Kathleen C. Taylor
Kathleen C. Taylor (born 1942) is a chemist who won the Garvan–Olin Medal in 1989, and is notable for developing catalytic converters for cars.[1] She currently works at Columbia University and consults for the United States Department of Energy.[1]
Taylor attended Douglass College at Rutgers University, earning a bachelor's in chemistry in 1964; she completed her Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1968 at Northwestern University.[1] She did postdoctoral research at the University of Edinburgh and then joined General Motors in 1970.[1] Her work at GM on catalytic converters helped reduce pollution from car exhaust, following work done earlier by Eugene Houdry.[1] Taylor at GM improved on existing catalytic converters to convert nitric oxide into nitrogen, instead of ammonia, a toxin to humans.[1]
Awards
- 1988 - Garvan Award from the American Chemical Society
- 1994–present, Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
- 1995–present, National Academy of Engineering
- 1997, Fellow, Society of Automotive Engineers
- 2003, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 2006, Indian National Academy of Engineering