Katherine Theresa Faber

Contributions lie primarily in the toughening of brittle materials, particularly in the role of internal (residual) stress on fracture properties. Work with Evans, cited more than 800 times, modeled toughening by crack deflection processes using a fracture mechanics approach and was verified in experiments on silicon nitride and lithium alumino-silicate glass-ceramics. Was first to demonstrate toughening by stress-induced microcracking in a two-phase ceramic, theoretically predicted years earlier. This work inspired her to develop processing methods that can alter residual stress distributions in highly anisotropic single-phase ceramics through magnetic field crystallographic texturing, and enhance their toughness. Used synchrotron radiation to characterize life-limiting internal stresses in ceramic coatings for use in power generation applications. With Casadio co-founded and co-direct the Northwestern University-Art Institute of Chicago Center for Scientific Studies in the Arts (NU-ACCESS). Her own work in NU-ACCESS focuses on jades and early European porcelains.