Speaker profile

Summary

I carry out research into the origin and evolution of galaxies using telescopes such as Hubble and Webb. .

Full biography

I carry out research into the origin and evolution of galaxies using telescopes all over the world and in space. After a PhD in Cambridge and post-doctoral research positions in Hawaii and at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, I am now a professor of astronomy at Cardiff University.

In my professional life, I have written over 300 peer-reviewed papers and was awarded the Herschel Medal by the Royal Astronomical Society for contributions to obervational astrophysics. My current research programme is based on observations with the James Webb Space Telescope and with the European Euclid mission.

I have a sideline as a writer. I have written for all the popular astronomy magazines, including Sky and Telescope, Astronomy Magazine and Astronomy Now. I have also written two books about astronomy for a general audience: Origins (Springer 2010) and the Ghost in the Telescope - the story of the Herschel Space Observatory (CRC, 2025). In my books I always try describe, not only the astronomical discoveries, but also the stories behind the discoveries. In my latest book, which was based on interviews with the engineers and astronomers in the Herschel team and on my own memories, I tried to tell the crazy human story, including April Fool's jokes and rigged elections, that lay behind the mission.

Affiliations