Face to Face Around Materion with Katie Gardinier

Katie Gardinier is our Director of Technology, responsible for new product development for the Materion Advanced Materials Group.  She has been an integral part of Materion’s technical team for over nine years and is based out of the Milwaukee, WI, facility. She reports to the VP of Marketing, EJ Strother. From there, Katie manages R&D staff across six sites in North America and Europe.  

When asked ‘what do you like most about working at Materion,’ Katie remarked: “It’s all about the people.  I work with some awesome people – both my team and the experienced folks around us who move our development projects forward.” 

Katie’s R&D group collaborates with customers to develop innovative new products that provide tailored solutions.  Her team uses its knowledge base of chemistry, material science, ceramics, and metallurgy, along with the critical component of cross-company technical capabilities, to discover new materials and create leading edge products for our changing markets. 

Katie has an impressive background with a BS in Chemistry & Mathematics from Francis Marion University in Florence, SC and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.  Prior to Materion, she was employed as a Sr. Research Chemist for a well-known chemical firm. 

Born in Easton, PA, and currently residing in Wauwatosa, WI, Katie spent her childhood and college years in North Carolina and South Carolina. She and her husband Jim have been married for nine years and greatly enjoy playing with their two Boston Terriers, Atom and Ellie. When not at work, Katie makes time for cooking, gardening and running – plus planning beach getaways.