Research areas
Overview
Our research explores the structure and composition of galaxies beyond our own. From the creation of the first galaxies to the evolution of young galaxies, observations about the Big Bang to galaxy surveys through cosmic time, our methods use technologies such as infrared spectroscopy and satellite obervation platforms to develop theories of galactic evolution.
Faculty research
Steve Furlanetto (theoretical cosmology) studies the first galaxies in the Universe and their effects on the Universe around them.
James Larkin (infrared radiation) uses infrared spectroscopy and diffraction limited imaging to study nearby galaxies.
Matthew Malkan (infrared radiation) investigates active galactic nuclei and quasars, evolution of young galaxies.
Smadar Naoz is studying structure formation in the very early Universe. This involves both analytical and numerical simulations calculations of the first gas rich and poor objects.
William Newman is a professor in the Departments of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, Physics and Astronomy, and Mathematics. His astrophysical research focuses on the the dynamics and statistics of galaxy clusters, magnetic fields in the intercluster medium, and accretion processes in AGNs. His broader research relates to nonlinear dynamical problems, such as those encountered in solar system dynamics.
Michael Rich of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer team focuses on GALEX addresses the study of star formation in the universe.
Shoko Sakai (research astronomy) investigates star formation rate and 3D structure of the local universe.
Alice Shapley (infrared astronomy) explores optical/infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of high-redshift galaxies.
Tommaso Treu studies galaxy formation and reionization at extremely high redshift. He also uses observations of gravitational lensing to probe the nature of dark matter, the cosmological parameters of the universe, and the evolution of galaxies. His research is based on observations from both Keck and the Hubble Space Telescope, and, once it launches, the James Webb Space Telescope.
Jean Turner (Radio and Infrared Astronomy) studies star formation in starbursts, especially super star cluster formation.