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Photograph of Raychelle Burks

Raychelle Burks Provost Associate Professor CAS | Chemistry

Degrees
PhD, Chemistry, University of Nebraska - Lincoln;
MFS, Forensic Science, Nebraska Wesleyan University;
BS, Chemistry, Northern Iowa University

Bio
After working in a crime lab, Dr. Burks returned to academia, teaching, and forensic science research. An analytical chemist, she enjoys the challenge of developing detection methods for a wide-variety of compounds. Her research team is focused on the development of colorimetric and luminescent chemosensor arrays for the detection of analytes of mainly forensic and national security interests with accompanying image and chemometric analysis. To maximize the portability of their analytical systems, Dr. Burks' team uses laptops, tablets, and smartphones for image collection and data processing. Beyond forensics and national security, there are a variety of fields where low cost and reliable rapid screening methods are needed. Dr. Burks collaborates with colleagues in a variety of fields to provide application-specific, field-ready chemosensing systems. Beyond the lab, Dr. Burks is a popular science communicator, appearing on TV, in podcasts, at large genre cons such as DragonCon and GeekGirlCon. She also writes a forensic science column called “Trace Analysis” for Chemistry World, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry. She is an active member of a a number of professional organizations and holds leadership positions in both the American Chemical Society and International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. For the National Academies, she serves as a member of the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology. She is an Associate Editor of Forensic Science Internation: Synergy, the preferred journal of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD).
See Also
Department of Chemistry
For the Media
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Teaching

Spring 2025

  • CHEM-110 General Chemistry I

  • CHEM-250 Criminalistics, Crime & Soc

Fall 2025

  • CHEM-250 Forensic Science in Society

  • CHEM-405 Separation Science