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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

  1. 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)
  2. Nelson, Erica June, et al., Spatially-Resolved Dust Maps from Balmer Decrements in Galaxies at z ∼ 1.4, ApJL, 817, 9 (2016)
  3. Nelson, Erica June, et al., A Massive Galaxy in its Core Formation Phase Three Billion Years After the Big Bang, Nature, 513, 394 (2014)
  4. 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)
  5. 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

ADS search

  1. 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)
  2. Nelson, Erica June, et al., Spatially-Resolved Dust Maps from Balmer Decrements in Galaxies at z ∼ 1.4, ApJL, 817, 9 (2016)
  3. Nelson, Erica June, et al., A Massive Galaxy in its Core Formation Phase Three Billion Years After the Big Bang, Nature, 513, 394 (2014)
  4. 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)
  5. 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)
  6. 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)
  7. 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)
  8. 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)
  9. 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)
  10. 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)
  11. Bezanson, Rachel, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, Leveraging 3D-HST Grism Redshifts to Quantify Photometric Redshift Performance, ApJ, 822, 30 (2016)
  12. 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)
  13. Wuyts, Stijn, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, KMOS3D: Dynamical Constraints on the Mass Budget in Early Star-Forming Disks arXiv: 1603.03432 (2016)
  14. 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)
  15. 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)
  16. van Dokkum, Pieter, Nelson, Erica June, et al., Forming Compact Massive Galaxies, ApJ, 813, 23 (2015)
  17. 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)
  18. 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)
  19. 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)
  20. 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)
  21. 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)
  22. 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)
  23. 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)
  24. 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)
  25. 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)
  26. Wuyts, Eva, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, A Consistent Study of Metallicity Evolution at 0.8 < z < 2.6, ApJL, 789, 40 (2014)
  27. 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)
  28. 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)
  29. 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)
  30. Lang, Philipp, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, Bulge Growth and Quenching since z = 2.5 in CANDELS/3D-HST, ApJ, 788, 11 (2014)
  31. 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)
  32. 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)
  33. Leja, Joel, et al. including Nelson, Erica June, Exploring the Chemical Link between Local Ellipticals and Their High-redshift Progenitors, ApJL, 778, 24 (2013)
  34. 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)
  35. 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)
  36. 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)
  37. 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)
  38. 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)
  39. 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)
  40. 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)
  41. 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)
  42. 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)
  43. 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)
  44. Madore, Barry, Nelson, Erica; Petrillo, Kristen. Atlas and Catalog of Collisional Ring Galaxies ApJS, 181, 572 (2009)