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Emily C. Wilson

Bio

I'm Emily! I'm in my final year of my PhD studies at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. I study astrophysics. My two main research projects are on common envelope evolution and accessibility in STEM, though I dabble in observational studies of nearby young moving groups.

 

Read more about my active research

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Education

2017 – present      

Ph.D. Candidate, Astrophysical Sciences and Technology

Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY

 

2017 – 2019              

M.S. Astrophysical Sciences and Technology

Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY     

 

2013 – 2017              

B.A. Astrophysics

B.A. German

Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA

Cum Laude

 

Spring 2016             

Institute for International Education of Students, Vienna, Austria

IES Abroad Student, European Society and Culture

Instruction in German

Teaching Experience

Instructor for University Astronomy, RIT (Fall 2021)

Instructor of record for calculus-based introductory astronomy course for students wishing to minor in astrophysics at RIT

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Instructor for Summer Course, Pre-College Program                                     

University of Rochester, Rochester, NY             

(Summers 2018-2020) 

Designed and taught a two-week intensive course entitled “Life on Mars” intended to provide advanced high school students with a college-level classroom experience            

 

Teaching Assistant, RIT

Observational Astronomy (Spring 2018)                                                                                 

Solar System Astronomy (Fall 2017)

 

Physics and Astronomy Tutor                                                                   

Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA 

(Fall 2015 – Spring 2017)

Tutored several students individually and in groups on fundamental physics concepts

Promoted to head physics tutor, member of tutoring center administrative team

                                                               

Lancaster Science Factory, Lancaster, PA                                        

(Fall 2016 – Spring 2017)

Designed activities for various science topics appropriate for early childhood development; Led pre-kindergarteners through interactive science exercises

 

James Buchanan Elementary School, Lancaster, PA                              

(Fall 2016)

Created lesson plans and instructed fourth grade students in science topics each week

 

Billrothstrasse Bundesgymnasium (Bill-Roth High School)             

Vienna, Austria

(Spring 2016)

Developed and implemented lesson plans to enhance English language skills for native German speakers; instructed physics and English courses for multiple age groups

 

Laboratory Assistant, Franklin and Marshall College

(Fall 2015, Spring 2015)                 

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Leadership & Mentoring Roles

Co-Chair of Graduate Student Advisory Council                                  

(Fall 2019-Spring 2021)

 

Project Mentor for REU Student, RIT/NTID

Emily Flynn, University of Virginia Undergraduate (Summer 2019)

 

Vice President of Astronomy Club, RIT                                                

(Fall 2018 – Spring 2021)

                                                  

Physics and Astronomy Head Tutor                                                  

Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA       

(AY 2016 – 2017)                    

 

Publications

  • Wilson and Nordhaus, 2020. Convection and Spin-Up During Common Envelope Evolution: The Formation of Short-Period Double White Dwarfs Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 497, 1895

  • Kastner and Wilson, 2021. Detached Shell Carbon Stars: Tracing Thermal Pulses on the Asymptotic Giant Branch. AAS Journals (submitted)

  • Chamandy, Blackman, Nordhaus, and Wilson, 2020. Multiple common envelope events from successive planetary companions MNRAS Letters, 502, L110, doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slab017

  • Dickson-Vandervelde, Wilson, and Kastner, 2020. Identification of the Youngest Known Substellar Object Within ~100 pc. Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society, 4, 25

  • Wilson and Nordhaus, 2019. The Role of Convection in Determining the Ejection Efficiency of Common Envelope Interactions. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 485, 4492  doi:10.1093/mnras/stz601

  • Wilson and Nordhaus, 2020. Convection in Common Envelopes and the Formation of Double White Dwarfs. Proceedings of the IAU Symposium No. 357 “White Dwarfs as probes of fundamental physics and tracers of planetary, stellar, & galactic evolution” (accepted)

  • Dickson-Vandervelde, Wilson, and Kastner, 2020. Gaia-based Isochronal, Kinematic, and Spatial Analysis of the Epsilon Cha Association. The Astronomical Journal, 161, 87, doi:10.3847/1538-3881/abd0fd

  • Wilson and Franklin, 2020. Who Goes Where: Patterns in Academic-Field Switching of Successful College Graduates. (accepted, PERC proceedings)

Recent Presentations

  • Poster at American Astronomical Society’s 229th Meeting 

    • Reconsidering Eps Cha Membership and Properties with Gaia DR2

  • Contributed talk at IAU Symposium 357: White Dwarfs as Probes of Fundamental Physics and Tracers of Planetary, Stellar, and Galactic Evolution  

    • Convection in Common Envelopes and the Formation of Double White Dwarfs

  • Invited talk at RIT’s REU Graduate Study and Research Symposium  

    • Cannibal Stars: Energy Transfer in Binary Star Systems

  • Poster at STScI Spring Symposium: The Deaths and Afterlives of Stars

    • The Role of Convection in Determining the Ejection Efficiency of Common Envelope Interactions

  • Poster at American Astronomical Society’s 229th Meeting    

    • A Search for H2O Maser Emission from Wide-Angle Outflows in Nearby AGN

  • Poster at American Astronomical Society’s 225th Meeting 

    • ARCC, Arecibo Remote Command Center

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Outreach Activities

  • Imagine RIT 2020 Exhibit Coordinator and Exhibitor, RIT

    • Canceled amid COVID-19 outbreak​

  • Letters to a Pre-Scientist (AY 2019-2020)​

  • Boys & Girls Club of Rochester: Cosmic Lander Launch, Naples, NY (August 2019)

  • Imagine RIT Exhibit Coordinator and Exhibitor, RIT (April 2019)

  • Imagine RIT Astronomical Scales Exhibitor, RIT (April 2018)

  • Victor Intermediate School Super Science Saturday, Victor, NY (February 2018)

  • American Physical Society (APS) Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP) session leader, RIT (January 2018)                  

  • Genesee Community Charter School 3rd Grade Field Trip to the RIT Observatory (October 2017)

  • Halloween Treats and Tricks, Lancaster Science Factory, Lancaster PA (October 2016)

Awards, Grants, and Fellowships

RIT Outstanding Graduate Woman Achievement Award Winner

(March 2021)

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AST/NY Space Grant Senior Fellow                                           

(January 2021)

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RIT Graduate Showcase Oral Presentation Winner

(November 2019)

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IAU Symposium 357: Best Session Talk

(October 2019)

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RIT Women in Science Student Travel Award

(October 2019)

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RIT Graduate Showcase Oral Presentation Winner 

(November 2018)

​

Joseph R. Holzinger Astronomy Award, Franklin and Marshall College 

(April 2017)

 

John Kershner Scholar Designation, Franklin and Marshall College  

(April 2016)

 

Courtney Adams Music Award, Franklin and Marshall College

(2013-2017)

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