Dr. Katrina Hay

Katrina (Katie) Hay is a Professor of Physics at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. After studying physics and math at Linfield College in Oregon, she focused her Physics Ph.D. on fluid dynamics at Oregon State University under the mentorship of Dr. Maria Dragila. At NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2005, Katie helped design the timeline for the Dawn Mission to the asteroid belt. Her passions for astronomy, music, and energy have led to outreach projects, including writing and illustrating the children’s book, “Little Bear’s Big Night Sky.” Katie teaches all levels of physics at PLU, innovating according to evidence-based physics education research. She mentors undergraduates in observational astronomy research and fluid physics phenomenology. 

"The most important thing you will take from a physics class is the ability to look at a problem that you've never seen before, break it up into its fundamental concepts and not give up until you have solved it. That is the proud reputation of a physicist." 

-Dr. Katrina Hay