Burks became an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas in 2016, where she taught and conducted research until 2020. She then moved to Washington, D.C. to join the faculty at American University as an Associate Professor of Chemistry. Her current research centers on developing low-cost colorimetric sensors for detecting chemicals of forensic interest including explosives and illicit drugs. To maximize portability in the field, her group focuses on transforming smart phones into detection devices. Her research interests lie in the applied science domain, which she believes is well-suited to capturing and holding students' attention because they are working to solve real world problems. She has spoken about her intersectional research approach to equipping students with the technical knowledge they need to work on these real-world challenges with the United States Department of Defense Science, Technology, and Innovation Exchange.
Public engagement
Burks is a popular science communicator, using pop culture as an anchor to explore chemistry. She appeared on the Science Channel's Outrageous Acts of Science and Reactions, the video series for the American Chemical Society. She has appeared on Mother Jones' Inquiring Minds podcast to share how chemistry can save you from a zombie apocalypse and on The Story Collider podcast with a story from her time working in a crime lab. In early 2020, she appeared on the NPR podcast on the episode "A Short Wave Guide to Good - and Bad - TV Forensics". Her writing has been featured in Slate, The Washington Post, UNDARK, and Chemistry World. Burks is also an advocate for women and underrepresented groups in science, speaking from her experiences as a black woman in STEM. She founded the DIYSciZone at GeekGirlCon, bringing scientists and science educators together to give convention attendees hands-on experiences with science experiments. The citation for her American Chemical Society Grady-Stack award read, “Raychelle is a public-scientist extraordinaire... She inspires a love of chemistry by bringing chemistry directly to where her audience is. This direct engagement — her commitment to finding chemistry that can entertain and enlighten people who wouldn’t normally think of science — is nothing short of phenomenal". In 2020, Burks appeared in the Tribeca Film Festival in the film "Picture a Scientist."
