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Waltraud M. Kriven received a PhD in 1976 in Physical and Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Adelaide in South Australia. The B.Sc. (Hons) and Baccalaureate degrees were in Physical and Inorganic Chemistry and Biochemistry, also from Adelaide University. Dr. Kriven spent one year as a Post Doctoral Teaching and Research Fellow in the Chemistry Dept. at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. She then spent three years (1977-1980) jointly at the University of California at Berkeley, and at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. There, Dr. Kriven conducted post-doctoral research in transmission electron microscopy of ceramics and was a Lecturer, teaching Phase Equilibria in the senior undergraduate Ceramics Program of the Dept. of Materials Science and Mineral Engineering. For almost four years (1980-1983) Dr. Kriven was a Visiting Scientist at the Max-Planck-Institute in Stuttgart, Germany. There she studied the mechanism of transformation toughening of composite zirconia-based ceramics by 1 MeV HVEM, while working in the electron microscopy group headed by Dr. M. Rühle. Since Feb 1984, Professor Kriven has been at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is a Full Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, an Affiliate Professor of Mechanical Science and Engineering, and an Affiliate Professor of Bioengineering.

Professor Kriven has internationally recognized expertise in the areas of phase transformations in inorganic compounds, their applications in structural ceramic composites, ceramic powder synthesis and processing, and geopolymers. In addition she has made extensive contributions to oxide composites design, microstructure characterization by electron microscopy techniques and phase equilibria. The Kriven group has developed a new technique for in situ, hot stage (up to 2000°C) synchrotron studies of ceramics in air, including an image plate detector capable of taking a high resolution, diffractometry spectrum within 20 sec. She has written or co-authored more than 270 research publications, as well as given or co-authored more than 330 conference presentations. Prof. Kriven has edited or co-edited 16 books to date. She has given ~120 invited lectures (including 20 keynote lectures at international meetings) both nationally and internationally.

Professor Kriven has been elected an Academician in the World Academy of Ceramics (2005), Fellow of the American Ceramic Society (1995), Fellow of the Australian Ceramic Society and has won the Brunauer Award twice (in 1988 and 1991) from the American Ceramic Society for co-authoring the best research papers of the year. Four US patents have been granted. Professor Kriven was Chair of the Engineering Ceramics Division (ECD) of the American Ceramic Society, and Program Chair of the 29th International Cocoa Beach Conference of Advanced Ceramics and Composites, held in January 2005 at Cocoa Beach, Florida.