Faculty Director

Dr. Karen Lozano is the Faculty Director of the Tapia Center. She is the department chair and Trustee Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering at Rice University. A member of the National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Inventors, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences, she specializes in scalable nanomanufacturing and carbon nanofiber composites. She co-founded Fiberio Technology Corporation to commercialize Forcespinning® nanofiber production. She is a recipient of the U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Mentoring and has over 30 years of experience in STEM outreach.