Katherine Faber
Simon Ramo Professor of Materials Science
Research interests: mechanical behavior, brittle solids, structural ceramics, coatings, porous solids and cultural heritage science
Overview
Katherine Faber is interested in the fracture of brittle materials and mechanisms by which such materials can be toughened and strengthened. Her studies further comprise ceramics for energy-related applications including thermal and environmental barrier coatings for power generation components, molten regolith electrolysis for the production of metals and O2, and porous solids for filters and flow in applications that extend to medicine and microbial processes. She has also worked with art museums on scientific studies in the arts, where advanced materials characterization and analytical techniques are used in support of conservation science.
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Recent Publications:
"Gradient-Controlled Freeze Casting of Preceramic Polymers," N. Arai, K. T. Faber, J. Euro. Ceram. Soc., 43 1904-11 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2022.12.016
"Chemical Transformations of 2D Kaolinic Clay Mineral Surfaces from Sulfuric Acid Exposure," C. S. Chari, J. E. Heimann, Z. Rosenzweig, J. W. Bennett, K. T. Faber, Langmuir, 39, 6964-74 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c00113
"High-Temperature Carbothermal Synthesis and Characterization of Graphite/h-BN Bimaterials," C. S. Chari, B. W. McEnerney, R. R. Hofer, J. A. Wollmershauser, E. P. Gorzkowski, K.T. Faber, J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 106 [4] 2225-39 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1111/jace.18927. Editor's Choice: https://ceramics.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1111/(ISSN)1551-2916.Editors-Choice-JACerS-2023; Cover Story
"Thermochemical interactions between yttria-stabilized zirconia and molten lunar regolith simulants," K. Yu, J. Stokes, B. Harder, L. Reidy, K.T. Faber, J. Am. Ceram. Soc.,107 [11] 7119-7130 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1111/jace.19821 Kevin Yu named Rising Star for this paper in the Journal of the American Ceramic Society.
"Shape Memory and Superelasticity in Polycrystalline Ceria-Stabilized Zirconia Honeycombs," Laura Quinn, Remelisa Esteves, Perla Latorre-Suárez, George R. Rossman, Seetha Raghavan, Katherine T. Faber, Acta Materialia, 281 120340 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2024.120340.
"Evaluation of Graphite/h-BN Bimaterials for Electric Propulsion," Celia S. Chari, Katherine T. Faber, Richard R. Hofer, Bryan W. McEnerney, Steven M. Arestie, Robert B. Lobbia, Colleen M. Marrese-Reading, Journal of Electric Propulsion 4:31(2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44205-025-00126-0
"Clear as mud redefined: tunable transparent mineral scaffolds for visualizing microbial processes below ground," Laura Quinn, Kriti Sharma, Katherine T. Faber, and Victoria J. Orphan, PNAS Nexus, 4 pgaf118 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf118
"Improving molten regolith electrolysis with zirconia-based hollow anode technology," Kevin Yu, William West, Jamesa Stokes, Bryan Harder, Lorlyn Reidy, Jesus Dominguez, Katherine T. Faber, Acta Astronautica, 235 723-35 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.06.028
"Integrating Laser-Powder Bed Fusion and Reaction Bonding: A Hybrid Approach to High-Temperature Ceramic Fabrication," Zachary Ahmad, Tomas Seager, Dean Cheikh, Billy Chun-Yip Li, Bryan McEnerney, Jonathan Guerra, John Borgonia, Samad Firdosy, Katherine T. Faber, Scripta Materialia, 268 116881 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2025.116881
"On recovering intergranular strain fields from grain-averaged strains obtained by high-energy X-ray diffraction microscopy," C. K. Cocke, A. Akerson, S. F. Gorske, K. T. Faber, K. Bhattacharya, Mathematics and Mechanics of Solids (2025). http://doi.org/10.1177/10812865251376693
"Discovery and characterization of a silicon aluminum scandate (SAS) material," Kevin Yu, Jamesa Stokes, Kunal K. Jha, Bryan Harder, Hosea M. Nelson, Katherine T. Faber, in second review in Acta Materialia.