Gabriel Lopez, professor of biomedical engineering, will leave Duke this year after being selected as the next vice president for research at the University of New Mexico.
Lopez, who joined the Pratt School of Engineering in 2010, is a leader in materials science research in addition to his role as a BME professor. Since 2011, he has served as the founding director of the National Science Foundation’s Research Triangle Materials Research Science & Engineering Center—which engages faculty from Duke, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina Central University in exploring the frontiers of materials science.
Lopez said he has enjoyed his time at Duke, especially working with students and collaborating with fellow faculty members. He said he plans to use the experience he has gained here in his new position at UNM, where he previously taught from 1993 to 2010.
“As a result of my years at Duke and experience with the National Science Foundation research center, I’ve gained the skill set necessary to work with the entire active research faculty at UNM,” Lopez said. “It’s a challenge that I’m looking forward to undertaking, and one that will hopefully be beneficial to my home state.”
In recent years, as competition for funding has grown, faculty have been increasingly challenged when conducting independent research, Lopez explained. His goal is to ensure that faculty have a chance to be successful while also helping institutions and the general public recognize that research is “an integral part of the university’s mission.”
Lopez’s research focuses on the application of materials science to medical technology, although the research center addresses a broad range of problems related to materials science.
A UNM press release described Lopez as "an accomplished scholar"—he has more than 200 peer-reviewed scientific papers and book chapters and is the inventor of 32 U.S. patents, according to the release.
"I am very pleased to welcome Dr. Lopez back to UNM," Chaouki Abdallah, UNM provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, said in the release. "He is a talented researcher and dedicated faculty member with a strong record of leadership, mentorship and service. He will be a great addition to our senior leadership team and I look forward to working with him to advance the research mission at UNM."
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