Kathy Lu receives national ceramic engineering award

Peizhen Kathy Lu, assistant professor of materials science and engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, is the 2008 recipient of the Karl Schwartzwalder-Professional Achievement in Ceramic Engineering Award.

The American Ceramic Society Board of Directors, upon the recommendation of the Karl Schwartzwalder-Professional Achievement in Ceramic Engineering Award Sub-committee, unanimously chose Lu for the honor.

This award recognizes the nation's outstanding young ceramic engineer whose achievements have been significant to the profession and the general welfare of the American people, according to the American Ceramic Society. The awardee should have been active in civic, educational, and social areas based on her technical expertise, and have made significant technical contribution to the discipline and the society.

Recognition of this award will be given at the honors and awards banquet at the 110th Annual Meeting of the American Ceramic Society, Monday, Oct. 6, 2008, in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Lu directs Virginia Tech’s Innovative Particulate Materials Laboratory and concentrates her research on nanomaterials, fuel cell material design, composites, materials design, and powder synthesis.

She obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in ceramics from Tianjin University, China, in 1990 and in 1993, respectively. She obtained a second master’s degree and her doctorate in materials science and engineering from Ohio State University in 1999 and 2000.

From 1989 to 1993, Lu served as a research associate for the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Tianjin University. From 1993 to 1996, she was employed as an assistant professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Beijing, China.

She was also a research associate at Ohio State University in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering from 1996 to 2000. At Pennsylvania State University, Lu worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Center for Innovative Sintered Products.