She is a senior research scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and visiting associate in the Department of Mechanical and Civil Engineering of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
[1][4] Her dissertation was A Theory of Turbulent Combustion and Nitric Oxide Formation for Dual-carbureted Stratified-charge Engines,[6] supervised by William A.
Applications of this work include the development of bio-fuels,[10] improving combustion efficiency in ground and aerospace vehicles and their effects on climate change, understanding the atmosphere of Venus,[11] and modeling the interaction of rocket plumes with the surface of the Moon.
[12] A 2004 policy of the Bush Administration, Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12, led NASA to require background checks on scientists at JPL.
[11] The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) gave her their 2018 Pendray Aerospace Literature Award, "for widely reaching, seminal and outstanding publications on bio-fuels, sprays and high pressure flows to meet future challenges of Aeronautics and Astronautics combustion systems".