Galaxy Evolution

I’m interested in the role of feedback in regulating star formation across a range of scales, from resolved giant molecular clouds to mature galaxies. Currently, I’m focused on using high-redshift galaxies as a laboratory to test star formation and feedback models. High-redshift galaxies are relatively straightforward to model due to their comparatively simple star formation, feedback, environmental interaction, and chemical enrichment histories. In particular, I find the bursty star formation in low-mass, high-redshift galaxies informative for constraining baryonic feedback models.

Interstellar Medium

The chemical enrichment and dust obscuration of galaxies are governed by the complex interplay between (i) the accretion of pristine gas, (ii) the enrichment of the interstellar medium by supernovae, and (iii) the ejection of enriched gas through feedback-driven outflows. I’m interested in forward-modeling the observed scaling relations between stellar mass, star formation rate, gas-phase metallicity, and dust obscuration to constrain galaxy evolution and feedback models.

Stellar Populations

I develop spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting algorithms, motivated by the view that SED fitting techniques should be highly tailored to each use case. Different galaxies and scientific questions often require tailored SED fitting setups. Currently, I am primarily focused on the redshift- and galaxy-type evolution of the stellar initial mass function, and am optimising my SED fitter (genesis; public release forthcoming) for this specific purpose.