Dr. Katz is the Norton Research Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He was the Chief Technologist at the Army Research Laboratory - Materials Directorate at Watertown, from 1987 through 1995, and was chief of the Ceramics Research Division there from 1970 through 1987. Dr. Katz is internationally recognized as an expert in the development of advanced ceramics and ceramic composites and their application in areas of both military and civilian importance, including; ceramic composite armor, missile guidance domes, cutting tools, bearings, and most especially heat engines. His research interests include; high strain rate properties of ceramics, tensile testing of ceramics and ceramic matrix composites, design with brittle materials, and technology assessment. He played a major role, as a committee member, in the National Research Council’s STAR 21: Strategic Technologies for the Army of the 21st Century study and report. Dr. Katz has authored or co-authored over 90 major technical papers and presented invited keynote papers at major international conferences in the US, UK, Israel, Italy, Japan, and Australia. He is on the editorial board and is the North American Coordinator for the Journal of the European Ceramic Society.

Dr. Katz received his S. B. and Ph.D. degrees from MIT and an M. S. from the University of Michigan. Dr. Katz is a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society and a recipient of the F. H. Norton Award from the New England Section of the Society.