My research interests lie in understanding the characteristics and evolution of star-forming galaxies. The details of galaxy characteristics are best studied in nearby systems where spatial resolution is high, whereas studying how galaxies evolve with time necessarily requires obtaining data from a wide range of cosmic epochs (and thus cosmic distances). Hence, I study both relatively nearby and fairly distant galaxies. "Nearby" implies closer than about 30 Mpc, a distance that takes light 100 million years to traverse; "distant" in my research involves up to ten billion light years, or three-fourths the size of the Universe. My ground-based observing programs have taken me to Hawaii, California, Arizona, New Mexico, West Virginia, Puerto Rico, Chile, and of course, Jelm Mountain near Laramie, WY.
Infrared Studies of Galaxies
Data from recent space-based platforms have provided the framework for my current primary area of research, the infrared properties of galaxies. I've used the Infrared Space Observatory to analyze mid- and far-infrared maps of normal star-forming galaxies, and to develop a phenomenological model for their infrared spectral energy distributions. I continue this line of research using the Spitzer Space Telescope, NASA's fourth and final "Great Observatory," which launched in August 2003. I am working on three Spitzer Legacy projects: imaging and spectroscopy of 75 nearby galaxies (SINGS - The Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey), imaging of 258 galaxies within 11 Mpc (The Local Volume Legacy Survey), and spectroscopy of ~330 distant galaxies (The 5 mJy Extragalactic Spectroscopic Survey). I'm also involved in a Herschel Space Observatory Key Project: KINGFISH - Key Insights on Nearby Galaxies: A Far-Infrared Survey with Herschel.
This research is supported by grants from JPL/NASA. See beautiful images from SINGS press releases.
WySH: The Wyoming Survey for Hα (Hydrogen)
My research team is working on a multi-year program to track the evolution of the volume density of the cosmic star formation rate. We are using the Wyoming Infrared Observatory's 2.3 m telescope and two Kitt Peak telescopes (Steward Observatory's 2.3 m and NOAO's 4 m) to deeply image Hα line emission from star-forming galaxies over four square degrees of sky at six different epochs in time. The ultimate science goal is to quantify how star formation changes on a cosmic scale over the latter three-fourths of the age of the Universe. Two of the main educational goals each summer for this project are: i) to involve high school science teachers in the research so that they can convey to their students back home the excitement of astrophysics, and ii) to bring middle and high school students from across Wyoming to UW for an eye-opening AstroCamp experience.
This research is supported by a CAREER award from NSF. See the full press release.
Resume/Curriculum Vita: pdf
Publications: pdf html (refereed only) Wordle-ing my paper titles
Research: Spitzer SINGS Spitzer 5MUSES Spitzer LVL NSF WySH Herschel KINGFISH Infrared SED models rotation curves
Students: Cook Staudaher Moore Miller Pandey Aller Thatcher Schlawin Hanson Carpenter Dupczak Haugsjaa
Postbacs: Cook Staudaher Cohen Johnson Schuster Barlow Kattner Lamanna
Group photos: Members 2011
This BVR image of M100 was taken with the WIRO prime focus camera
(05/04/2002 Richard Cool & Daniel Dale)