Division Chair

Olivia A. Graeve (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering)

Professor Olivia A. Graeve (http://graeve.ucsd.edu/) joined UC San Diego in 2012 and is currently the Elias Masry Endowed Professor in Engineering, Director of the CaliBaja Center for Resilient Materials and Systems (http://resilientmaterials.ucsd.edu/), and Director of the Program in Materials Science and Engineering (https://matsci.ucsd.edu/). She holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering (2001) from the University of California, Davis, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Structural Engineering (1995) from the University of California San Diego. Her area of research focuses on the design and processing of new materials for extreme environments, including extremes of temperature, pressure, and radiation. Professor Graeve has been involved in many activities related to the recruitment and retention of women and underrepresented students in science and engineering and has received several prestigious awards including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring in 2020. She has been inducted into the Tijuana Walk of Fame (2014), the Mexican Academy of Engineering (2016), the Mexican Academy of Sciences (2019), the Latin American Academy of Sciences (2022), and has been named Fellow of the American Ceramic Society (2017) and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2021). At UC San Diego she was named Faculty Fellow of Revelle College (2018) and was honored with the Academic Senate Distinguished Research Award (2018). She has also been honored with the Chancellor's Associates Community Service Award (2019) and the University Diversity Award (2014). She has previously served as Chair of the Senate’s Committee on Diversity & Equity (2016-2017) and as member of the Conflict of Interest Independent Review Committee (2015-2020), among several other significant services to UC San Diego.</>