Adrian Bejan

Ph. D. - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
J. A. Jones Professor of
Mechanical Engineering
mailto:abejan@duke.edu
Phone number 919-660-5309
Fax number 919-660-8963


Adrian Bejan received all his degrees from MIT: B.S. (1972, Honors Course), M.S. (1972, Honors Course), and Ph.D. (1975), in mechanical engineering. He taught at M.I.T. until 1976 as a Lecturer and Research Associate. From 1976 until 1978 he was a Fellow of the Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science, at the University of California, Berkeley.

Professor Bejan’s research covers a wide range of topics in thermal engineering: entropy generation minimization, exergy analysis, natural convection, combined heat and mass transfer, convection in porous media, transition to turbulence, melting, solidification, condensation, fouling, solar energy conversion, cryogenics, applied superconductivity and tribology. More recently, he developed the constructal theory of shape and structure in nature.

Professor Bejan is the author of 13 books and over 350 journal articles. He is a recipient of national and international honors:

  • Charles Russ Richards Memorial Award, 2001, American Society of Mechanical Engineers International;

  • Ralph Coats Roe Award, 2000, American Society of Engineering Education;

  • Max Jakob Memorial Award, 1999, American Institute of Chemical Engineers and American Society of Mechanical Engineers International;

  • Worcester Reed Warner Medal, 1996, American Society of Mechanical Engineers International;

  • Heat Transfer Memorial Award (Science), 1994, American Society of Mechanical Engineers International;

  • James Harry Potter Gold Medal, 1990, American Society of Mechanical Engineers International;

  • Gustus L. Larson Memorial Award, 1988, American Society of Mechanical Engineers International;

  • 11 honorary doctorates at foreign universities.

  • Ranked among the 100 most cited authors in engineering, all fields, all countries

Professor Adrian Bejan’s recent publications include:

  • Shape and Structure, from Engineering to Nature, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2000.

  • Convection in Porous Media, 2nd Ed., Springer-Verlag, New York, 1999, with D. A. Nield.

  • Advanced Engineering Thermodynamics, 2nd Ed., Wiley, New York, 1997.

  • Thermal Design and Optimization, Wiley, New York, 1996, with G. Tsatsaronis and M. Moran.

  • Entropy Generation Minimization, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1996.

  • Convection Heat Transfer, 2nd Ed., Wiley, New York, 1995