Barry L. Burks, Ph.D., has been appointed vice chancellor for research and economic development at North Carolina A&T State University.
For the past 5 years, Burks held a similar position, associate director of the Charlotte Research Institute, at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. In that time, Burks helped to grow the research infrastructure at the university as well as build and strengthen relationships between the university and the business communities in North Carolina and beyond.
Burks will draw on his experience as a scientist and an entrepreneur. He holds a Ph.D. in experimental nuclear physics and M.S. in nuclear physics from the University of North Carolina, as well as a B.S. in physics and mathematics from Lynchburg College.
In 1997, he co-founded TPG Applied Technology, a Knoxville, Tennessee-based company that designed and produced equipment for nuclear facilities. He has 14 years of experience in numerous positions at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and has taught physics at UNC and Guilford College.
In his hew position, Burks will oversee the university’s efforts to grow the $60 million a year budget for the Division of Research and Economic Development, which includes the Office of Outreach and Economic Development and Office of Research Services, among others. Burks will also serve as a member of the Cabinet of Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr.
Burks replaces interim vice chancellor Celestine A. Ntuen, who will return to N.C. A&T’s Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering as a professor.
(C) N.C. Biotech Center
