Academic History
Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik – Munich, Germany
Postdoctoral Fellow (2016 - )
Yale University – New Haven, CT
PhD Astronomy (2016)
Advisor: Pieter van Dokkum
Thesis: The Spatial Distribution of Star Formation in Galaxies: Observing the Emergence of Galactic Structure
Pomona College – Claremont, CA
B.A. Physics & Astronomy (2008)
Advisors: Barry Madore & Philip Choi
Publications
Publications in refereed journals: 44, first author: 5, total citations: 2135, H-index: 26
- Nelson, Erica June, et al., Where Stars Form: Inside-Out Growth and Coherent Star Formation from HST Hα Maps of 2676 Galaxies Across the Main Sequence at z ∼ 1, ApJ, 828, 27 (2016)
- Nelson, Erica June, et al., Spatially-Resolved Dust Maps from Balmer Decrements in Galaxies at z ∼ 1.4, ApJL, 817, 9 (2016)
- Nelson, Erica June, et al., A Massive Galaxy in its Core Formation Phase Three Billion Years After the Big Bang, Nature, 513, 394 (2014)
- Nelson, Erica June, et al., The Radial Distribution of Star Formation in Galaxies at z ∼ 1 from the 3D-HST Survey, ApJL, 763, 16 (2013)
- Nelson, Erica June, et al., Spatially Resolved Hα Maps and Sizes of 57 Strongly Star-forming Galaxies at z ∼ 1 from 3D-HST: Evidence for Rapid Inside-out Assembly of Disk Galaxies, ApJL, 747, 28 (2012)
Remaining publications listed at end of CV
Select Research Programs
- Northern Extended Millimeter Array, Dust-Obscured Bulge Growth in Milky Way and Andromeda Progenitors, 36 hours, PI
- Very Large Telescope K-band Multi-Object Spectrograph, The KMOS3D survey of spatially-resolved kinematics, star formation and physical properties at 0.7 < z < 2.7: witnessing the mass growth and life cycle of galaxies, 75 nights, Co-I
- Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet imaging, Hubble Deep UV Legacy Survey, 125 orbits, Co-I
- Hubble Space Telescope, COSMOS-DASH: A Wide-Field WFC3 Imaging Survey in the COSMOS Field, 57 orbits, Co-I
- Hubble Space Telescope optical and near-infrared imaging and slitless spectroscopy, 3D-HST: A Spectroscopic Galaxy Evolution Treasury, 248 orbits, team member
- Keck Observatory near-infrared spectroscopy (MOSFIRE, OSIRIS, NIRSPEC), 15 nights, Co-I
- Additional Observing Experience: WIYN, Palomar, Magellan, VLA, Arecibo
Awards and Honors
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2012-2015)
- Yale University Stephen B. Butler Fellowship (2010)
- The Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr. and Davida Wark Brackett Prize for excellence in astronomy (2007, 2008)
- Pomona Scholar (2006, 2007)
- Carly Vogel Fisher Scholarship for Leadership (2004-2008)
Research Talks
- Seminars
- Caltech (2016)
- Carnegie Observatories (2016)
- University of California Santa Cruz (2016)
- University of California Berkeley (2012, 16)
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (2016)
- MIT Kavli Insititute (2016)
- Mitchell Institute at Texas A&M (2016)
- Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik (2013)
- Conference Presentations
- In Situ View of Galaxy Formation, Ringberg, Germany (2016)
- What Shapes Galaxies?, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD (2016)
- Star-Forming Galaxies at 0.3 < z < 1, American Astronomical Society Meeting, Kissimmee (2016)
- Census, Evolution, Physics; New Haven, CT (2015)
- Galaxies at High Redshift and Their Evolution over Cosmic Time, International Astronomical Union Meeting, Honolulu, HI (2015)
- The Many Pathways to Galaxy Growth, Prato, Italy (2015)
- Science with the 3D-HST Survey, American Astronomical Society Meeting, Seattle (2015) - AREPOfest-2, Cambridge, MA (2014)
- The Origin of the Hubble Sequence, Paris, France (2013)
- Watching Galaxies Grow Up, Ringberg, Germany (2011)
- ISM in High Redshift Galaxies, Santiago, Chile (2011)
Teaching, Service, and Leadership
- Referee for the Astrophysical Journal and Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Yale Senior Thesis supervisor (2014-2015)
- Yale Telescope Time Allocation Committee (2013)
- Teaching Fellow, Yale University (2009-2012)
Designed exams and problem sets, developed and ran weekly discussion sections and review sessions for courses:- Introduction to Cosmology (ASTR 170)
- Life in the Universe (ASTR 130)
- Planets and Stars (ASTR 110)
- Introduction to Astronomical Observing (ASTR 155)
- Completed Fundamentals of Science Teaching course (2009)
- Associate Director of Presidential Campaign Office, Detroit (2008)
- Physics Mentor, Pomona College (Spring 2007- 2008)
- Teaching Assistant, General Physics Lab, Pomona College (2005-2006)
Full Publication List
- Nelson, Erica June, et al., Where Stars Form: Inside-Out Growth and Coherent Star Formation from HST Hα Maps of 2676 Galaxies Across the Main Sequence at z ∼ 1, ApJ, 828, 27 (2016)
- Nelson, Erica June, et al., Spatially-Resolved Dust Maps from Balmer Decrements in Galaxies at z ∼ 1.4, ApJL, 817, 9 (2016)
- Nelson, Erica June, et al., A Massive Galaxy in its Core Formation Phase Three Billion Years After the Big Bang, Nature, 513, 394 (2014)
- Nelson, Erica June, et al., The Radial Distribution of Star Formation in Galaxies at z ∼ 1 from the 3D-HST Survey, ApJL, 763, 16 (2013)
- Nelson, Erica June, et al., Spatially Resolved Hα Maps and Sizes of 57 Strongly Star-forming Galaxies at z ∼ 1 from 3D-HST: Evidence for Rapid Inside-out Assembly of Disk Galaxies, ApJL, 747, 28 (2012)
- Dickey, Claire, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, The Relation Between [OIII]/Hβ and Specific Star Formation Rate in Galaxies at z ∼ 2, ApJL, 828, 11 (2016)
- Momcheva, Ivelina G., Brammer, Gabriel B., van Dokkum, Pieter, Skelton, Rosalind E., Whitaker, Katherine E., Nelson, Erica June, et al. The 3D-HST Survey: Hubble Space Telescope WFC3/G141 grism spectra, redshifts, and emission line measurements for ∼ 100, 000 galaxies ApJS, 225, 27 (2016)
- Wuyts, Eva, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, The Evolution of Metallicity and Metallicity Gradients from z=2.7-0.6 with KMOS3D ApJ, 827, 74 (2016)
- Burkert, A., et al. including Nelson, Erica June, The Angular Momentum Distribution and Baryon Content of Star-Forming Galaxies at z ∼ 1 − 3, ApJ, 826, 214 (2016)
- Whitaker, Katherine, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, Predicting Quiescence: The Dependence of Specific Star Formation Rate on Galaxy Size and Central Density at 0.5 < z < 2.5, submitted to ApJ, arXiv:160703107 (2016)
- Bezanson, Rachel, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, Leveraging 3D-HST Grism Redshifts to Quantify Photometric Redshift Performance, ApJ, 822, 30 (2016)
- Fumagalli, Mattia, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, Ages of Massive Galaxies at 0.5 < z < 2.0 from 3D-HST Rest-Frame Optical Spectroscopy, arXiv: 1603.02689 (2016)
- Wuyts, Stijn, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, KMOS3D: Dynamical Constraints on the Mass Budget in Early Star-Forming Disks arXiv: 1603.03432 (2016)
- Momcheva, Ivelina, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, A New Method for Wide-Field Near-IR Imaging with the Hubble Space Telescope, arXiv: 1603.00465 (2016)
- Lange, Johannes, van Dokkum, Pieter, Momcheva, Ivelina, Nelson, Erica June et al. Evidence for Non-stellar Rest-frame Near-IR Emission Associated with Increased Star Formation in Galaxies at z ∼ 1, submitted to ApJL (2015)
- van Dokkum, Pieter, Nelson, Erica June, et al., Forming Compact Massive Galaxies, ApJ, 813, 23 (2015)
- Whitaker, Katherine E., et al. including Nelson, Erica June, Galaxy Structure as a Driver of the Star Formation Sequence Slope and Scatter, ApJL, 811, 12 (2015)
- Wellons, Sarah, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, The formation of massive, compact galaxies at z = 2 in the Illustris simulation, MNRAS, 449, 361 (2015)
- Mendel, Trevor, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, First Results from the VIRIAL Survey: The Stellar Content of UVJ-selected Quiescent Galaxies at 1.5 < z < 2 from KMOS, ApJL, 804, 4 (2015)
- Wisnioski, Emily, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, The KMOS3D Survey: Design, First Results, and the Evolution of Galaxy Kinematics from 0.7 ≤ z ≤ 2.7, ApJ, 799, 209 (2015)
- Fumagalli, Mattia, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, How Dead are Dead Galaxies? Mid-infrared Fluxes of Quiescent Galaxies at Redshift 0.3 < z < 2.5: Implications for Star Formation Rates and Dust Heating, ApJ, 796, 35 (2014)
- Genzel, Reinhard, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, Evidence for Wide-Spread AGN Driven Outflows in the Most Massive z 1-2 Star Forming Galaxies, ApJ, 796, 7 (2014)
- Whitaker, Katherine E., et al., including Nelson, Erica June,Constraining the Low-Mass Slope of the Star Formation Sequence at 0.5 < z < 2.5, ApJ, 795, 104 (2014)
- van Dokkum, Pieter G., Bezanson, Rachel, van der Wel, Arjen, Nelson, Erica June, et al., Dense Cores in Galaxies Out to z = 2.5 in SDSS, UltraVISTA, and the Five 3D-HST/CANDELS Fields, ApJ, 791, 45 (2014)
- Maseda, Michael V. et al. including Nelson, Erica June, The Nature of Extreme Emission Line Galaxies at z = 1-2: Kinematics and Metallicities from Near-infrared Spectroscopy, ApJ, 791, 17 (2014)
- Wuyts, Eva, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, A Consistent Study of Metallicity Evolution at 0.8 < z < 2.6, ApJL, 789, 40 (2014)
- Tal, Tomer, et al., including Nelson, Erica June, Observations of Environmental Quenching in Groups in the 11 GYR since z = 2.5: Different Quenching for Central and Satellite Galaxies, ApJ, 789,164 (2014)
- Price, Sedona H., et al. including Nelson, Erica June, Direct Measurement of Dust Attenuation in z ∼ 1.5 Star-Forming Galaxies from 3D-HST: Implications for Dust Geometry and Star Formation Rates, ApJ, 788, 86 (2014)
- van der Wel, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, 3D-HST+CANDELS: The Evolution of the Galaxy Size-Mass Distribution since z = 3, ApJ, 788, 28 (2014)
- Lang, Philipp, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, Bulge Growth and Quenching since z = 2.5 in CANDELS/3D-HST, ApJ, 788, 11 (2014)
- Skelton, Rosalind E., et al. including Nelson, Erica June, 3D-HST WFC3-selected Photometric Catalogs in the Five CANDELS/3D-HST Fields: Photometry, Photometric Redshifts and Stellar Masses, ApJS, 2014, 24 (2014)
- Wuyts, Stijn, Föster Schreiber, Natascha, Nelson, Erica June, et al., A CANDELS - 3D-HST Synergy: Resolved Star Formation Patterns at 0.7 < z < 1.5, ApJ, 779, 135 (2013)
- Leja, Joel, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, Exploring the Chemical Link between Local Ellipticals and Their High-redshift Progenitors, ApJL, 778, 24 (2013)
- Patel, Shannon G., et al. including Nelson, Erica June, The Structural Evolution of Milky Way-like Star Forming Galaxies since z ∼ 1.3, ApJ, 778, 115 (2013)
- Maseda, Michael V. et al. including Nelson, Erica June, Confirmation of Small Dynamical and Stellar Masses for Extreme Emission Line Galxies at z ∼ 2, ApJL, 778, 22 (2013)
- van Dokkum, Pieter G., Leja, Joel, Nelson, Erica June, et al.The Assembly of Milky Way-like Galaxies since z ∼ 2.5, ApJL, 771, 35 (2013)
- Schmidt, Kasper B., including Nelson, Erica June, The Spatial Extent and Distribution of Star Formation in 3D-HST Mergers at z ∼ 1.5, MNRAS, 432, 285 (2013)
- Lundgren, Britt F. et al., including Nelson, Erica June, Large-Scale Star Formation-Driven Outflows at 1 < z < 2 in the 3D-HST Survey, ApJ, 760, 49 (2012)
- Brammer, Gabriel B., et al. including Nelson, Erica June, 3D-HST Grism Spectroscopy of a Gravitationally Lensed, Low-metallicity Starburst Galaxy at z = 1.847, ApJ, 758, 17 (2012)
- Fumagalli, Mattia, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, Hα Equivalent Widths from the 3D-HST Survey: Evolution with Redshift and Dependence on Stellar Mass, ApJ, 757, 22 (2012)
- Brammer, Gabriel B., et al., including Nelson, Erica June, 3D-HST: A Wide-field Grism Spectroscopic Survey with the Hubble Space Telescope, ApJS, 200, 13 (2012)
- van Dokkum, Pieter G., Brammer, Gabriel, Fumagalli, Mattia, Nelson, Erica June, First Results from the 3D-HST Survey: The Striking Diversity of Massive Galaxies at z > 1, ApJ, 743, 15 (2011)
- Whitaker, Katherine E., et al., including Nelson, Erica June,The NEWFIRM Medium-band Survey: Photometric Catalogs, Redshifts, and the Bimodal Color Distribution of Galaxies out to z ∼ 3, ApJ, 735, 86 (2011)
- Madore, Barry, Nelson, Erica; Petrillo, Kristen. Atlas and Catalog of Collisional Ring Galaxies ApJS, 181, 572 (2009)