Caitlin was recently interviewed by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette for a news feature story about the past and future of manufacturing in Central Massachusetts—including important perspective from WPI.
Caitlin W.
PhD, Materials Science and Engineering
Caitlin knows that putting in hard work can really pay off in the end, both academically and outside of the classroom. After being inspired by her Intro to Materials Science class with Professor Chrys Demetry her freshman year, she earned her BS and her MS at WPI simultaneously in just four years. Now she hopes to have her PhD in materials science and engineering by the time she’s 25 and become a college professor so she can also inspire others to join this developing discipline.
These days, when she’s not working on her US Army Research Lab–sponsored project on developing a model for the cold spray process (which can be used to repair machine parts in minutes), you can probably find her improving her racing times. An occasional runner in high school, she has shown real dedication on the cross country and track and field teams, and now she has her sights set on the NCAA Championships.

Hometown
Edmonds, WA
Faculty Mentor
Chrys Demetry, Director, Morgan Teaching and Learning Center and Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Achievements
- Completing her BS and MS at WPI concurrently in just four years
- Competing at regional meets with the NCAA DIII Cross Country and Track and Field teams
Interests
- Track and Field
- Pi Tau Sigma and Sigma Xi
- President of Material Advantage Committee
- Advisor for Tau Beta Pi
- Hiking, camping, cooking, and baking