Discovering the Milky Way’s Story: How Galaxies Live, Grow, and Die
My research group explores how our own Milky Way formed and evolved by comparing it to its extragalactic cousins. I lead the GECKOS survey, a major observing program using the Very Large Telescope and the MUSE instrument, a powerful 3D spectroscopic (hyper-spectral) imager that gives us detailed, layer-by-layer views of nearby galaxies. GECKOS provides a high-resolution “cross-section” of 36 Milky Way-mass systems, allowing us to trace their stars, gas, chemistry, and ancient merger histories.
Using these rich 3D data cubes, we can uncover faint signatures left behind by small galaxies that merged with them long ago. To interpret these data, we develop and use nGIST, a state-of-the-art tool for mapping the chemical composition and physical properties of galaxies.
I offer several types of student projects within this broader research theme. These include:
3D spectroscopy projects, working directly with MUSE data and extracting kinematic and chemical properties;
Imaging projects, focusing on morphology, structure, and stellar populations;
Modelling and simulation projects, creating mock observations from galaxy formation models for comparison with GECKOS data.
All projects are data-intensive and hands-on, and you’ll develop practical skills in Python programming, data analysis, and scientific interpretation. An introductory level of coding experience is helpful but not essential; curiosity and enthusiasm matter most.