Austin Hinkel, Ph.D.

Hi there – my name is Austin Hinkel and this is my personal website.

I am an Assistant Professor at Thomas More University studying Galactic Archaeology and Galactic Structure. I love teaching introductory physics and astronomy courses, and I am also a huge fan of using data science for social good. If you’re interested in collaborating on a project that helps to meet a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, let me know!

This website acts as an abbreviated CV, but I also plan to write about some of my work in astronomy, astrophysics, and data science. More details on this soon(ish)!

If you are one of my former students at Colorado College looking for a letter of recommendation, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at my new institutional email address: (my lastname)(my first name initial)(at)(thomasmore.edu). Faculty in the Colorado College physics department will also be able to share my new email address.

Curriculum Vitae:

Here is my full CV as of December 2023.

Other Places to Find Me:

Selected Publications:

“Two-point correlation function studies for the Milky Way: discovery of spatial clustering from disk excitations and substructure”, Austin Hinkel, Gardner, S., Yanny, B., (2023). The Astrophysical Journal.
“Axial Asymmetry Studies in Gaia Data Release 2 Yield the Pattern Speed of the Galactic Bar”, Austin Hinkel, Gardner, S., Yanny, B., (2020). The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
“Probing Axial Symmetry Breaking in the Galaxy with Gaia Data Release 2”, Austin Hinkel, Gardner, S., Yanny, B., (2020). The Astrophysical Journal.
“Applying Noether’s Theorem to Matter in the Milky Way: Evidence for External Perturbations and Non-steady-state Effects from Gaia Data Release 2”, Gardner, S., Austin Hinkel, Yanny, B., (2020). The Astrophysical Journal.

Education:

Ph.D., Physics (2021) University of Kentucky
M.S., Physics (2018) University of Kentucky
B.S., Physics w/ Honors, Minor in Mathematics, summa cum laude (2016) University of Kentucky
Danish Institute for Study Abroad (2015)

Appointments:

Assistant Professor, Thomas More University, 2023 - present
Director, Thomas More Observatory, 2024 - present
Visiting Assistant Professor, Colorado College, 2021 - 2023
Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant, University of Kentucky, 2016 - 2021

Selected Honors, Grants, and Awards:

Colorado College Dean of the Faculty Teaching Award ‘22-‘23 AY
Kentucky Space Grant / NASA EPSCoR grant ‘24-‘25 AY
Kentucky Space Grant / NASA EPSCoR grant ‘23-‘24 AY
American Physical Society 5-sigma Physicist
Colorado College Faculty-Student Collaborative Research Grant, ‘22
Universities Research Association Visiting Scholars Program grants (x3), ‘18-‘21
Kentucky Governor’s Scholar, ‘11

Some Recent Projects:

This section is a work in progress.

Data Visualizations for Inflation Reduction Act Funding and Schools.
A Two-point Correlation Function Study of the Milky Way. Details TBA.
Data-driven fall risk project. Details TBA.
Parkinson’s Disease Freezing of Gait Kaggle Competition. Details TBA.
New Galactic Archaeology and data mining tools. Details TBA.
Energy Efficiency project. Details TBA.

Click here for older projects. (Nothing here yet – stay tuned!)