Allison Lau named Knights of St. Patrick honoree

Allison Lau, a senior in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at The Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, is focused on ensuring other students feel seen, whether they're weighing a college decision, navigating their first semester or finding their footing in a new engineering community. Lau was named a winner in this year’s Knights of St. Patrick class, honoring her for exceptional leadership, character and contributions to the Illinois Grainger Engineering community.

Get to Know Allison Lau:

• Lau is the sole representative of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering among this year's Knights of St. Patrick honorees.
• As director of the ESTAR (Engineering Student Admissions Representative) program, Lau leads a team of nearly 50 student tour guides, nearly double the size of the program when she first joined as a tour guide herself. She has spent two years in the director role scaling its operations and building its team culture.
• Lau has taught ENG 100 as an engineering learning assistant, mentoring first-year engineering students through one-on-one meetings, and currently TAs the materials laboratory course sequence — MSE 307 and 308 — in the materials department.
• She has served as membership enrichment director for the Society of Women Engineers and helped shape the Women in Engineering new student orientation experience.
• Lau conducts undergraduate research through the Illinois Scholars Undergraduate Research (ISUR) program on a polymer physics project, adding a research dimension to an already full portfolio of academic involvement.

"The Knights of St. Patrick award is really meaningful to me because I'd spent so much time preparing my application and really thinking about the organizations I've been involved in and the impact that I've had. But even more so ... becoming a Knight really increases the visibility of the organizations that I've been involved in.” — Allison Lau

What's next:

• Lau is actively deciding between Ph.D. programs in materials science and engineering, with visit weekends already underway as of late February 2026. Her research interests center on polymer science and engineering.
• Long-term, she has her sights set on a career in research and development in industry, applying the scientific foundation she's built at Illinois to real-world materials challenges.

Why this matters:

The Knights of St. Patrick is among the most selective honors in The Grainger College of Engineering, with only 10-15 students chosen college-wide each year through a process that includes peer and faculty nominations, written applications and formal interviews. For Lau, the recognition is less about individual achievement than what it means for the students and organizations she's championed. Being named a Knight, she says, shines a light on all of it.