Kate Pettrey

Instructor, Mechanical Engineering

PhD, Louisiana State University (2023)

Expertise

Education • student success • real-world engineering.

Biographical Sketch

Dr. Kate Pettrey is an Instructor of Mechanical Engineering at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. “Dr. Kate” uses action research to work with and study student recruitment, retention, and achievement at LSU to break down barriers to enrollment, success in the program, and graduation. Before academia, she worked in Mission Control for the Space Shuttle program as a member of the EECOM flight control group. Dr. Kate also taught math in public schools in Texas, and continues to improve teaching and learning as an LSU Communication-Intensive (C-I) Teaching Fellow.

Alongside her academic duties, Dr. Kate enjoys providing practical learning opportunities for students by mentoring LSU student teams participating in rocketry and high-altitude ballooner initiatives facilitated by NASA through the Louisiana Space Grant Consortium, and as Faculty Advisor for the Formula SAE team.