Flores named vice dean for graduate education
Katharine Flores will help grow and improve graduate programs
Katharine Flores, the Christopher I. Byrnes Professor in the McKelvey School of Engineering, has been named vice dean for graduate education, effective Sept. 1, 2024.
Flores is a professor and outgoing associate chair in the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, director of the interdisciplinary Institute of Materials Science & Engineering (IMSE), and previous interim chair of the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering. As vice dean, she will work to increase the size, strength and success of the school’s graduate student recruitment pool; develop opportunities for professional growth and development of students; and facilitate opportunities for students and faculty to connect with alumni.
In addition, she will act as liaison to the university’s graduate education office and the vice provost of graduate education. She will be a member of the university doctoral council, McKelvey doctoral and master’s councils and the McKelvey academic executive committee.
“Kathy is committed not only to continuing to grow and improve our graduate programs, but also to innovate in ways that make them distinctive and even more globally competitive.” said Aaron F. Bobick, dean and the James M. McKelvey Professor. “Such innovation will be essential to sustain the continued growth our research enterprise.”
Flores is a renowned materials scientist who develops new complex metallic alloys and advanced manufacturing techniques. Her research includes fundamental studies of structure-property relationships in structurally- and compositionally complex materials, as well as more applied work to develop new metallic alloys for load-bearing applications in high-temperature environments. She leads research projects focused on quantitatively describing the inherently disordered atomic structure of metallic glasses and has pioneered high-throughput synthesis methods to rapidly explore the vast design space of “multi-principal element” alloys. She also is interested in developing new advanced manufacturing methods that use energy and raw materials more efficiently and sustainably.
Flores joined the Engineering faculty in 2012 from The Ohio State University, where she had been on the faculty since 2002, most recently as associate professor in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering and director of education and outreach for the Center for Emergent Materials, a National Science Foundation Materials Research Science and Engineering Center.
A Washington University alumna, Flores earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Engineering school in 1995 and a master’s and doctorate in materials science and engineering from Stanford University in 1997 and 2000, respectively. She completed postdoctoral training in the Sports Materials Laboratory at Stanford University.
Among her honors and recognitions include receiving the Dean’s Faculty Award for Extraordinary Service in 2022; being named an Institute for School Partnership Faculty Fellow and receiving the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Department Chair’s Award for Outstanding Teaching at Washington University, both in 2015; participating in The Ohio State University President and Provost’s Leadership Institute; receiving the Ohio Faculty Innovator Award (co-recipient with Peter Anderson, The Ohio State University) in 2011; and receiving the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program (ONR-YIP) grant and the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (NSF-CAREER) grant, both in 2005.
Flores will continue in her role as director of IMSE until a replacement is named.
