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Ken Gall

Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
144 Hudson Hall, Box 90300, Durham, NC 27708
144 Hudson Hall, Box 90300, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


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.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science · 2016 - Present Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Pratt School of Engineering
Professor of Biomedical Engineering · 2015 - Present Biomedical Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering
Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery · 2016 - Present Orthopaedic Surgery, Clinical Science Departments

In the News


Published March 28, 2025
10 Years, 60 Startups, $105 Million – and Counting: Duke Capital Partners Leads the Way in Alumni Investing
Published October 25, 2024
Hard-Earned Lessons from Spinning Out a Startup Company from a University
Published August 11, 2022
Stiff, Achy Knees? Lab-Made Cartilage Gel Outperforms the Real Thing

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Recent Publications


Adhesion of bone cement to porous and nonporous 3D printed surfaces.

Journal Article Journal of the mechanical behavior of biomedical materials · April 2025 Bone cement is an adhesive commonly used to bond orthopedic implants to bone during a surgical procedure. Total joint replacements such as total knee, hip, shoulder, or ankle arthroplasties have metal or polymer components that are commonly cemented. Howev ... Full text Cite

Predicting compressive stress-strain behavior of elasto-plastic porous media via morphology-informed neural networks.

Journal Article Communications engineering · April 2025 Porous media, ranging from bones to concrete and from batteries to architected lattices, pose difficult challenges in fully harnessing for engineering applications due to their complex and variable structures. Accurate and rapid assessment of their mechani ... Full text Cite

Total ankle/total talus replacement - Retrospective comparison of surgeon decision relative to three-dimensional joint health assessment.

Journal Article J Foot Ankle Surg · 2025 Treatment of end-stage ankle conditions is a complex challenge in foot and ankle surgery. The talus is prone to issues such as osteoarthritis (OA) and avascular necrosis (AVN). Patient-specific total ankle and total talus replacement (TATTR) procedures hav ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


Boston Children's/UCLA/Duke Next Generation Regeneration for Osteoarthritis (BUD NextGenRegen for OA)

ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health · 2024 - 2029

Duke KURe Program

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases · 2013 - 2028

Resorbable, Phsophorylated Poly(ester urea) Surgical Adhesive to Enhance Fracture Healing

ResearchAdvisor · Awarded by National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases · 2021 - 2026

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Education, Training & Certifications


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

External Links


Gall Group