Katherine Schlaak

Katherine Schlaak is a graduate student in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, pursuing a Ph.D. in Materials Science. She completed a BS in Physics and an MS in Materials Science, also at the University of Cincinnati. She has been awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to continue her doctoral research on magnetic thermoelectric effects in topological materials.

As a strong proponent for climate change abatement and the development of renewable energy sources, Katherine hopes that her research will contribute to the increased efficiency of thermoelectric devices, which offer the ability to harness wasted heat into usable electricity. Weyl semimetals, a type of topological material and the focus of her doctoral work, have greatly enhanced thermoelectric effects in a magnetic field and offer the potential to increase thermal-to-electrical energy conversion with their internal magnetic field-like structure. Katherine’s doctoral research will help elucidate the fundamental mechanisms controlling thermoelectric transport in magnetic Weyl semimetals.

Katherine has presented at three international conferences and was recognized as a top poster presenter at the American Physical Society’s March Meeting in 2022. She is co-author on a peer-reviewed article in Physical Review B and is a co-inventor on a provisional patent. In hopes of inspiring a new generation of scientists, Katherine has coordinated a renewable energy learning day for the third-grade students at a local elementary school. She will be participating in a career day event this year, and she looks forward to organizing future outreach activities to excite young students about her research field.