Even when she entered Cornell's master's program in applied physics, she was still drawn to the performing arts. So while she studied fluid dynamics, she also explored dance theory. Unfortunately, I don't have the talent or physical build required to dance seriously. The requirements are like those for a professional athlete. She eventually discovered that her knowledge of dance informed her research.
Dance involves visualization of complex patterns in space and time to create a unified whole.
Geophysics requires extracting patterns from complex and sometimes seemingly unrelated data. All good science involves this, but for a complex, messy system like the Earth, it's especially tricky. Those patterns exist in another of Kellogg's current research projects-a study of creeping crustal deformation around the White Wolf Fault and its neighbors in the Southern California desert. As in her mantle studies, Kellogg is looking for relationships. Geological forces are the dancers and Kellogg is the reverse choreographer, recording each movement to reveal the secret workings of the planet's inner spaces.