Katherine Banks

Margaret Katherine "Kathy" Banks is an American academic, engineer, and was the 26th president of Texas A&M University from 2021 to 2023, only the second woman to hold that position out of 41 total presidents at the time, including her interim successor. Banks is an elected fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2014, and was formerly the dean of the College of Engineering, and the Jack and Kay Hockema Professor at Purdue University. Her research interests include applied microbial systems, biofilm processes, wastewater treatment and reuse, and phytoremediation bioremediation. Education and career Banks received her Bachelor of Science in environmental engineering from the University of Florida in 1982, Master of Science in environmental engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1985, and Doctorate of Philosophy in civil and environmental engineering from Duke University in 1989. Banks was an associate professor at Kansas State University from 1989 to 1997. From 1997 to 2012, she was a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Purdue University. She was the Jack and Kay Hockema Professor at Purdue and later the Bowen Engineering Head of the School of Civil Engineering. Since 2012, Banks has been at Texas A&M University, where she served as the 26th president and the Vice Chancellor of National Laboratories and National Security Strategic Initiatives. Prior to assuming the presidency in June 2021, Banks held the roles of Vice Chancellor of Engineering and National Laboratories for the Texas A&M University System, Dean of the College of Engineering, Director of the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, University Distinguished Professor, and Harold J. Haynes Dean's Chair Professor. On February 13, 2019, Banks was named to the Board of Directors of Halliburton.