Karen Kavanagh wins Faculty Research Award

Dr. Karen Kavanagh was selected as a recipient of the 2023 Faculty Research Award from the Faculty of Science.  This award recognizes excellence in research accomplishments in areas including Career achievements, Recent breakthroughs, Translational impact, Innovation, and Societal impacts.

Dr. Kavanagh is an internationally recognized expert on material interfaces for electronics and in nanoimaging techniques, with over 40 years of experience in this area.  She is a leading international expert in the field, as evidenced by her election as a Fellow of the Materials Research Society in 2022. Her research ranges from fundamental studies to applications, including topics as diverse as: nano-fabrication of metallic nano-hole arrays; imaging dislocations and strain relaxation at semiconductor interfaces; ballistic electron emission microscopy of metal–semiconductor interfaces; epitaxial electrochemistry of spintronic materials; and nanoscale junctions and contacts, allowing nanowires to be quickly probed without lithographically-patterning electrical contacts. In her time at SFU she has been instrumental in establishing significant research infrastructure, including the Nano Imaging facility, a forerunner of the 4D LABS user facility.