Karen Kavanagh

Karen Kavanagh is a Professor of Physics and an Associate Member of the Department of Chemistry and School of Engineering Science at Simon Fraser University. She directs the 4D Labs Electron Imaging and Holography Facility, providing hands-on training in advanced electron microscopy techniques.

• Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering (1987) from Cornell University
• Prior roles: IBM T. J. Watson Research Labs, MIT postdoctoral fellow, and University of California, San Diego

Her research focuses on atomic interfaces and nanostructures, with recent work on nanocontacts, epitaxial metal-semiconductor interfaces, helium ion microscopy, defects in nanowire heterostructures, electron holography, and two-dimensional materials. She utilizes synchrotron facilities like the Rossendorf Beamline (ROBL) at ESRF for studies on actinide science and radioactive waste disposal.

Kavanagh is a Fellow of the UK Institute of Physics and has contributed to over 100 refereed publications in materials and actinide research.