The W.H. Gardner, Jr. Chair of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Gavin and his graduate students are internationally regarded experts in magneto-rheological material modeling, visco-elastic rolling resistance, constrained dynamics, nonstationary wind field simulation, system identification, structural dynamics, multi-agent robotics, and nonlinear control.
He was appointed to a full term as the W.H. Gardner, Jr. Department Chair of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Duke in 2022.
Through his wide-ranging work on seismic hazard mitigation, he has forged global relationships -- including with leading universities and researchers in Japan, Nepal, and New Zealand.
Gavin holds a secondary appointment in Duke's Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science. He is a faculty network member of the Duke Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, and a Bass Fellow. Gavin is director of the Duke Structural Dynamics and Seismic Response Control Laboratory.
His teaching and research have earned him accolades—including the President's Award from the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering in 2010, the ASEE Southeast Mid-Career Teaching Award from the American Society for Engineering Education in 2007, and the Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2005.