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Keely Finkelstein

  • Associate Professor of Instruction
  • Faculty Director for Instructor Development in STEMx
  • Astronomy
  • McDonald Observatory
Profile image of Keely Finkelstein
keelyf@astro.as.utexas.edu
5125716121
PMA
16.206
Faculty website

Biography

Dr. Keely Finkelstein recieved her B.S. in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Washington in 2002. Dr. Finkelstein has her PhD in Physics from Arizona State University (2008), with a research emphasis in astrophysics. Dr. Finkelstein is an Associate Professor of Instruction in the Department of Astronomy and the Faculty Director for Instructor Development in the Office of STEM Education Excellence (STEMx). Through STEMx, Dr. Finkelstein works with departments, faculty, and students on teaching professional development and support, curriculum improvements and other undergraduate education efforts within the college. Dr. Finkelstein also works with the McDonald Observatory education and outreach team on K-12 teacher and student education programs. 

Research

Dr. Finkelstein is an Associate Professor of Instruction in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin and member of the Office of STEM Education Excellence team. She studies star formation in the Milky Way, looking at regions of ongoing recent star formation. She also studies star formation in distant galaxies, looking at the global star formation properties by measuring the rate at which stars are forming. Dr. Finkelstein has worked on lensed galaxies, and Lyman alpha emitting galaxies. Dr. Finkelstein's disseration work focused on observational studies of galactic star formation, in regions of massive star formation.  Her current research is in the areas of extra-galactic studies of star formation, and galaxy evolution.  Her other specialities are in the fields of education and outreach in astronomy.

Research Areas

  • STEM Education

Fields of Interest

  • Extragalactic

Centers and Institutes

  • McDonald Observatory

Education

  • B.S., University of Washington, Physics & Astronomy (2002)
  • Ph.D., Arizona State University, Astrophysics (2008)

Publications

  • Selected Publications:

    [20] Mehta, V., Rafelski, M., Sunquist, B. et al. (including Finkelstein, K.) 2024. UVCANDELS: Catalogs of Photometric Redshifts and Galaxy Physical Properties, ApJS, 275, 17.

    [19] House, L.; Gebhardt, K.; Finkelstein, K.; Cooper, E. M.; Davis, D.; Farrow, D., Schneider, D. 2024. Participatory Science and Machine Learning Applied to Millions of Sources in the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment, ApJ, 975 172.

    [18] Sun, L., Wang, X., Teplitz, H., et al. (including Finkelstein, K.) 2024. The Ultraviolet Luminosity Function at 0.6 < z < 1 from UVCANDELS, 2024, ApJ, 972, 8.

    [17] Bagley, M., Finkelstein, S., Rojas-Ruiz, S., Diekmann, J., Finkelstein, K., Song, M., Papovich, C., Sommerville, R., Baronchelli, I., Dai, Y. 2024. Bright z~9 Galaxies in Parallel: The Bright End of the Rest-Fram UV Luminosity Function from HST Parallel Programs, ApJ, 961, 209.

    [16] House, L.; Gebhardt, K.; Finkelstein, K.; Cooper, E. M.; Davis, D.; Ciardullo, R.; Farrow, D.; Finkelstein, S.; Gronwall, C.; Jeong, D.; Johnson, C.; Liu, C.; Thomas, B.; Zeiman, G. 2023. Using Dark Energy Explorers and Machine Learning to Enhance the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment, ApJ, 950, 82.

    [15] Finkelstein, Steven; Bagley, Micaela B.; Arrabal Haro, Pablo, et al. (including Finkelstein, K.) 2022. A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away: A Candidate z ∼ 12 Galaxy in Early JWST CEERS Imaging, ApJ, 940, 55.

    [14] Finkelstein, Keely, Martinez, Raquel, Vanderbosch, Zachary. “Designing and Implementing a PDP Inquiry Activity for anIntroductory Astronomy Research Methods Course". 2022, in S. Seagroves, A. Barnes, A.J. Metevier, J. Porter, & L. Hunter (Eds.), Leaders in effective and inclusive STEM: Twenty years of the Institute for Scientist & Engineer Educators. UC Santa Cruz: Institute for Scientist & Engineer Educators. p. 221-232.

    [13] Rojas-Ruiz, S., Finkelstein, S. L., Bagley, M., B., Stevans, M., Finkelstein, K, D., Mechtley, M. and Diekmann, J. 2020. Probing the Bright End of the Rest-Frame Ultraviolet Luminosity Function at z = 8–10 with Hubble Pure-Parallel Imaging, ApJ, 891, 146.

    [12] Larson, R. L., Finkelstein, S. L., Pirzkal, N., Ryan, R., Tilvi, V., Malhotra, S., Rhoads, J.E., Finkelstein, K., Jung, I., Chistensen, L., et al. 2018, Discovery of a z = 7.452 High Equivalent Width Lyα Emitter from the Hubble Space Telescope Faint Infrared Grism Survey, ApJ, 858, 94.

    [11] Malhotra, S., Rhoads, J.E., Finkelstein, K. Yang, H., Carilli, C., et al. 2017, Herschel Extreme Lensing Line Observations: [CII] Variations in Galaxies at Redshifts z=1-3, ApJ, 835, 110.

    [10] Finkelstein, K.D., Finkelstein, S.L., Tilvi, V., Malhotra, S., Rhoads, J.E., Grogin, N.A., Pirzkal, N., Dey., A., Jannuzi, B.T., Mobasher, B., Pakzad, S., Salmon, B., & Wang, S. 2015, Probing the Physical Properties of z=4.5 Lyman Alpha Emitters with Spitzer, ApJ, 813, 78.

    [9] Finkelstein, K.D., Hemenway, M.K., Preston, S., Wetzel, M., Meyer, J., & Rood, M. 2014, The Results of an Era of Teacher Professional Development at McDonald Observatory, ASP Conf. Series 483 “Ensuring Stem Literacy: A National Conference on STEM Education and Public Outreach”, 369 

    [8] Rhoads, J.E., Malhotra, S., Allam, S., Carilli, C., Combes, F., Finkelstein, K., Finkelstein, S., et al. 2014, Herschel Extreme Lensing Line Observations: Dynamics of Two Strongly Lensed Star-forming Galaxies near z=2, ApJ, 787, 8.

    [7] Finkelstein, S.L., Papovich, C., Dickinson, M., Song, M., Tilvi, V., Koekemoer, A.M., Finkelstein, K.D., Mobasher, B., Ferguson, H.C., Giavalisco, M., et al. 2013, A galaxy rapidly forming stars 700 million years after the Big Bang at redshift 7.51, Nature, 502, 524.

    [6] Zheng, Z.Y., Finkelstein, S.L., Finkelstein, K.D., Tilvi, V., Rhoads, J. E., Malhotra, S., Wang, J. X., Miller, N., Hibon, P., Xia, L. 2013, Lya Luminosity functions at redshift z~4.5, MNRAS, 431, 3589.

    [5] Hemenway, M.K., Finkelstein, K.D., Redfield, S., 2013, Exploring the Nominal Group Technique in the Evaluation of Teacher Professional Development Workshops’, ASP Conf. Series 473 “Communicating Science: A National Conference on Science Education and Public Outreach”, 315.

    [4] Finkelstein, K.D., Papovich, C., Finkelstein, S.L., Rudnick, G., Rigby, J.R., Willmer, C.N.A., Smith, J.-D.T., Egami, E., & Rieke, M., 2011, Probing the SFR and IMF of the z~2.5 Lensed Galaxy SMM J163554.2 with Herschel. ApJ, 742, 108.

    [3] Tran, K.-V.H., Papovich, C., Saintonge, A., Brodwin, M., Dunlop, J.S., Farrah, D., Finkelstein, K.D., Finkelstein, S.L., Lotz, J., McLure, R.J., Momcheva, I., Wilmer, C.N.A., 2010, Reversal of Fortune: Confirmation of an Increasing Star Formation-Density Relation in a Cluster at z=1.62, ApJ, 719, L126.

    [2] Papovich, C. Momcheva, I., Wilmer, C.N.A., Finkelstein, K.D., Finkelstein, S.L., Tran, K.-V.H., Brodwin, M., Dunlop, J.S., Farrah, D., Kahn, S.A., Lotz, J., McCarthy, P., McLure, R.J., Rieke, M., Rudnick, G., Sivanandam, S., Pacaud, F., \& Pierre, M., 2010, A Spitzer-selected Galaxy Cluster at z=1.62, ApJ, 716, 1503.

    [1] Snider, K.D., Hester, J.J., Desch, S., Healy, K., Bally, J., 2009, Spitzer Observations of the HII Region NGC 2467: An Analysis of Triggered Star Formation, ApJ, 700, 506.

Awards

  • President's Associates Teaching Excellence Award (2018-2019)
  • "Clock Award" - Services with Students with Disabilities (2018)
  • McDonald Observatory Board of Visitors Teaching Award (2017)
  • Dads' Association Centennial Teaching Fellowship (2021-2022)