Minielly receives 2025 Ralph S. Quatrano Prize
Katherine Minielly is president of EnCouncil
Katherine Minielly, who will earn a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the McKelvey School of Engineering May 12, has been chosen to receive the 2025 Ralph S. Quatrano Prize, given in honor of Ralph Quatrano, the Spencer T. Olin Professor Emeritus, dean of Engineering from 2010 to 2015 and former chair of the Department of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis.
Established through a generous donation by Katherine Day Reinleitner, the prize is sponsored by The Mindlin Foundation, which presents two prizes annually, one in Engineering and one in biology, both honoring Quatrano’s exemplary leadership as Engineering dean and his important work as a researcher in biology.
A native of south Florida, Minielly has engaged in a full range of experiences at WashU. She currently serves as president of EnCouncil, the governing student body organization for McKelvey Engineering. Last year, as chair of the group’s popular Vertigo dance party, she led a team of 13 subchairs to organize the free event for the undergraduate student body with an $18,000 budget. Additionally, she has acted as treasurer and advocacy chair for the WashU Out in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Inc. (oSTEM) Chapter, a professional society dedicated to LGBTQ+ individuals within the STEM community.
An avid scholar, Minielly has pursued diverse learning experiences. Following her first year, she spent the summer completing coursework in Statics and Mechanics of Materials & Introduction to Electrical and Electronic Circuits at John Cabot University in Rome. As a sophomore, she excelled in an undergraduate research experience in the Neuroskeletal Biology Lab led by Erica L. Scheller, DDS, PhD, associate professor at WashU Medicine, and presented her findings at the WashU Medicine Musculoskeletal Research Center symposium. In spring 2024, she studied abroad at University College Dublin.
Minielly has been recognized with the Antoinette Frances Dames Award for Productive Scholarship in Engineering (2023) and the Erwin C. Hoelscher Memorial Outstanding Senior Award (2025) from the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science.
Her industry experience includes two summer internships with Dow Chemical in Midland, Mich., working in both production design and R&D. After an internship in Pennsylvania this summer, she plans to return to WashU to complete the bachelor’s/master’s program.
