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Katherine Faber

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Katherine Faber
Katherine Faber at the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University
Born
Katherine Faber
Alma mater
SpouseThomas Felix Rosenbaum
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
Doctoral advisorAnthony G. Evans

Katherine T. Faber is an American materials scientist and engineer and is the Simon Ramo Professor of Materials Science at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).[1] Currently, Faber is the faculty representative for the Materials Science option at Caltech and is an adjunct Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University.[2] She is co-founder and co-director of the Northwestern University/Art Institute of Chicago Center for Scientific Studies in the Arts (NU-ACCESS).

Faber is a world expert in the study of mechanical behavior and material strengthening, and has been recognized for her work in the fracture mechanics of brittle materials and energy-related ceramics and composites.[3][4] Her research encompasses a broad range of topics, from ceramics for thermal and environmental barrier coatings in power generation components to porous solids for filters and flow in medical applications. She oversees a number of collaborative endeavors, including projects with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and polymer-related research with Professor Julia A. Kornfield.

Biography

Early life and education

Faber was the youngest daughter of an aspiring aeronautical engineer whose education was halted by the Great Depression.[5] As the only one of her siblings who had an interest in the sciences, she was encouraged by her father to pursue an education in engineering. Faber eventually obtained her Bachelor of Science in Ceramic Engineering at the New York State College of Ceramics within Alfred University (1975).[2] She completed her Master of Science in Ceramic Science at Penn State University (1978),[2] after which she worked for a year as a development engineer for The Carborundum Company in Niagara Falls, New York, on the development of silicon carbide for high performance applications such as engines.[6] Following her year in industry, Faber decided to pursue a Ph.D. in Materials Science at the University of California, Berkeley, which she completed in 1982.[2]

Faber at the WiMSE Reception

Teaching, recognition

From 1982 to 1987, Faber served as Assistant and Associate Professor of Ceramic Engineering at the Ohio State University.[7] She participated in the first class of the Defense Science Study Group, a program which introduces outstanding American science and engineering professors to the United States’ security challenges (1985–1988).[8] From 1988 to 2014, she taught as Associate Professor, Professor, and Walter P. Murphy Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University, where she also served as the Chair of the University Materials Council (2001–2002).[2] Additionally, from 2005 to 2007 she sat on the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Lab.[2] In 2014, she joined the teaching faculty at Caltech.[1]

From 2006 to 2007, Faber served as the President of the American Ceramic Society,[9] and in 2013 was named a Distinguished Life Member in recognition of her notable contributions to the ceramic and glass profession.[9] In 2014, Faber was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences class of fellows.[7]

She has also been recognized with:

  • IBM faculty development award (1984–1986)[2]
  • National Science Foundation (NSF) Presidential Young Investigator Award (1984–1989)[2]
  • Society of Women Engineers Distinguished Educator Award (1995)[2]
  • YWCA Achievement Award for Education (1997)[2]
  • NSF Creativity Extension Award (2001–2003)[2]
  • Fellowship in ASM International (2003)[2]
  • Pennsylvania State University College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Charles L. Hosler Alumni Scholar Medal (2004)[2]
  • American Ceramic Society John Jeppson Award (2015)[10]

Work

Distinguished Lecture by Dr. Katherine Faber at UC Davis College of Engineering, Winter 2018.

Forschung

Faber's research is focused on fracture in brittle materials and mechanisms by which they can be strengthened and toughened.[1] She and her PhD advisor, A.G. Evans, are credited with first developing a mechanics of materials model which predicts the fracture toughness increase due to crack deflection around second phase particles in a matrix.[11] Her current work comprises research into characterizing the behavior of high-temperature ceramic coatings under cyclic thermal loading, which has applications in improving engine efficiency and wear;[1] and the creation of high-temperature porous ceramics with increased strength and toughness, which have applications in filtration, energy storage, insulation, and medical devices.[1] Her research interests also include silicon-based ceramics and ceramic matrix composites;[1] polymer-derived multifunctional ceramics;[9] graphite- and silicon carbide-based cellular ceramics synthesized from natural scaffolds, such as pyrolyzed wood;[9] and cultural heritage science,[7] with emphasis on porcelains and jades.[8]

Initiatives

Faber is also the co-founder and co-director of the Northwestern University–Art Institute of Chicago Center for Scientific Studies in the Arts (NU-ACCESS), a collaboration between Northwestern University and the Art Institute of Chicago in which advanced materials characterization and analytical techniques are used to further conservation science for historical artifacts.[2]

Personal life

Katherine Faber at the 2013 ACS Awards

Faber is married to condensed matter physicist, and current president of the California Institute of Technology, Thomas F. Rosenbaum.[12] They began their careers at the California Institute of Technology in 2013 after Rosenbaum transitioned from his previous position as the John T. Wilson Distinguished Service Professor of Physics and university provost of The University of Chicago.[13] Together, they have two sons, Daniel and Michael. Apart from her research, Faber is a patron of the arts and is especially drawn to theater and art museums.

Faber and Rosenbaum have established several graduate fellowships and research funding opportunities for students. In 2014, she and Rosenbaum initiated a $100,000 graduate research fellowship at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, which provides summer research support to students with the aim of increasing representation of women in STEM fields.[14] Together, they created the Guy Rindone Graduate Research Fund (named after Faber's master’s thesis adviser) to help facilitate the choice of a research topic in the student's graduate education.[15] In 2017, she and her husband became the first to contribute to the Gordon and Betty Moore Graduate Fellowship Match at Caltech, and later initiated the Rosenbaum-Faber Family Graduate Fellowship, which aims to provide graduate students with the freedom to pursue their studies and possibly change their research based on unexpected research results.[16]

See Also

Selected publications

Faber has authored over 150 papers, written three book chapters, and edited a book, Semiconductors and Semimetals: The Mechanical Properties of Semiconductors v. 37. [9][17] In 2003, She was recognized by the Institute for Scientific Information as a Highly Cited Author in Materials Science.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Faber Research Group". faber.caltech.edu. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Faber, Katherine | Faculty | Northwestern Engineering". www.mccormick.northwestern.edu. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  3. ^ "Caltech Division of Engineering and Applied Science | Katherine T. Faber". Caltech Division of Engineering and Applied Science. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
  4. ^ "Caltech Materials Science | News | Professor Faber Receives the John Jeppson Award". Caltech Materials Science. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
  5. ^ "Katherine Faber". EngineerGirl. Retrieved 2022-10-30.
  6. ^ "Katherine Faber". EngineerGirl. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  7. ^ a b c "Katherine T. Faber". The American Ceramic Society. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  8. ^ a b Madsen, Lynnette D. 1963– VerfasserIn. (February 2016). Successful women ceramic and glass scientists and engineers 100 inspirational profiles. ISBN 978-1-118-73360-8. OCLC 953526292. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ a b c d e "The American Ceramic Society announces selection of Faber, Gauckler, and Messing as 2013 Distinguished Life Members". The American Ceramic Society. 2013-07-22. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  10. ^ "John Jeppson Award Archives". The American Ceramic Society. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
  11. ^ Faber, K. T.; Evans, A. G. (1983-04-01). "Crack deflection processes—I. Theory". Acta Metallurgica. 31 (4): 565–576. doi:10.1016/0001-6160(83)90046-9. ISSN 0001-6160.
  12. ^ "Caltech Environmental Science and Engineering | News | Caltech Names Ninth President". Caltech Environmental Science and Engineering. Retrieved 2022-10-30.
  13. ^ https://www.jpl.nasa.gov. "Caltech Announces New President". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Retrieved 2022-11-05. {{cite web}}: External link in |last= (help)
  14. ^ "Rosenbaum-Faber gift to support women in STEM fields through Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering | Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering | The University of Chicago". pme.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
  15. ^ "Couple creates graduate research fund in honor of former Penn State professor | Penn State University". www.psu.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
  16. ^ "Funding the Future". Caltech Campaign. Retrieved 2022-10-30.
  17. ^ Faber, KAtherine T. Molloy, Kevin J. (1992). The mechanical properties of semiconductors. Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-08-086434-1. OCLC 646758339.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)