Kathleen C. Taylor

• Name — Kathleen C. Taylor • Born — 1942 • Workplaces — General Motors • Education — Northwestern University • Thesis Title — The surface chemistry of chromium oxides catalysts • Thesis Url — https: www.worldcat.org/oclc/31673583 • Thesis Year — 1968

Taylor attended Douglass College at Rutgers University, earning a bachelor's in chemistry in 1964. She completed her Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1968 at Northwestern University working with Robert Burwell, Jr. on the surface chemistry of catalysts. Following her Ph.D., she did postdoctoral research at the University of Edinburgh with Charles Kemball where she worked on the use of deuterium to track reactions on catalysts.

In 1970, Taylor joined General Motors where she is known for her work on catalytic converters that helped reduce pollution from car exhaust. Taylor developed catalytic converters that converted nitric oxide into nitrogen, instead of ammonia, a toxin to humans. In 1987, while at General Motors, Taylor also served as president of the Materials Research Society. When Taylor was elected a fellow of the National Academy of Engineering in 1995, she was cited "for the development of automotive-exhaust catalytic systems and leadership in materials battery and fuel cell research". In a 2014 interview, Taylor described her work as an engineer and noted that she selected the field because she liked the challenge of engineering and the employment options that would available to her. As of 2017, she was retired from General Motors, but continued to consult at Columbia University and the United States Department of Energy on projects that reduce impacts on the environment.

Taylor is a painter who works in watercolors on scenes in Florida and Massachusetts.