The Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering is pleased to introduce Gabriel Burks, who joins the faculty as assistant professor.
Burks is an expert in polymer physics, STEM education research and entrepreneurship at the intersection of agriculture and technology.
His research interests include the manufacture of functional nanomaterials, the synthesis of soft matter organelles, and pathologies resulting from the misfolding of proteins in the brain.
“Professor Burks brings great expertise in advanced imaging of soft and biological materials to the University,” said William Schneider, Dorini Family Chair in Energy Studies and department chair.
“He will enhance our research activities in the use of soft materials for energy and health applications, leveraging Notre Dame’s state-of-the-art electron microscopies to elucidate the assembly, structure and function of soft materials at the nanoscale.”
Burks received a B.S. in physics from Grambling State University in 2011 and his Ph.D. in material science and engineering from Drexel University in 2018. He completed postdoctoral work at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana in both the Department of Bioengineering and Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
He served as senior formulation consultant and then vice president of FrostDefense Envirotech Inc., a company he co-founded, which devises environmentally friendly tech solutions for the prevention of early spring frost damage in vineyards.
— Karla Cruise, College of Engineering