Postdoctoral Associate Erin Cox has won the Robert L. Brown Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award, administered by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). Selection for this honor is based on observational work of an exceptionally high scientific standard, obtained at any AUI-operated facility. In addition to receiving prize money, Erin has been invited to give a colloquium at NRAO headquarters in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Erin is an observational astronomer who studies star and planet formation. Her work focuses on how magnetic fields influence the earliest stages of protostellar collapse, and how this affects disk formation. Erin’s Ph.D. thesis is based on high-resolution observations of polarized dust emission using both the Very Large Array (VLA) and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The use of multiple frequencies allows discrimination among competing polarization mechanisms in these very dense regions. At CIERA, Erin is continuing her work on high-resolution interferometric polarimetry while also working with Professor Giles Novak on the development of balloon-borne instrumentation for probing magnetic fields on larger scales, in filamentary star forming clouds.
Giles is thrilled with the news, commenting, “It’s great to see national recognition for Erin’s novel work via the Brown Dissertation Award. This will provide an important boost for her plans to link high-resolution magnetic field maps to the larger-scale maps from our balloon-borne observations.”
Erin’s colloquium and the award ceremony will take place on March 21st in Charlottesville.
Learn more about the Robert L. Brown Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award.
View the award announcement from the American Astronomical Society.