James R. Rice

James R. Rice
Born (1940-12-03) December 3, 1940
Alma materB.S. (Engineering Mechanics), Lehigh University, 1962
M.S. (Applied Mechanics), Lehigh University, 1963
Ph.D. (Applied Mechanics), Lehigh University, 1964
AwardsTimoshenko Medal (1994)
Francis J. Clamer Medal (1996)
Maurice A. Biot Medal (2007)
Panetti-Ferrari International Prize (2008)
Walter H. Bucher Medal (2012)
Harvey Prize (2021)
Scientific career
FieldsMaterials and Mechanical Engineering, Geophysics
InstitutionsBrown University
Harvard University
Doctoral studentsNadia Lapusta

James Robert Rice (born December 3, 1940) is an American engineer, scientist, geophysicist, and Mallinckrodt Professor of Engineering Sciences and Geophysics at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Rice is known as a mechanician, who has made fundamental contributions to various aspects of solid mechanics. Two of his early contributions are the concept of the J-integral in fracture mechanics and an explanation of how plastic deformations localize in a narrow band. In recent years, Rice has focused on the mechanical processes involved in earthquakes.