Kristine is Professor of Astronomy at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Connecticut. Her teaching and research focuses on the intersections of science and society, including the history of women in science, and science and popular culture.
In particular, her work focuses on depictions of science and scientists in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien (Perilous and Fair: Women in the Works and Life of J. R. R. Tolkien), Neil Gaiman (The Mythological Dimensions of Neil Gaiman), Andrzej Sapkowski, Phillip Pullman, and George R.R. Martin (among others). She has also examined film and television series (especially Doctor Who—The Mythological Dimensions of Doctor Who—and zombie media). She is also the author of Stephen Hawking: A Biography, The Women Who Popularized Geology in the 19th Century, and Cosmology 101.
Kristine is also the president of the American Association of Variable Star Observers, and shares her home with assorted misfit cats and rabbits.