Keranen wants to understand how the world works, and to that end, studies earthquakes, volcanoes, and plate motion to understand deformation of the earth at slow and rapid rates. Keranen has a BS from Michigan Technological University, a PhD from Stanford University, and completed postdoctoral research with the USGS Geological Survey. Before arriving at Cornell, Keranen was an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma, and began studying induced seismicity when her house began shaking.