Katherine is an Adjunct Professor in the Power Systems Engineering Program at WPI where she has taught courses in power systems operations and electro-mechanical energy conversion. She specializes in the operational and economic costs of wind energy diffusion and the social and political factors in technological innovation.

Katherine's PhD work in systems engineering involved understanding innovation and diffusion of wind energy technology. Her background in wind energy began while working as a wind program analyst for Green Energy Ohio in 2005 and as a data analyst for The Renaissance Group. In addition to wind energy, Katherine has worked as a system dynamics consultant to IBM's Smarter Cities Marketing Insights 2.0 initiative, a data quality analyst at EnerNOC for their demand management program, and as a controls engineer for GM's Hybrid Vehicle Program.

In 2011 Katherine joined the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to support a National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) initiative for systems engineering methods applied to wind energy. The project is undergoing initial development and involves integrating engineering and cost-based analysis tools to analyze overall wind energy system performance.

Katherine earned her PhD in Engineering Systems at MIT and holds an MSEE and an MS in Environmental Economics from Ohio State, and dual BS degrees in Engineering (Electrical and Materials) and Economics from University of Pennsylvania.