World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
William B. Durham

William B. Durham

D-Index & Metrics

Earth Science

D-Index
46
Citations
8898
World Ranking
4176
National Ranking
1621

Overview

William B. Durham is affiliated with MIT in the United States and contributes to research primarily within the fields of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Social Sciences. Their work spans several interdisciplinary subfields, including Geophysics, Mechanics of Materials, Law, Political Science and International Relations, and Materials Chemistry.

Durham's research covers a range of topics reflected in their publications, including:

  • High-pressure geophysics and materials
  • Geological and Geochemical Analysis
  • Earthquake and tectonic studies
  • High-Velocity Impact and Material Behavior
  • Fire effects on concrete materials
  • Fatigue and fracture mechanics
  • Rock Mechanics and Modeling

The scientist has published recent papers in multiple venues with a focus on both natural sciences and social sciences. Notable papers include:

  • "Dislocation interactions during low-temperature plasticity of olivine and their impact on the evolution of lithospheric strength" (2020), published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters
  • "The role of kink boundaries in the deformation and recrystallisation of polycrystalline ice" (2020), published in Journal of Structural Geology
  • "Plastic Faulting in Ice" (2020), published in Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth
  • "Abstract 2835: Comparison of xenograft and syngeneic cancer cachexia models for preclinical drug testing" (2024), published in Cancer Research
  • "Mind the Gap: Drafting Liability Limitations That Stick" (2025), published in SSRN Electronic Journal

Frequent co-authors collaboration patterns demonstrate connections with other researchers such as:

  • David J. Prior
  • N. Golding
  • David Wallis
  • Lars N. Hansen
  • Kathryn M. Kumamoto

In terms of publication venues, Durham's contributions appear often in:

  • SSRN Electronic Journal
  • Earth and Planetary Science Letters
  • Journal of Structural Geology
  • Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth
  • Cancer Research

These publications reflect an active engagement with research topics at the intersection of material behavior under extreme conditions, geophysical processes, and some overlap with legal and political science scholarship. Their research output illustrates an integration of physical sciences methods with broader social science inquiries.

Best Publications

  • Anomalous Preservation of Pure Methane Hydrate at 1 atm

    Laura A. Stern;Susan Circone;Stephen H. Kirby;William B. Durham

  • Mantle phase changes and deep-earthquake faulting in subducting lithosphere

    Stephen H. Kirby;William B. Durham;Laura A. Stern

  • Peculiarities of Methane Clathrate Hydrate Formation and Solid-State Deformation, Including Possible Superheating of Water Ice

    Laura A. Stern;Stephen H. Kirby;William B. Durham

  • Plastic flow of oriented single crystals of olivine: 1. Mechanical data

    W. B. Durham;C. Goetze

  • The deformation-DIA: A new apparatus for high temperature triaxial deformation to pressures up to 15 GPa

    Yanbin Wang;William B. Durham;Ivan C. Getting;Donald J. Weidner

  • The strength and rheology of methane clathrate hydrate

    William B. Durham;Stephen H. Kirby;Laura A. Stern;Wu Zhang;Wu Zhang

  • CO2 hydrate: Synthesis, composition, structure, dissociation behavior, and a comparison to structure I CH4 hydrate

    Susan Circone;Laura A. Stern;Stephen H. Kirby;William B. Durham

  • Temperature, pressure, and compositional effects on anomalous or "self" preservation of gas hydrates

    Laura A. Stern;Susan Circone;Stephen H. Kirby;William B. Durham

  • New Technique for Decorating Dislocations in Olivine

    D. L. Kohlstedt;C. Goetze;W. B. Durham;J. Vander Sande

  • Plastic flow of oriented single crystals of olivine: 2. Observations and interpretations of the dislocation structures

    W. B. Durham;C. Goetze;B. Blake

  • Experimental deformation of polycrystalline H2O ice at high pressure and low temperature - Preliminary results

    W. B. Durham;H. C. Heard;S. H. Kirby

  • Self‐propping and fluid flow in slightly offset joints at high effective pressures

    W. B. Durham;B. P. Bonner

  • Friction of ice

    M.L. Beeman;W.B. Durham;Stephen H. Kirby

  • Effects of dispersed particulates on the rheology of water ice at planetary conditions

    William B. Durham;Stephen H. Kirby;Laura A. Stern

  • Creep of water ices at planetary conditions: A compilation

    William B. Durham;Stephen H. Kirby;Laura A. Stern

  • Dissolution rates of pure methane hydrate and carbon-dioxide hydrate in undersaturated seawater at 1000-m depth

    Gregor Rehder;Stephen H. Kirby;William B. Durham;Laura A. Stern

  • Direct observation of reactive flow in a single fracture

    William B. Durham;William L. Bourcier;Elizabeth A. Burton

  • Oxygen diffusion in olivine: Effect of oxygen fugacity and implications for creep

    F. J. Ryerson;W. B. Durham;D. J. Cherniak;W. A. Lanford

  • Polycrystalline Methane Hydrate: Synthesis from Superheated Ice, and Low-Temperature Mechanical Properties

    Laura A. Stern;Stephen H. Kirby;William B. Durham

  • Scanning Electron Microscopy investigations of laboratory-grown gas clathrate hydrates formed from melting ice, and comparison to natural hydrates

    Laura A. Stern;Stephen H. Kirby;Susan Circone;William B. Durham

  • Oxygen self-diffusion in forsterite: Implications for the high-temperature creep mechanism

    O. Jaoul;C. Froidevaux;W.B. Durham;M. Michaut

  • The state and future of Mars polar science and exploration.

    Stephen M. Clifford;David Crisp;David A. Fisher;Ken E. Herkenhoff

  • The Brittle-Ductile Transition in Rocks

    A. G. Duba;W. B. Durham;J. W. Handin;H. F. Wang

  • Experimental constraints on the strength of the lithospheric mantle

    S. Mei;A. M. Suzuki;D. L. Kohlstedt;N. A. Dixon

  • Experimental deformation of polycrystalline H2O ice at high pressure and low temperature - Preliminary results. [implications for Ganymede and Callisto]

    W. B. Durham;H. C. Heard;S. H. Kirby

Frequent Co-Authors

Stephen H. Kirby
Stephen H. Kirby United States Geological Survey
Laura A. Stern
Laura A. Stern United States Geological Survey
David L. Kohlstedt
David L. Kohlstedt University of Minnesota
David J. Prior
David J. Prior University of Otago
Donald J. Weidner
Donald J. Weidner Stony Brook University
Yanbin Wang
Yanbin Wang University of Chicago
William F. Waite
William F. Waite United States Geological Survey
Richard W. Zurek
Richard W. Zurek Jet Propulsion Lab
Ian Baker
Ian Baker Dartmouth College

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