar in profile, especially in villages and old settlements. Why? The question is about the common angle of inclination. The answer comes from heat transfer by natural convection. Inspired by the evolution of the sapiens toward ... Full text Cite

Water cataracts and the “shortest-time descent” curve (Brachistochrone) as one natural phenomenon

Journal Article AIP Advances · February 1, 2025 This article unveils the connection between design in nature and a classic mathematics problem from 1696 to 1697: the brachistochrone. Some flow designs seem to act as obstacles to flow (cataracts, waterfalls, and roll waves), in contradiction with the nat ... Full text Cite

Evolution and irreversibility: Two distinct phenomena and their distinct laws of nature.

Journal Article Physics of life reviews · September 2024 To clarify the place of time direction of change in nature (time arrow), the present article shows why Evolution and Irreversibility are two distinct phenomena. Their distinct laws of nature are the Constructal Law and the Second Law, respectively. The dem ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


Constructal Theory for Aeroelastic Design of Aircraft

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Florida International University · 2023 - 2026

Simulation Tools for 3D and 4D CT and Dosimetry

ResearchCollaborator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2007 - 2025

Optimization of Multiscale Geometries for Novel Heat Exchangers for Geothermal Power Plants

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Oak Ridge National Laboratory · 2014 - 2016

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Education, Training & Certifications


Massachusetts Institute of Technology · 1975 Sc.D.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology · 1972 Sc.M.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology · 1972 S.B.