Research
My research centers around the role of gas in galaxy evolution over the last 12 billion years of cosmic history. (These days I've mostly stepped away from research to concentrate on science communication and outreach.)I have published 42 papers in refereed journals (including 2 in Nature).
I have >5500 citations, and my h-index = 37 (as of summer 2024).
A list of my publications can be found here.
High-z dusty galaxies
At high redshift, I study some of the most luminous and extreme galaxies in the Universe. Selected at far-IR/mm wavelengths, these distant dusty galaxies are forming stars thousands of times faster than typical galaxies in the local Universe (like the Milky Way). These extreme galaxies are a great laboratory for testing our knowledge of gas physics, star formation laws, and galaxy evolution, while providing an important challenge for our understanding of the growth of structure in the Universe
Selected first-author papers
- A survey of molecular gas in luminous sub-millimetre galaxies
- ALMA observations of atomic carbon in z ∼ 4 dusty star-forming galaxies
- SPT 0538-50: Physical conditions in the interstellar medium of a strongly-lensed dusty star-forming galaxy at z = 2.8
- High-resolution CO and radio imaging of ULIRGs: extended CO structures and implications for the universal star formation law
Local scaling relations
The nearby Universe also provides a useful view with which to understand galaxies. The early stages of galaxy evolution leave telltale footprints in the properties of local galaxies, which can be studied in huge numbers using the latest generation of surveys. In the local Universe I use large surveys for gas, metals, and stars to shed light on the physical processes governing the evolution of galaxies across all cosmic epochs.
Selected first-author papers
- A fundamental relation between the metallicity, gas content and stellar mass of local galaxies
- Molecular gas as the driver of fundamental galactic relations
- On the interstellar medium and star formation demographics of galaxies in the local Universe
- The star formation rate distribution function of the local Universe