Katherine T. Faber is an American materials scientist and one of the world's foremost experts in continuum mechanics, ceramic engineering, and material strengthening. Faber is the Simon Ramo Professor of Materials Science at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Currently, Faber is the faculty representative for the Materials Science option at Caltech. She is also an adjunct professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University.
Faber is known for her work in the fracture mechanics of brittle materials and energy-related ceramics and composites, including the Faber-Evans model of crack deflection which is named after her. 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. Faber is the co-founder and co-director of the Northwestern University/Art Institute of Chicago Center for Scientific Studies in the Arts (NU-ACCESS) and also oversees a number of collaborative endeavors, especially with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Biography
Early life and education
Faber was the youngest daughter of an aspiring aeronautical engineer whose education was halted by the Great Depression. 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. An initial interest in chemistry evolved to an appreciation for ceramic engineering after Faber recognized its potential in solving many engineering problems. Faber eventually obtained her Bachelor of Science in Ceramic Engineering at the New York State College of Ceramics within Alfred University (1975). She completed her Master of Science in Ceramic Science at Penn State University (1978) where she studied phase separation in glasses with Professor Guy Rindone. After graduating with her MS, 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. 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.
Teaching, recognition
From 1982 to 1987, Faber served as Assistant and Associate Professor of Ceramic Engineering at the Ohio State University. 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). 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. During her time at Northwestern, she served as the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research, overseeing more than $25 million in faculty research funds. She went on to complete a 5-year term as department chair of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern, where she also served as the Chair of the University Materials Council (2001–2002), a collaborative group composed of directors of a number of materials programs from across the US and Canada. Additionally, from 2005 to 2007 she sat on the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Lab. In 2014, she joined the teaching faculty at Caltech.
From 2006 to 2007, Faber served as the President of the American Ceramic Society, and in 2013 was named a Distinguished Life Member in recognition of her notable contributions to the ceramic and glass profession. In 2014, Faber was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences class of fellows.
She has also been recognized with: IBM faculty development award (1984–1986) National Science Foundation (NSF) Presidential Young Investigator Award (1984–1989) Society of Women Engineers Distinguished Educator Award (1995) YWCA Achievement Award for Education (1997) NSF Creativity Extension Award (2001–2003) Fellowship in ASM International (2003) Pennsylvania State University College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Charles L. Hosler Alumni Scholar Medal (2004) NSF American Competitiveness and Innovation Fellow and Creativity Extension Award (2010) Toledo Glass and Ceramics Award, Michigan/Northwest Ohio Section of the American Ceramic Society (2012) American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2014) American Ceramic Society John Jeppson Award (2015)