Her interests in energy, astronomy and music lead to an application approach to teaching physics. She conducts research in observational astronomy and fluid dynamics. Community outreach is one of Katrina’s passions. She designed her department’s first physics demonstration show; presented an astronomy lecture series to inmates at the Washington Correction Center for Women; and created a physics blog to shed light on the thoughts and activities of physicists. In 2015, she wrote, illustrated and independently published the children’s book Little Bear’s Big Night Sky. She believes that the value of physics is that it is a not only knowledge, but also a skill.