CV

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Scott Wilkinson

PhD Candidate • University of Victoria • ADS Publications

Education

PhD Physics with Concentration in Astronomy — Expected May 2026
University of Victoria, Canada

MSc Physics with Concentration in Astronomy — May 2023
University of Victoria, Canada

BSc Combined Major in Physics and Astronomy (with distinction) — May 2021
University of Victoria, Canada

Leadership and Community Engagement

Graduate Student Representative — April 2025
UVic Physics and Astronomy Academic Program Review

Academic Representative — September 2022 – October 2024
UVic Physics and Astronomy Graduate Student Association

Committee Member — May 2024 – July 2024
UVic Associate Dean Academic Search Committee

Co-organizer — September 2023 – May 2024
UVic Galactic Astronomy Reading Group

Organizing Committee Member — April 2023 – September 2023
UVic Astronomy Summer Seminar Series

Seminar Coordinator — March 2023 – August 2023
Students in Physics and Astronomy Communication Enrichment

Student Affairs Officer — January 2022 – August 2022
UVic Physics and Astronomy Graduate Student Association

Committee Member — January 2022 – May 2022
UVic Physics and Astronomy Department Chair Selection Committee

Narrator of Electronically Assisted Astronomy Observation — April 2021 – August 2021
Friends of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory

Astronomy Interpreter — April 2019 – August 2021
UVic Observatory

Mentorship Experience

Summer Student Supervisor (Ben Harvey) — April 2025 – August 2025
NSERC USRA Summer Student

New Graduate Student Mentor (Isaac Gaudreau) — September 2023 – May 2024
Physics and Astronomy Graduate Student Association Mentorship Program

New Graduate Student Mentor (Aydan McKay) — September 2022 – May 2023
Physics and Astronomy Graduate Student Association Mentorship Program

Student Mentor — May 2019 and May 2021
Verna J. Kirkness Education Foundation

Academic Awards and Funding

Total funding awarded: $230,622 CAD

• CASCA Board Prize for Best Talk (runner-up) – $100 — June 2025
• President’s Research Scholarship – $5,000 — May 2024
• ESA Visitor Funding – $1,710 — September 2024
• Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement – $6,000 — September 2024
• President’s Research Scholarship – $5,000 — May 2024
• NSERC CGS-D – $113,333 — May 2023–2026
• President’s Research Scholarship – $5,000 — May 2023
• John and Myrtle Tilley Graduate Scholarship – $5,200 — December 2022
• David F. Strong Research Scholarship – $1,461 — December 2022
• NSERC CGS-M – $17,500 — May 2022–2023
• President’s Research Scholarship – $5,000 — May 2022
• Graduate Entrance Award – $5,000 — September 2022
• B. W. Pearse Science Scholarship – $282 — July 2021
• Robert S. Evans Memorial Scholarship in Astronomy – $736 — July 2021
• Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Award – $1,500 — September 2019
• UVic Faculty of Science Dean’s List — 2018–2021
• UVic Excellence Scholarship – $20,000 (Fully renewed for four years) — 2017–2020
• UBC Centennial Scholarship – $10,000 (Declined) — September 2017
• SFU Major Entrance Scholarship – $24,000 (Declined) — September 2017
• BC Achievement Scholarship – $1,250 — August 2017
• Delta Agriculture Award – $1,000 — June 2017
• Tom Fuchko Memorial Scholarship – $700 — June 2017
• Delta Grad Scholarship – $750 — June 2017

Accepted Observing Proposals (PI)

Total hours awarded: 40.2 h

• Mapping molecular gas in a statistical sample of post-starburst galaxies (2025.1.00118.S) – ALMA, 18.9h, Grade B
• Mapping molecular gas in a statistical sample of post-starburst galaxies (2024.1.00181.S) – ALMA, 21.3h, Grade C

Accepted Observing Proposals (Co-I)

Total hours awarded: 462.2 h

• Revealing the hidden signal of AGN feedback in PG Quasars: Molecular Gas Concentration and Clumpiness at 100-pc scale (2025.1.01304.S) – ALMA, 10.1h, Grade B
• The evolution of molecular gas fraction with time in post-merger galaxies (2025.1.01152.S) – ALMA, 30.8h, Grade C
• At the End of the Line: Testing the Dense Gas Bottleneck in Post-Starburst Galaxies (2025.1.00978.S) – ALMA, 31.0h, Grade C
• Testing the (non-)universality of the dense gas–SFR scaling relation (2025.1.00316.S) – ALMA, 40.1h, Grade B
• The molecular gas fraction evolution in post-merger galaxies (182-24) – IRAM, 58.2h, Grade B
• A complete and systematic survey of gas in post-starburst galaxies II (180-24) – IRAM, 48.9h, Grade A
• A complete and systematic survey of gas in post-starburst galaxies II (081-24) – IRAM, 59.8h, Grade B
• A complete and systematic survey of gas in post-starburst galaxies (077-24) – IRAM, 73.8h, Grade A
• The molecular gas fraction evolution in post-merger galaxies (076-24) – IRAM, 70.9h, Grade C
• The evolution of the atomic gas fraction in post-merger galaxies (SQB-2024-0001) – FAST, 10.0h, Grade A
• A systematic survey of atomic gas in post-starburst galaxies (SQB-2023-0065) – FAST, 14.8h, Grade A
• Resolved gas properties of merger-triggered AGN (2022.1.00607.S) – ALMA, 13.8h, Grade C

Conference Presentations

• Leveraging CANFAR and the ALMA archive to create SALVAGE — CASCA General Assembly, June 2025, Halifax, Canada ✭
• A semi-resolved perspective on global scaling relations — KILOGAS Collaboration Meeting, May 2025, Cardiff, UK
• Quantifying the contribution of mergers to rapid quenching in the local Universe — JWST & Euclid Workshop, September 2024, Madrid, Spain
• The role of mergers in rapid quenching: a comprehensive analysis of post-starburst galaxies — GASPISA, May 2024, Pisa, Italy
• Quantifying the Completeness of Detected Galaxy Mergers in Large Photometric Surveys — Surveys 2 Discoveries, May 2023, Montreal, Canada
• Do Galaxy Mergers Quench Star Formation? — The Epoch of Galaxy Quenching, September 2022, Cambridge, UK (joint with Sara Ellison)
• The Merger Fraction of Post-Starburst Galaxies — CASCA General Assembly, May 2022, Virtual
• Looking Deeper into Post-Starburst Galaxies with CFIS — UNIONS Collaboration Assembly, August 2021, Virtual

✭ Runner-up best talk, as voted by the CASCA board members

Seminar Presentations

• Inferring the mechanisms that halt star formation in galaxies with ALMA — ARC Horizons, March 2025, Victoria, Canada
• Does it take two to tango? The combined role of mergers and AGN in halting star formation — OAN Faculty Seminar, December 2024, Madrid, Spain
• Going out with a bang: the life and death of galaxies through the merger sequence — ESAC Science Seminar, November 2024, Madrid, Spain
• The role of mergers in rapid quenching — Astronomy Research Rendezvous, August 2024, Victoria, Canada
• The role of mergers in rapid quenching — University of Edinburgh, June 2024, Edinburgh, Scotland
• Are post-starburst galaxies caused by mergers? — UVic Astronomy Summer Seminar Series, August 2022, Victoria, Canada
• The Early Bird Gets the Alpha-Elements — NRC Student Seminar, August 2020, Virtual

Poster Presentations

• The Merger Fraction of Post-Starburst Galaxies — CASCA General Assembly, May 2022, Virtual
• Merger Fraction of Post-Starburst Galaxies — Jamie Cassels URA Poster Session, March 2020, UVic

Outreach Presentations

• From Big to Biggest: The Brief Introduction to All Things Astronomy — Delta Secondary School, January 2023
• From Big to Biggest: The Fields of Active Research in Astronomy — Delta Secondary School, June 2022
• The Swiss Army Science — UVic Observatory, August 2020
• Galaxy Morphology and Evolution — UVic Observatory, June 2020

Press Coverage and Media Exposure

• Playing hide-and-seek with colliding dying galaxies — Astrobites, July 2022
• When two galaxies collide they often stop making stars — NewScientist, September 2022

Work and Teaching Experience

• Substitute Instructor: ASTR 150, University of Victoria — March 2025
• Teaching Assistant: Astronomy Lab Instructor — Sept–Dec 2023
• Teaching Assistant: Physics Aid Service — Sept 2022 – Apr 2023
• Teaching Assistant: Physics Lab Instructor — Sept–Dec 2022
• Junior Research Assistant: National Research Council of Canada — May–Aug 2020

Key Skills

• Reducing interferometric data at scale (e.g. Wilkinson et al. 2025)
• Generating synthetic images from cosmological simulations (e.g. Wilkinson et al. 2024)
• Experience with optical spectra and derived data products
• Handling very large datasets (200+ TB ALMA, 20+ TB optical)
• SQL database management (SDSS, CFIS, SALVAGE, KILOGAS)
• High performance computing interfacing (25.1 CPU-years on Cedar in 2023)
• Computing/interpreting non-parametric morphology statistics (e.g. Wilkinson et al. 2022)
• Writing competitive observing proposals
• Effective science communication (talks, outreach, mentoring)

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Statement

Barriers to education and professional success for marginalized groups are not only immoral, but counterproductive to the progression of scientific discovery. I believe small actions make a big difference in creating a safe, inclusive environment, while structural change must occur at the administrative level. I actively support such initiatives and commit to lifelong learning and unlearning to ensure my role in this system is a positive one.

Selected EDI Actions:

• Social and Professional Competency workshop attendee — April 2025
• ESAC LGBTQ+ workshop attendee — November 2024
• UVic PAGSA Student Affairs Officer — January 2022 – August 2022
• Completed Increasing Equity in Decision Processes course — January 2022
• Mentor for Indigenous high school students — May 2019 and 2021