Sophia Santillan

Associate Professor of the Practice in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

I'm an Associate Professor of the Practice, teaching some required courses for the MEMS major. My research areas are: structural mechanics, nonlinear dynamics, and engineering/STEM education.

Appointments and Affiliations

• Associate Professor of the Practice in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Contact Information

• Office Location: 187 Hudson Hall, Box 90300, Durham, NC 27708
• Office Phone: (919) 660-5339
• Email Address: sophia.santillan@duke.edu

Education

• Ph.D. Duke University, 2007

Research Interests

Engineering education, nonlinear systems, structural mechanics and numerical methods.

Courses Taught

• EGR 244L: Dynamics
• EHD 395T: Bass Connections Education & Human Development Research Team
• EHD 396T: Bass Connections Education & Human Development Research Team
• EHD 795T: Bass Connections Education & Human Development Research Team
• EHD 796T: Bass Connections Education & Human Development Research Team
• HOUSECS 59: House Course
• MATH 218-2: Matrices and Vectors
• MATH 219: Multivariable Calculus
• MATH 353: Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations
• MATH 753: Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations
• ME 391: Undergraduate Projects in Mechanical Engineering
• ME 421L: Mechanical Design
• ME 492: Special Projects in Mechanical Engineering
• ME 555: Advanced Topics in Mechanical Engineering

In the News

• “Engineering While Black” creates a series of important conversations (Apr 1, 2021 | DukEngineer Magazine)
• To Shrink the Gender Gap in STEM, Start with Girls’ Math Identity (May 19, 2020 | Duke Engineering News)
• Wary of the wire cutter? Clueless about the drill press? These Duke Engineering First-Year Design students have you covered (Apr 3, 2019 | Duke Engineering News)
• A new first-year student experience is catching positive reviews (May 29, 2018 | DukEngineer Magazine)
• New First-Year Design Course, Space Debut (Aug 24, 2017 | Duke Engineering News)

Representative Publications

• Cervi, C; Santillan, ST; Virgin, LN, Interrogating the Configuration Space of Postbuckled Beams, Journal of Engineering Mechanics, vol 149 no. 3 (2023) [10.1061/JENMDT.EMENG-6839] [abs].
• Tantum, S; Santillan, ST; Temiquel-McMillian, L; Ganley, J, WIP - 360 Coaching to Support Whole-Student Advising in the First-Year, Asee Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings (2022) [abs].
• Tannebaum, A; Santillan, ST; Simmons, R, Women in Engineering: 3D Printing Interests, Habits, and Persistence, Asee Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings (2021) [abs].
• Cunningham, P; Matusovich, HM; Carrico, C; Ellestad, RMC; Tantum, S; Santillan, ST; Simmons, R, Supporting Students' Skillful Learning: Lessons Learned from a Faculty Development Workshop, Asee Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings (2021) [abs].
• Gray, M; Saterbak, A; Santillan, ST; Rizk, M; Sperling, J, Work-In-Progress: Engineering self-efficacy in first-year design, Asee Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings, vol 2020-June (2020) [abs].