Elizabeth Kautz

Elizabeth Kautz earned her B.S. in Materials Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in 2010. After graduation, she joined Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (KAPL), also known as the Naval Nuclear Laboratory, in Niskayuna, NY. From 2010 to 2014, she worked in a rotational program that included roles in both materials development and fleet support. During this time, she also gained experience at a naval shipyard and at the Advanced Test Reactor at Idaho National Laboratory. While working at KAPL, she completed her M.S. in Materials Engineering part-time at RPI in 2014.

In 2014, Kautz returned to graduate school full-time and earned her Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from RPI in 2018. From 2017 to 2018, she served as a Ph.D. intern at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, WA. After completing her doctorate, she became a postdoctoral researcher in the National Security Directorate at PNNL from 2018 to 2020. She then worked as a staff scientist in the Energy and Environment Directorate from 2020 to 2022 before joining the NC State faculty. Moreover, she holds a joint appointment with PNNL.

Kautz has contributed to several research programs at PNNL supported by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), and the Department of Energy’s Basic Energy Sciences (BES). In addition, she has served as a principal investigator for projects funded by the Tritium Modernization Program (NNSA). Through this work, she has studied hydrogen and lithium isotope detection in metallic and ceramic substrates using laser ablation-optical emission spectroscopy. Furthermore, she has investigated hydride formation in zirconium-based alloys.

Throughout her career, Kautz has mentored both graduate and undergraduate students. For example, she has worked with participants in the DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program and the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program. As a result, she continues to support the next generation of researchers while advancing materials science.

Research Interests

Kautz studies laser-produced plasmas and materials that are important for nuclear energy, defense, forensics, and non-proliferation. In addition, she investigates how lasers interact with materials, focusing on the hydrodynamics and chemical changes within these plasmas. She also examines how materials break down over time, which helps her connect unique material signatures to their processing history and origin.

Education