Sciences and Exploration Directorate

Erin Tavormina Boettcher

(POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH SCIENTIS)

Erin Tavormina Boettcher's Contact Card & Information.
Email: erin.t.boettcher@nasa.gov
Org Code: 662
Address:
NASA/GSFC
Mail Code 662
Greenbelt, MD 20771
Employer: UNIV OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK

Brief Bio


Dr. Erin Boettcher is a postdoctoral researcher studying galaxy evolution at low redshift. Her research focuses on observations of the baryon cycle, or the circulation of gas between the interstellar, circumgalactic, and intergalactic medium, with an emphasis on the role of stellar feedback in driving galactic fountains and winds.

Research Interests


Galaxy evolution and the baryon cycle

Astrophysics: Galaxies


Stellar feedback, galactic fountains, and galactic winds

Astrophysics: Galaxies


The role of magnetic fields and cosmic rays in the disk-halo connection

Astrophysics: Cosmic Rays

Positions/Employment


Postdoctoral Associate

University of Maryland, College Park and NASA GSFC, via CRESST-II - Greenbelt, MD

September 2021 - Present

I am a postdoctoral researcher in the X-ray Astrophysics Lab at GSFC collaborating with Dr. Edmund Hodges-Kluck on studies of circumgalactic gas and dust.


Postdoctoral Scholar

University of Chicago - Chicago, IL

September 2018 - August 2021

I was a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Hsiao-Wen Chen's research group and a member of the Cosmic Ultraviolet Baryon Survey, a large HST-COS program to study the co-evolution of galaxies and the circumgalactic medium at intermediate redshifts.


Graduate Research Assistant and NSF Graduate Research Fellow

University of Wisconsin - Madison - Madison, WI

August 2012 - August 2018

In collaboration with my PhD advisors, Profs. Ellen Zweibel and Jay Gallagher, my thesis research focused on the structure and dynamics of the gaseous, disk-halo interfaces of nearby galaxies.


Education


PhD in Astronomy - University of Wisconsin - Madison (2018)

MS in Astronomy - University of Wisconsin - Madison (2014)

BS in Astrophysics - Haverford College (2012)

Awards


National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2014)

Selected Publications


Refereed

2022. "Discovery of a Damped Lyα Absorber Originating in a Spectacular Interacting Dwarf Galaxy Pair at z = 0.026." The Astrophysical Journal Letters 926 (2): L33 [10.3847/2041-8213/ac5250] [Journal Article/Letter]

2021. "The Cosmic Ultraviolet Baryon Survey (CUBS). II. Discovery of an H2-bearing DLA in the Vicinity of an Early-type Galaxy at z = 0.576." The Astrophysical Journal 913 (1): 18 [10.3847/1538-4357/abf0a0] [Journal Article/Letter]

2020. "VV 655 and NGC 4418: Implications of an interaction for the evolution of a LIRG." Astronomy & Astrophysics 637 A17 [10.1051/0004-6361/201834880] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "A Dynamical Study of Extraplanar Diffuse Ionized Gas in NGC 5775." The Astrophysical Journal 885 (2): 160 [10.3847/1538-4357/ab4904] [Journal Article/Letter]

2017. "Detection of Extraplanar Diffuse Ionized Gas in M83." The Astrophysical Journal 845 (2): 155 [10.3847/1538-4357/aa81ca] [Journal Article/Letter]

2016. "Testing a Dynamical Equilibrium Model of the Extraplanar Diffuse Ionized Gas in NGC 891." The Astrophysical Journal 832 (2): 118 [10.3847/0004-637x/832/2/118] [Journal Article/Letter]