Krista Shereé Walton (born ) is an American chemical engineer. She is the Robert "Bud" Moeller Faculty Fellow and professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and the Associate Vice President for research operations and infrastructure at the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

Background and education

Walton grew up on her family's farm in

Killen, Alabama Killen is a town in Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States. It's part of the Florence - Muscle Shoals Metropolitan Statistical Area known as "The Shoals". It was incorporated in 1957. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town is 1,034 ...

, and graduated from Brooks High School in 1995. She completed her B.S.E. in chemical and materials engineering from the

University of Alabama in Huntsville The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is a public research university in Huntsville, Alabama. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and comprises nine colleges: arts, humanities & social science ...

in 2000 and obtained her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

in 2005 under the direction of M. Douglas LeVan. Walton was awarded an Alternative Energy Fellowship by the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all d ...

Petroleum Research Fund in 2005 and completed postdoctoral research with Randall Q. Snurr in Chemical & Biological Engineering at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

from 2005 to 2006.

Academic career

Walton began her faculty career at

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

as an assistant professor of chemical engineering in 2006. She won several prestigious research awards during that time, including the

Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. The White ...

(PECASE) in 2007. Walton moved to the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Tech as an assistant professor in 2009. She received tenure in 2012 and was promoted to the rank of full professor in 2016. Walton became the founding director and lead principal investigator of Georgia Tech's DOE Energy Frontier Research Center UNCAGE-ME in 2014 and led her team to a renewal in 2018. She has served as associate editor for the ACS journal ''Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research'' since 2014 and has been active in the Separations Division of

AIChE The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) is a professional organization for chemical engineers. AIChE was actually established in 1908 to distinguish chemical engineers as a profession independent of chemists and mechanical engineers ...

for over 15 years. Walton served as Treasurer in the International Adsorption Society 2010-2015 and was the co-chair of the 14th International Conference on the Fundamentals of Adsorption (FOA14) held in the US in 2022. Walton was recently selected into the 2020 cohort of the Defense Science Study Group (DSSG) and will serve a two-year term from 2022-2024 after COVID delayed the start of the program. The DSSG is directed by the non-profit Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) and is sponsored by the

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Adv ...

(DARPA). Walton served as the associate dean for research in the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech from 2019-2023 and is now the associate vice president for research operations and infrastructure.

Research interests

Research in the Walton Group focuses on the design, synthesis, and characterization of functional porous materials for use in chemical separations. Applications of interest include CO₂ capture, air purification, natural gas upgrading, and atmospheric water harvesting. Her group is particularly interested in the behavior and modeling of complex mixture adsorption and seeks to develop structure-property relationships for adsorption and chemical stability of metal-organic frameworks. She has mentored 21 Ph.D. graduates from her group and published over 100 peer-reviewed articles. She has also written several book chapters and is a co-author of Chapter 16: Adsorption and Ion Exchange in the recent 9th edition of

Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook ''Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook'' (also known as ''Perry's Handbook'', ''Perry's'', or ''The Chemical Engineer's Bible'') was first published in 1934 and the most current ninth edition was published in July 2018. It has been a source of c ...

. Walton is active in the research community and has presented over 100 keynotes, plenary lectures, and invited seminars.

Awards and recognition

*Fellow of the International Adsorption Society, 2021 *

Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award was established in 1959 in honor of a scientist who helped elevate American physics to the status of world leader in the field. E. O. Lawrence was the inventor of the cyclotron, an accelerator of subatomic parti ...

, 2021 *Selected to 2020–2021 cohort of the Defense Science Study Group (DSSG) *AIChE FRI/John G. Kunesh Award for Excellence in Separations Research, 2016 *University of Alabama-Huntsville Alumni of Achievement Award, 2015 *ACS Women Chemists Committee Rising Star Award, 2015 *UAH College of Engineering Distinguished Speaker, 2015 *International Adsorption Society Award for Excellence in Publications by a Young Member of the Society (Inaugural Award), 2013 *Kavli Fellow, National Academy of Sciences (NAS) German-American Frontiers of Science Symposium (GAFOS), Meeting Chair (U.S. side), 2012 *Young Scientist Delegation, IAP/World Economic Forum's "Summer Davos" in Dalian, People's Republic of China, Invitee (1 of 2 US Young Scientists chosen after nomination by the US National Academies), 2011 *

National Science Foundation CAREER Award The National Science Foundation CAREER awards, presented by the National Science Foundation (NSF), are in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through research and education, and the integration of these endeavors i ...

, 2009 *Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (

PECASE The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. The White ...

), DoD Recipient, 2007 *Army Research Office Young Investigator Program (YIP) Award, 2007 *American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund Alternative Energy Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2005 *AIChE Separations Division Graduate Research Award, Adsorption and Ion Exchange, 2005 *IBM Graduate Fellowship, 2000-2005

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, Krista Living people 21st-century American engineers American chemical engineers Georgia Tech faculty Vanderbilt University alumni University of Alabama in Huntsville alumni American women engineers Kansas State University faculty 1970s births People from Killen, Alabama People from Florence, Alabama Engineers from Alabama American women academics 21st-century American women