Kathryn McCarthy, MS ’86, PhD ’89, was elected as a 2019 member of the National Academy of Engineering
She is Vice-President, R&D for the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, and received her UCLA degrees in Nuclear Engineering. Her advisor was Mohamed Abdou.
From her bio:
Dr. McCarthy is VP, R&D at the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories. Employed at Idaho National Laboratory for 25 years, from 2012 to 2017 she was Director of Domestic Programs for Nuclear Science and Technology and Director of the LWR Sustainability Program Technical Integration Office for DOE-NE. She was the National Technical Director for Systems Analysis for the DOE-NE Fuel Cycle R&D Program, preceded by involvement in various other nuclear fission and fusion programs. She received her B.S. in Nuclear Engineering at the University of Arizona in 1983; M.S., 1986 and Ph.D., 1989, in Nuclear Engineering at UCLA. Dr. McCarthy was a Guest Scientist at the Kernforschungszentrum in Germany, March-September 1989, and participated in the DOE US/USSR Young Scientist Program at the Efremov and Kurchatov Institutes in Russia, and the Latvian Academy of Science in Latvia, September 1989-August 1990. She is a member of the American Nuclear Society, beginning as a student in 1979, and is currently on the Executive Committee (2014-2017) of the HFIC Division; was on the Board of Directors 2002-2008, is the former Vice Chair of Professional Women in ANS, Fusion Energy Division Chair (2000-2001), Vice-Chair (1999-2000) and Executive Committee (1996-1999), Idaho Section Chair (2001-2002) and Vice-Chair (2000-2001), and the University of Arizona Student Chapter President (1982-83). Her awards include an ANS Presidential Citation in 2015 for “Leadership and Guidance of the LWR Sustainability Effort…helped set the stage for US power companies to…make informed decisions regarding subsequent license renewal…,” the 2011 Nuclear Energy Advocate of the Year Award, the 2011 Girl Scouts of Silver Sage Women of Today and Tomorrow Award, the ANS Presidential Citation in 2007, the 2000 ANS Women’s Achievement Award, 1996 International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor U.S. Home Team Leadership Award, and the 1994 David Rose Award for Excellence in Fusion Engineering.