Peter C. Burns


Peter C. Burns is Director of the ND Energy Frontier Research Center,  The Henry Massman Professor of Civil Engineering & Geological Sciences and Concurrent Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame.  He teaches courses in geology, mineralogy and actinide chemistry.  His research emphasizes the mineralogy and solid state chemistry of actinides, with applications in energy and environmental management.


The Burns group research was featured in a nationally televised TV commercial on November 22.  View this by clicking here.



Peter C. Burns teaches local children about mineral structures and properties.



Peter C.  Burns shows children research laboratory.



Peter C. Burns with a group of children studying minerals and crystals.




Peter C. Burns and two happy graduates



Peter C. Burns and office wall painting of the U60 fullerene topology uranium peroxide hydroxide cluster



Partial Research Group 2009, with Prof. Thomas Albrecht-Schmitt

Ball and stick model of fullerene-topology uranyl peroxide nanosphere


Polyhedral representation of U60 - a fullerene topology cluster of uranyl peroxide polyhedra with the same connectivity as C60.
Selected Recent Publications of Peter C. Burns:  

Sigmon, G.E., Ling, J., Unruh, D.K., Moore-Shay, L., Ward, M., Weaver, B. & Burns, P.C.: Uranyl-peroxide interactions favor nano-cluster self-assembly.  Journal of the American Chemical Society 131, 16648-16649. 

Sigmon, G.E., Weaver, B., Kubatko, K.A. & Burns, P.C. (2009): Crown and bowl-shaped clusters of uranyl polyhedra. Inorganic Chemistry 48, 10907-10909. 

Gorman-Lewis, D., Shvareva, T., Kubatko, K.A., Burns, P.C., Wellman, D.M., McNamara, B., Szymanowski, J.E.S., Navrotsky, A. & Fein, J.B. (2009): Thermodynamic properties of autunite, uranyl hydrogen phosphate, and uranyl orthophosphate from solubility and calorimetric measurements. Environmental Science and Technology 43, 7416-7422.

Sigmon, G., Unruh, D.K., Ling, J., Weaver, B., Ward, M., Pressprich, L. & Burns, P.C. (2009): Symmetry vs. minimal pentagonal adjacencies in uranium-based polyoxometalate fullerene topologies. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 48, 2737-2740.  

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