Ken Gall

Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Professor Gall’s research aims to develop a fundamental understanding of the relationship between the processing, structure, and mechanical properties of materials.  His scientific contributions range from the creation and understanding of shape memory metals and polymers to the discovery of a new phase transformation in metal nanowires.  His current research interests are 3D printed metals and polymers, soft synthetic biomaterials, and biopolymers with structured surface porous networks. 

In addition to his research he has consulted for industry, the US Military and the US Intelligence Community, and served as an expert witness in multiple patent and product litigations.  Finally, he is a passionate entrepreneur who uses fundamental scientific knowledge to hasten the commercialization of new materials and improve the effectiveness of existing materials.   He founded two medical device start-up companies, MedShape and Vertera who have commercialized university based technologies in the orthopedic medical device space.

Appointments and Affiliations

  • Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
  • Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery
  • Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Contact Information

  • Office Location: 144 Hudson Hall, Box 90300, Durham, NC 27708
  • Email Address: kag70@duke.edu
  • Websites:

Education

  • B.S. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1995
  • M.S. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1996
  • Ph.D. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1998

Research Interests

Materials science, mechanical properties, metals and polymers. Specialties: Shape memory materials, biomaterials, 3D printing.

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

  • ASEE Curtis McGraw Award. ASEE. 2012
  • TMS Robert Lansing Hardy Award. The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society. 2008
  • ASM Bradley Stoughton Award. ASM International. 2005
  • ASME Gold Medal. ASME. 2004
  • Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineering (PECASE). Department of Energy - NNSA. 2002

Courses Taught

  • ME 592: Research Independent Study in Mechanical Engineering or Material Science
  • ME 591: Research Independent Study in Mechanical Engineering or Material Science
  • ME 555: Advanced Topics in Mechanical Engineering
  • ME 492: Special Projects in Mechanical Engineering
  • ME 491: Special Projects in Mechanical Engineering
  • ME 421L: Mechanical Design
  • ME 392: Undergraduate Projects in Mechanical Engineering
  • EGR 393: Research Projects in Engineering
  • BME 791: Graduate Independent Study

In the News

Representative Publications

  • Alting, Caroline, William R. Walsh, Robert Tait, and Ken Gall. “Adhesion of bone cement to porous and nonporous 3D printed surfaces.” Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials 168 (August 2025): 107019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107019.
  • Lorenzana, Daniel J., Bijan Abar, Eliseo V. DiPrinzio, Elijah Vail, Jessica M. Welch, Christopher S. Klifto, David S. Ruch, Marc J. Richard, Ken Gall, and Tyler S. Pidgeon. “Biomechanical Comparison of 1- and 2-Tunnel Suture Suspensionplasty Constructs for Basilar Thumb Arthritis.” Hand (N Y), July 11, 2025, 15589447251350176. https://doi.org/10.1177/15589447251350175.
  • Mathey, Elizabeth, Amanda Heimbrook, R. D. Carpenter, Cambre N. Kelly, and Ken Gall. “Finite element modeling of the free boundary effect on gyroid additively manufactured samples.” Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering 28, no. 9 (July 2025): 1477–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/10255842.2024.2326929.
  • Wesorick, Benjamin R., Eddie Y. Lo, Arjun Gupta, Raffaele Garofalo, Ken Gall, and Sumant G. Krishnan. “Current concepts in patient specific implants for reverse shoulder arthroplasty.” JSES International 9, no. 3 (May 2025): 771–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseint.2024.12.007.
  • Lindqwister, W., J. Peloquin, L. E. Dalton, K. Gall, and M. Veveakis. “Predicting compressive stress-strain behavior of elasto-plastic porous media via morphology-informed neural networks.” Communications Engineering 4, no. 1 (April 2025): 73. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44172-025-00410-9.