Research Interests
Materials science, mechanical properties, metals and polymers. Specialties: Shape memory materials, biomaterials, 3D printing.
Bio
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.
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
Positions
- Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
- Professor of Biomedical Engineering
- Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery
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 424L: Mechanical Systems Design
- ME 421L: Mechanical Design
- ME 392: Undergraduate Projects in Mechanical Engineering
- BME 792: Continuation of Graduate Independent Study
- BME 791: Graduate Independent Study
- BME 493: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
In the News
- Discover New Innovations at Invented at Duke 2025 (Oct 27, 2025 | Duke Today)
- 10 Years, 60 Startups, $105 Million – and Counting: Duke Capital Partners Leads the Way in Alumni Investing (Mar 28, 2025 | Duke Today)
- Hard-Earned Lessons from Spinning Out a Startup Company from a University (Oct 25, 2024 | Pratt School of Engineering)
- Stiff, Achy Knees? Lab-Made Cartilage Gel Outperforms the Real Thing (Aug 11, 2022)
- From the Lab, the First Cartilage-Mimicking Gel That’s Strong Enough for Knees (Jun 26, 2020)
- Duke Creates Open-Source Protective Respirator (Apr 13, 2020)
- Solving Pressing Challenges: 3D Printing of Medical Grade Face Shields (Apr 2, 2020)
- Students, Doctors Develop Next-Generation Surgical Implants (May 1, 2017)
Representative Publications
- Wesorick, B. R., A. Movassaghi, L. Smith, K. Gall, and V. J. Sabesan. “Osseointegration in reverse total shoulder arthroplasty: a review of implant biomaterials and surface technology (Accepted).” Seminars in Arthroplasty Jses 36, no. 2 (June 1, 2026). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sart.2026.151553.
- Pollara, G., A. Heimbrook, L. Fratini, and K. Gall. “Effect of build and unit cell orientation on the tensile, compressive, and torsional behavior of Ti-6Al-4V gyroid sheet-based structures (Accepted).” Advances in Manufacturing 14, no. 2 (June 1, 2026): 259–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40436-025-00566-9.
- McKay, Rachel, Marine Traverson, Caroline Alting, Satyanarayana Konala, Erin Perry, Angelica Luzzi, and Ken Gall. “Accuracy of novel custom 3D-printed metal and polymer cutting guides for segmental mandibulectomy in the dog: a cadaveric study.” Frontiers in Veterinary Science 13 (January 2026): 1780938. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2026.1780938.
- 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.