Emily Rice

Emily Rice is an Associate Professor of Astrophysics at Macaulay Honors College, CUNY, and holds affiliations with the CUNY Graduate Center's Physics Ph.D. Program and the American Museum of Natural History. She earned her Ph.D. in Astronomy & Astrophysics from UCLA and B.A. degrees in Physics & Astronomy and German from the University of Pittsburgh. Her research focuses on low-mass stars, brown dwarfs, and exoplanet atmospheres, with a team-based approach through the BDNYC group. She co-authored over 40 publications and an introductory astronomy lab manual, emphasizing inquiry-based learning for non-science majors. Dr. Rice is also a prominent science communicator, organizing Astronomy on Tap events globally, contributing to the STARtorialist blog, and producing science parody videos. Her work bridges cutting-edge astrophysics with public engagement.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Astronomy & Astrophysics, UCLA
• Bachelor’s degrees in Physics & Astronomy and German, University of Pittsburgh

Research Interests:

Dr. Rice’s research combines observational data (e.g., spectra from Spitzer, GPI) with atmospheric modeling to study brown dwarfs and exoplanets. Her BDNYC team investigates stellar kinematics, age-activity relations, and substellar atmospheres, supported by NASA/NSF grants. Recent work includes analyzing rotation periods of M dwarfs and turbulent exoplanet atmospheres using Gaia and SDSS data.

Outreach & Teaching:

• Astronomy on Tap: Bar-based events blending science talks and entertainment
• STARtorialist: Astronomy fashion blog linking pop culture to science
• Co-author of Astronomy Labs: A Concept Oriented Approach, a modular lab manual for non-majors

Grants & Funding:

Funding from NASA and National Science Foundation supports her work on brown dwarf dynamics and exoplanet characterization through the BDNYC collaboration.

Labs & Teams:

Leads the Brown Dwarfs in New York City (BDNYC) group, co-led with Prof. Kelle Cruz and Dr. Jackie Faherty, focusing on low-mass stellar objects and exoplanetary atmospheres.