Dr. M. Katherine Banks has been named winner of the 2019 Pinnacle Award, presented by Schlumberger, for her dedication to future engineers.
Banks is vice chancellor of engineering and national laboratories for The Texas A&M University System and oversees coordination and collaboration among the engineering, academic and research programs at seven universities and three state agencies in the A&M System. She leads systemwide national laboratory engagement and serves as a board member and principal executive engaged with Triad National Security, LLC for the management and operation of Los Alamos National Laboratory.
She is also the director of the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station where she oversees administration for $300 million in sponsored research. She has made national security research a priority, with $16 million in awards from the Department of Defense in 2018, and strategically focused on hypersonics, cyberphysical security and materials in extreme environments.
As dean of engineering, Banks leads one of the largest engineering schools in the country at Texas A&M University, with more than 20,000 students and 675 faculty. Under her leadership, the College of Engineering initiated its 25 by 25 initiative to transform engineering education and increase access for qualified students to an enrollment to 25,000 students by 2025. She also oversaw construction of the largest and most technologically ambitious building on the Texas A&M campus, the Zachry Engineering Education Complex. The building is dedicated to undergraduate engineering education and its student-focused design will revolutionize the way engineering education is delivered to students. This dedication to expanding and transforming engineering education has positioned Texas A&M engineering students at the forefront of today’s industry.
Banks is a University Distinguished Professor and holder of the Harold J. Haynes Dean's Chair in Engineering, and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Banks, along with the honorees of Oil and Gas Investor’s 25 Influential Women in Energy, will be recognized at the second annual Women In Energy Luncheon Feb. 12, 2019, at the Hilton Americas, Houston.
The full list of honorees can be found here.