A UCSD graduate student was killed in a car accident over break when her truck flipped over on an interstate highway Dec. 20. Kathryn “Katie” Osterday, a doctoral candidate and researcher at UCSD, was 26 years old and had been both an undergraduate and graduate student at UCSD over the past seven years.
According to her boyfriend, UCSD Associate Director of Recreation Classes-Aquatics Clayton Claiborn, he and Osterday were driving to Texas for the holidays when she swerved sharply to avoid a piece of metal in the roadway and the truck flipped across the median, crushing the driver’s side of the vehicle.
“She died instantly and did not suffer,” Claiborn said. “We were being as safe as we could be—there was no mistake made, yet it still happened. I think it shows how fragile life is and how quickly a freak accident can occur and change lives forever.”
Osterday was born in Placerville, Calif., and came to UCSD as an undergraduate after studying at San Diego City College and San Diego State University. After completing her undergraduate studies in the physics department, Osterday continued her education at UCSD, receiving her master’s degree and becoming a doctoral candidate in aeronautical and mechanical engineering.
As a doctoral student, Osterday studied and conducted research in bioengineering and the microrheology of eukaryotic cytoplasm. She was a Jacobs Fellow, researching under advisor Juan Carlos del Alamo and mentor Juan Lasheras. Earlier this year, she won the prestigious National Science Foundation fellowship and won the “Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Best Poster” at the 2012 Jacobs School of Engineering Research Expo. She was also a volunteer for the “Expanding Your Horizons” network, an annual conference aimed at motivating women in science and mathematics.
“We lost a valued member of the MAE community. Katie Osterday was an excellent student, and we will miss her,” Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Chair Sutanu Sarkar said.
“As a very efficient engineer, she optimized the joy in her life,” fellow grad student Viktoria Gisladottir said.
According to Osterday’s friends, some of her hobbies and interests included surfing, Acro-yoga, discovering new music and watching the sunset; last year, she paraglided over San Diego dressed as Superwoman. Osterday was also an experienced equestrian, environmentalist and photographer.
“She really knew how to enjoy things, and she just enjoyed the world like it was,” close friend David Alonso Barajas-Solano said. “She decided that she was just going to fall in love with life … there was a magical, whimsical aspect of living life with Katie.”
Osterday is survived by her parents, Rosi and Kelly Osterday, her brother Sean, her sister Avalon, her boyfriend, her grandparents and numerous other friends and relatives.
“Katie is the sweetest, most intelligent and talented woman I have ever met. She wanted to change the world to make it a better place, and literally had the plan and capability to do it. And even though she has left this world so soon, for all those who will continue on to ‘live like Katie,’ I believe she successfully did just that,” Claiborn said.
The “Celebration of Katie’s Life,” arranged by her family and close friends, will be held on Saturday, March 2, in UCSD’s Structural and Materials Engineering Building, with a sunset ceremony at the Scripps Pier to follow.
