Katrina Walker
Education
M.S., San Jose State University
Ph.D., Oregon State University
Brief Bio
Katrina J. Donovan is a proud class of 2010 alum from South Dakota Mines and a 2020 Outstanding Recent Graduate of South Dakota Mines. After graduating, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area she simultaneously working for a start-up company and pursuing her masters degree. She moved to Corvallis, Oregon where she pursued in doctroral degree and worked at HP Inc. in the 3D Printing sector. Her work at HP resulted in three U.S Patents. While in Oregon, she was very passionate about STEM outreach and had interacted with over 10,000 pre-college students while doing outreach. In 2018, she moved to South Dakota, where she co-founded a consulting company and later accepted a faculty position at SD Mines.
Research
Donovan’s research includes experimental design and technique development for soft materials, complex fluids, and surface phenomena. She have a wide range of experience in rheological, thermal, structural, and molecular characterization that she leverages fundamentally for academic purposes as well as industrially for applications. Designing experiments and creating novel techniques to answer fundamental questions that drive applications and technology forward captivates her interest.
Teaching
Donovan’s teaches a wide range of courses spanning the first year undergraduate to graduate courses. She loves teaching about materials from a chemical structure level all the way to a bulk material properties. Her favorite classes include hands-on curriculum, and for this reason you will often see her teaching the laboratory courses.