She carried out postdoctoral research at Pennsylvania State University and worked for the Geological Survey of Japan as a research scientist. Dr. Kitajima’s research interests are the interaction of mechanical, thermal, chemical and fluid flow processes during deformation of sediments and rocks, with the aim of better understanding and modeling a wide range of geological problems. Current research focuses on deformation processes of sediments and rocks under complicated loading conditions associated with earthquakes and faulting in active plate boundaries.