Contact Information
222 Anderson Hall
Tufts University
Medford, MA 02155
Tel: 617-627-3238
Fax: 617-627-3058
Email Professor
Robert Greif
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Education
Ph.D., M.S. (Mechanical Engineering), Harvard University, 1963, 1959
B.M.E. (cum laude), New York University, 1958
Research
Prof. Greif's research activities and interests are mainly in Applied
Mechanics. These areas encompass structural design for dynamic loads, composite
materials, vehicle dynamics, fracture mechanics, biomechanics and biomedical
applications.
Prof. Greif is actively working on vehicle dynamics research, funded by the FRA
through association with the U.S.-D.O.T. Volpe Center in association with
mechanical engineer Brian Marquis. In particular, research work is aimed at
continually improving railroad speed and safety on the Northeast corridor
between Boston and Washington, D.C. High speed railroad truck suspension design
involves many fascinating problems in advanced dynamics, vibration and control.
Prof. Greif has collaborated with Prof. Saigal of Tufts University for years on
materials research. This work includes characterizing the constitutive relations
for glassy and semi-crystalline polymers. In the area of composite materials,
research has been done on the impact behavior of graphite/epoxy structures and
also core sandwich polymeric enclosures. These studies include theoretical and
FEA analysis coupled with experimental verification.
Other research activities include passive damping of systems using bonded
piezocomposites. Recent research has also involved application of ultrasonic
techniques. One area, in collaboration with Prof. Saigal, involves ultrasonic
welding techniques for electronic packaging components for transistor
applications.
Background
Professor Greif joined Tufts in
1967. He was Chairman of the Department of Mechanical Engineering from 1981-
1989. Prior to his time at Tufts he was a Senior Staff Scientist at Avco Corp.
He has consulted for many companies, with two longstanding positions with Stone
and Webster (nuclear power applications) and then with the U.S.-D.O.T. Volpe
Transportation Center (aging aircraft, high-speed rail). Prof. Greif is a
Fellow of the ASME and an Associate Fellow of AIAA.
Professional Positions
2008-present
Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering, Tufts University
1967-2008 Assistant (1967-70), Associate (1970-1978), and Full
Professor (1978-2008), Mechanical Engineering, Tufts University
1981-1989 Chairman, Mechanical Engineering Department, Tufts
University
1988 National Research Council, Sr. Research Associate, NASA Langley
Research Ctr.
1981 Visiting Scholar in Solid Mechanics, Harvard University
1974 Visiting Research Fellow, University of Sussex, Sussex, England
1963-1967 Sr. Staff Scientist, Avco Corp., Missile Systems,
Wilmington, MA
Honors and Awards
1997 Fellow, ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers)
1985 Associate Fellow, AIAA (American Inst. Of Aeronautics and
Astronautics)
Other Professional and Consulting Affiliations
1977-present US-DOT Volpe Center (aging aircraft, high-speed rail).
1971-1978 Stone and Webster Engineering Corp. (nuclear power)
1969-1970 Army Materials and Mechanics Research Center, Watertown, MA
Recent Publications
"A Methodology for the Modeling of
Forced Dynamical Systems From Time Series Measurements Using Time-Delay Neural
Networks", J. Zolock and R. Greif, Journal of Vibrations and Acoustics, Vol.
131, February 2009.
"Finite Element Analysis of Ballistic Impact of Military Helmets", L. Calefato,
A. Saigal and R. Greif, 7th International Conference on Composite
Science and Technology, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, January 2009.
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