James D. Colton
Director
Poulter--Applied Mechanics

Since joining SRI in 1968, Dr. James Colton has led the highly regarded research and development team at Poulter Laboratory. He was appointed director of the lab in 1988. With expertise in dynamic response of structures to explosive loads, stress wave propagation in beams, plates, and shells, and dynamic scale model experiments, Dr. Colton has spearheaded the lab's innovative project work.

During his tenure at SRI, Dr. Colton's work has focused on a wide variety of fracture and explosive research in a range of materials and conditions, including:

• Effects of fuel-air explosions
• Response of concrete structures to explosive blast loads
• Simulation of nuclear airblast loads with chemical explosives
• Shell response from localized explosive loading
• Fracture in beams and plates under localized loads
• Investigation of accidents involving radioactive material spills
• Scale modeling of reinforced concrete structures
• Response of structures to kinetic energy weapon impacts
• Dynamic elastic-plastic response of long penetrators
• Shock response from running and simultaneous loads
• Response of nuclear munitions in accidental impact
• Dynamic response of concrete under extreme stresses and strains

Before joining SRI, Dr. Colton worked for IBM on stress analysis of rotating shafts and for Standard Oil of California on steam turbine design.

• International Business Machines: stress analysis of rotating shafts
• Standard Oil of California: steam turbine design
• Stanford University: heat transfer with blowing in a turbulent boundary layer

Dr. Colton has been honored with SRI's Poulter Prize for outstanding project leadership. He has received a National Science Foundation fellowship for advanced study and is a member in the academic fraternities Pi Tau Sigma, Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Xi. In addition to numerous technical reports, Dr. Colton has published 14 professional papers.

Dr. Colton earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota as well as an M.S. in mechanical engineering and a Ph.D. in applied mechanics from Stanford University.

Contact Dr. Colton at:
PHONE: (650) 859-2208
james.colton@sri.com