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Inducted Class of 2018
A graduate of Dayton High School who went on to earn honors in College and a PhD. in Nuclear Physics. Kathy is serving the Nation in Washington D.C. as a member of Homeland Security. Kathy McCormick is a physical scientist with the Department of Homeland Security. She received her Ph.D. in physics from Old Dominion University (1999), performing her thesis research at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News, VA. After graduation, she was a visiting researcher in France at the Service de Physique Nucléaire, Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique. Upon return to the U.S., she was a postdoctoral associate at Kent State University and Rutgers University, then in 2004, Dr. McCormick joined the staff of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) as a Senior Research Scientist. In 2008, Kathy was detailed to the Laboratories and Scientific Services Directorate of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and became a federal employee soon thereafter. At CBP, she is a subject matter expert in the area of radiological and nuclear detection and interdiction, and received the Department of Homeland Security Secretary’s Award for Excellence in 2015 for work in optimizing CBP’s radiation detection capabilities. In 2014 she began to serve on the APS Committee on Careers and Professional Development, and served as the chair of the Committee in 2016.
Kathy McCormick graduated from Dayton High School in 1989. After graduation, she attended Eastern Kentucky University, where she majored in Physics. After attaining her BS in physics, she studied at the University of Illinois, where she received a MS degree in physics in 1995. She received her Ph.D. in physics from Old Dominion University in 1999, with a focus on nuclear physics. After graduation, she moved to France where she was a visiting scientific researcher. Upon return from France, Dr. McCormick joined the staff of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Washington State as a Senior Research Scientist, performing research in the field of Homeland Security. In 2010 Kathy became a scientist for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, where she performs science to enhance border security and is the subject matter expert in the field of radiation detection.