EricaÌýNelson
D215 (Duane)
Erica Nelson studies the formation and evolution of galaxies and supermassive black holes from the beginning of cosmic time to the present. Her research focuses on developing innovative observational techniques to understand how galaxies assemble themselves structurally and how they regulate their star formation to provide constraints on models of galaxy formation. She is particularly interested in the earliest phases of galaxy formation—how the first galaxies form, what they look like, and how supermassive black holes grow in the young universe. She employs galaxy kinematics, spatially resolved observations, multi-wavelength imaging and spectroscopy, and cosmological simulations to investigate the physical processes that drive galaxy evolution across cosmic history. She is currently leading JWST spectroscopy programs to understand the nature of Little Red Dots and the formation of massive galaxies in the early universe.
Recent media appearances:Ìý
CBS Colorado:Ìý
Science Friday:Ìý
Forbes:Ìý
The Guardian:Ìý
BCC Science Focus Magazine:Ìý