Rate My Professor Katherine Rabidoux

Rabidoux earned a Ph.D. in Physics and Astronomy from West Virginia University in 2015. Her dissertation, "Evolution of z ~ 0 Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies," advised by D. J. Pisano, investigated analogs to high-redshift galaxies. It featured a pilot Green Bank Telescope survey at 33 GHz detecting radio continuum in 22 of 27 galaxies, with spectral energy distribution modeling to quantify thermal free-free and synchrotron emission, adhering to the radio-far-infrared correlation and deriving star formation ages. Resolved HI observations of nine galaxies displayed varied morphologies, rotational support, stability to gravitational collapse, and low ordered-to-random motion ratios suggesting central structures. Analysis of 42 local luminous compact blue galaxies indicated diverse star formation timescales, with younger ages in non-clumpy systems and prolonged activity in clumpy ones, implying multiple evolutionary tracks. Rabidoux has presented at American Astronomical Society meetings and co-authored on topics like the Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relation for galaxies. As Associate Professor and Associate Director for Higher Education at the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium, she advises teams for NASA competitions, including Spaceport America Cup (2018-2021) and Argonia Cup Rocket ($3,000 award, 2025-26).