Rebecca McElroy

Affiliate

University of Queensland

Biography

I am a research fellow at the University of Queensland in the School of Maths and Physics. I work on supermassive black holes and the galaxies that they live in. As lead of The Close AGN Reference Survey (CARS) team, we use large datasets from world class telescopes to better understand how supermassive black holes and their host galaxies co-evolve. I also work with the galaxy pair merger FIRE simulations to study how galaxy kinematics change as galaxies collide. Previously, I was a postdoc at at the Sydney Institute for Astronomy in the School of Physics of the University of Sydney and The Max Plank Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany - where I worked with Dr. Eva Schinnerer's group on observing and reducing the MUSE-PHANGS large programme data and low luminosity active galaxies. I completed my PhD at The University of Sydney where I was supervised by Professor Scott Croom and worked with The SAMI Galaxy Survey and The Close AGN Reference Survey teams. Part of my thesis was focused on a serendipitously discovered two-time changing look active galaxy, 'The Close AGN Reference Survey: Mrk 1018 returns to the shadows after 30 years as a Seyfert 1'. I am passionate about astronomy and love to participate in teaching and outreach. I have 6 years teaching experience in first year Astronomy and Physics at The University of Sydney and The University of Queensland. Over this time I have been involved in course coordination, course material creation, lecturing and tutoring, and exam creation and marking. Outside of academia I love to hang out with my cats, paint, and explore new places and cuisines!