[3] Kate Kirby was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) in 1989 for her "innovative application of methods of quantum chemistry to the quantitative elucidation of a diverse range of molecular phenomena.
Kirby was named as the executive officer of the American Physical Society (APS) in May 2009,[9] a position she began in July of the same year, replacing Judy Franz.
On assuming the role, Kirby said "Having served the Society for well over two decades as a volunteer on a number of committees, the Council and Executive Board, I am excited to be joining the APS leadership team."
She added, "I look forward to working with APS staff and the membership to advocate for physics in the public arena and to serve the community of physicists throughout the U.S. and the world."
[19][20] Kirby later worked on processes for forming ultracold polar molecules using lasers and applying the method to create platforms for quantum computing.