Waltraud M. Kriven is Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Professor Kriven received her Ph.D. in 1976 in Solid State Chemistry from the University of Adelaide in South Auatralia and her B.Sc. (Honors) and Baccalaureate degrees in Physical Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, and Biochemistry from the same institute. She is an internationally recognized expert in the areas of phase transformations in inorganic compounds and their applications in structural ceramic composites. She has authored or co-authored over 240 research publications, and fourteen books to date.