Position
Associate Chair, Department of Astrophysical Sciences; Lyman Spitzer, Jr., Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics

Role
Professor of Astrophysical Sciences

Title
pronouns: she/her/hers

Office Phone
609-258-7240

Fax
609-258-8226

Email
eco@astro.princeton.edu

Office
136 Peyton

Website
http://www.astro.princeton.edu/~eco/


Bio/Description
My research is in the area of theoretical and computational astrophysics, with my main scientific interests in the process of star formation; the dynamics, thermodynamics, and chemistry of the interstellar medium and circumgalactic medium; the structure and evolution of spiral galaxies; and the physics of accretion and outflows. I am also active in the development of numerical methods and tools for computational fluid dynamics. My work focuses on understanding the physics behind a wide range of astronomical systems involving gas dynamics, from the formation and collapse of clouds to create our own and other solar systems; to the cycle of energy and matter exchanges between the gaseous and stellar components in the Milky Way and other spiral galaxies; to the regulation of star formation in the cosmos over the last ten billion years. An important emphasis has been on understanding and quantifying the roles of supersonic turbulence that pervades the Universe.
I received degrees in Physics from Harvard (A.B., 1987) and Berkeley?(Ph.D., 1993), and held a postdoctoral fellowship at the?Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Before joining the?department in Princeton, I was on the faculty of the University of?Maryland from 1996-2012.