Kathleen A. Richardson

Dr. Kathleen A. Richardson is the UCF Trustee Chair, Pegasus Professor, and Florida Photonics Center of Excellence Professor at the College of Optics and Photonics (CREOL), University of Central Florida. She leads the Glass Processing and Characterization Laboratory (GPCL), focusing on optical materials for infrared systems, including glass, glass ceramics, and ceramics. Her work addresses structure-property relationships, metrology, and applications in next-generation opto-electronic systems.

Her research spans

• Infrared optical materials
• Phase change materials
• Graded index optics
• Optical metrology
• Material synthesis

Notable awards include OSA and SPIE Fellowships, the SPIE Maria J. Yzuel Outstanding Educator Award, and multiple international recognitions from ceramic and glass societies. Her group collaborates with industry and government, developing advanced materials for defense, aerospace, and biomedical applications.

Dr. Richardson advises over a dozen graduate students and alumni, with active grants supporting her lab’s research. The GPCL is a hub for workforce development in optical materials science and engineering.