Rebecca McElroy

Dr. Rebecca McElroy is a Vice-Chancellor's Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Mathematics, Physics and Computing at the University of Southern Queensland. Her research focuses on active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback mechanisms, galaxy evolution, and star formation processes in nearby galaxies. She is a core contributor to major international surveys including the Close AGN Reference Survey (CARS) and the PHANGS (Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS) project, which utilize multi-wavelength observations to study galaxy dynamics and interstellar medium interactions.

McElroy holds a PhD from the University of Sydney (2018), preceded by a BSc (2013) and GDipSc (2014), also from Sydney. She has affiliations with the Centre for Astrophysics and the Institute for Advanced Engineering and Space Sciences. Her work emphasizes high-angular resolution studies of AGN-driven outflows, molecular cloud lifecycle analysis, and environmental dependencies in star-forming regions. Recent research highlights include discovering parsec-scale multi-phase outflows in super-Eddington AGN and tracking dramatic variability in changing-look AGN like Mrk 1018.

Her publications span 20+ peer-reviewed articles in journals like Astronomy & Astrophysics, Astrophysical Journal, and Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Key themes include AGN-jet interactions, star formation efficiency calibration, and resolving metallicity variations in galactic disks. McElroy's collaborative projects leverage advanced facilities like MUSE, ALMA, and Hubble Space Telescope data to advance understanding of galaxy evolution processes.