He has made seminal contributions, including some of the most cited and influential papers in astrophysics. Subjects include the interstellar gas and dust, current and primordial star formation, violent dynamics of supernova remnants and gamma-ray busts, and the accretion and ejection of gas from active galactic nuclei. He co-authored the National Academy Decadal-Report defning the direction of Astronomy and Space Research n the U.S. to 2010.

Prof. McKee gave both a public lecture, entitled "Star Formation in the Universe", and a technical talk entitled "The Formation of the First Stars" when he visited CITA in February of 2005.