Cammy R. Abernathy is a materials scientist who is the former dean of the University of Florida's Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.

Education

Abernathy graduated from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

in 1980 followed by MS and PhD degrees from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1985. She received all three of her degrees in materials science and engineering.

Career

Abernathy began as a professor at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in 1993. From 2004 and 2009, she worked as an associate dean for the college. In 2009, she was named the Dean of the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering. In 2015, the college received $50 million from its namesake,

Herbert Wertheim Herbert A. Wertheim (born May 23, 1939) is an American Optometry, optometrist, inventor, billionaire businessman, and philanthropist. He is the founder and president of Brain Power Incorporated (BPI). He has been chairman of the Dr. Herbert a ...

. It was the largest cash gift in UF history. She eventually stepped down in December of 2022, being replaced in the interim by Forrest Masters. She was among three finalists to be the new president of the

University of Memphis The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

. Ultimately, Bill Hardgrave was appointed. Her research includes work in thin-film electronic materials and devices. She is the author of over 500 journal publications, 430 conference papers, one co-authored book, 7 edited books, 8 book chapters, and 7 distinct patents. She currently serves as the William H. Wadsworth director of the Engineering Leadership Institute at UF.

Recognition

Abernathy was recognized as a

Fellow of the American Physical Society The American Physical Society honors members with the designation ''Fellow'' for having made significant accomplishments to the field of physics. The following lists are divided chronologically by the year of designation. * List of fellows of the ...

in 2009 "for contributions to the development of compound semiconductor materials growth using molecular beam epitaxy". She is also a fellow of the

American Vacuum Society AVS: Science and Technology of Materials, Interfaces, and Processing (formally the American Vacuum Society, Inc.) is a professional and scientific society founded in 1953 as a committee on vacuum technology. The AVS supports networking among its ...

. In 2016, the Association for Academic Women at the

honored Abernathy as its 2016 Woman of Distinction for her leadership and commitment to diversity and inclusion.

References

Living people University of Florida faculty MIT School of Engineering alumni Stanford University School of Engineering alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) American materials scientists Women materials scientists and engineers Fellows of the American Physical Society {{US-academic-administrator-20C-stub