Profile Details
My research centres on understanding the interstellar medium, or "ISM", of galaxies (the material floating in the space between stars) — what its properties are, and what it can tell us about how galaxies have changed over the history of the Universe. I am a European Space Agency / AURA Astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute, investigating how the properties of the InterStellar Medium (ISM), change within and between nearby galaxies, and how this traces galaxy evolution. I especially focus on cosmic dust, and the unique window it provides onto how galaxies have developed from clouds of basic primordial gas into evolved systems — enriched by dying stars with the heavy elements that go on to form new stars and planets (and occasionally astronomers).
I am part of the ISM*@ST research group here at STScI. I was previously a postdoctoral fellow at STScI, and before that a postdoctoral research associate at Cardiff University, where I did my PhD. I am currently principal investigator of a JWST program observing the nearby galaxy M101 with MIRI and NIRCam, to benchmark how emission from carbonaceous nanoparticles (often called Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, or PAHs) varies across an order of magnitude in metallicity. I am principal investigator of two HST programs that are using star-by-star mapping of dust extinction to understand how dust behaves in galaxies with unusual and poorly-studied characteristics; I am also part of the Scylla large program on HST. I am heavily involved with several large observing programs at the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, including NESS (the Nearby Evolved Stars Survey), HASHTAG (HARP and SCUBA-2 High Resolution Terahertz Andromeda Galaxy Survey), DOWSING (Dust Observations With Scuba-2 In Nearby Galaxies), and JINGLE (JCMT dust and gas In Nearby Galaxies Legacy Exploration). I'm also a member of the EU-supported DustPedia project.
Education:
PhD in Astronomy, Cardiff University
MPhys in Astrophysics, Cardiff University
Research Topics: Galaxy Formation and Evolution, Interstellar Medium, Dust, Supernovae and Remnants, Resolved Stellar Populations, Astrochemistry, Chemical Abundances
Professional Websites:
ORCID ID: 0000-0001-7959-4902
Pre-footer
To contact one of our research staff members
please call 410-338-4700 or view the index for their email alias