Rachel Lee McClure

Hi! Welcome to my website. I am extremely excited to be new tenure-track faculty in the Physics & Astronomy Department at Weber State University. Future research prospects that I am looking forward to include connecting local resolved IFU observations of galaxies to upcoming JWST and Roman observations in the earlier universe through strategic use of isolated galaxy simulation models. I am looking forward to taking on students for research starting in Winter 2025/Spring 2026 once I have my feet under me. 

Information is available to students on Canvas for each of my current courses. Please find office hours information and such there if you're in my class. If you need to make a one-on-one appointment, feel free to Get on my Calendar but please also follow up with me by email once you've set a time. I work to curate a classroom that provides an equitable experience for anyone interested in pursuing astronomy and physics.

I completed my PhD work at UW -- Madison Astronomy Department in the MadAstroDynamics Group as an National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. My thesis was an exploration of the formation and evolution of bars in disk galaxies throughout the universe in collaboration with advisor Prof. Elena D'Onghia. Barred spiral galaxies comprise about half of all galaxies in the local, low-redshift universe. Analytical studies have long investigated the conditions for disk stability as most uniformly rotating thin disks are unstable to bar formation. Galaxy surveys have only recently begun to reach the necessary quantity, spectroscopic richness, spatial resolution and distance needed for statistical samples required for detailed study of galaxies throughout our universe. In my work I aim to understand the formation and evolution of bars by bringing together simulation results with spatially resolved observational surveys of galaxies.