Staff at DAWN

Center Directors

Sune Toft

Center Director | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}
I am a professor of Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics at the Niels Bohr Institute. I received my BSc (1998), MSc (2000) and PhD (2003) degrees from the Niels Bohr Institute, under supervision of Jens Hjorth.
I spent 5 years abroad as a postdoctoral research associate at Yale University (with Pieter van Dokkum) and an independent ESO fellow at the European Southern Observatory headquarters in Germany. Since 2009 I have led a research group at the Niels Bohr Institute, funded by a Lundbeck Junior Group Leader fellowship (2009-2014) an ERC consolidator grant (2015-2020), and a DNRF center of excellence grant (2018-2024). My research focuses on the understanding the cosmic origin and evolution of galaxies, primarily through observations with the largest ground and space-based observatories. I am part of several major international research teams, including COSMOS (member of the Scientific Steering Committee), Euclid (Co-lead of the Primeval Universe Working Group), Ultravista (core-member), Hawaii-Two-0 (CoI), Euclid/WFIRST Spitzer Legacy Survey (CoI), BUFFALO (CoI), RELICS (CoI), ALPINE (CoI).

Since 2009 I have taught the undergraduate course “Cosmology”, and supervised postdoc and student research projects on all levels (BSc, MSc, PhD).

Thomas Greve

Center Co-Director | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{DTU Space}

I am an Associate Professor at the National Space Institute of Denmark, where I am heading the Cosmic Dawn Center. I obtained my PhD in 2005 from the Institute for Astronomy Edinburgh. I am currently on leave of absence from University College London where I have been an associate professor since 2012. Prior to that I have held research positions at the California Institute of Technology and the Max-Planck Institute for Astronomy.

My research deals with the origin and evolution of massive galaxies. I study them using radio and optical telescopes on the ground and in space. Interfacing with numerical simulations is an important part of this work. I enjoy teaching, supervising students, as well as public outreach.
I am extremely proud and excited to have established the Cosmic Dawn Center together with an amazing group of colleagues and friends. What started out as a dream is now an actual research center brimming with fantastic scientists, administrators, and students.

Guarn Elizabeth Nissen

Senior Coordinator | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

Providing administrative support to enable and enhance groundbreaking scientific research for DAWN and our collaborating partners is very exciting. With focus on creating and maintaining a scientific and social environment that encourages innovative thinking and well-being, I enjoy witnessing scientific discoveries.

I have held the position of Coordinator for the Genotoxic Stress Center of Excellence (GSC) at the Danish Cancer Society. Like DAWN, GSC was also primarily funded by the Danish National Research Foundation (DNRF). I have a BcS degree from Fontbonne University in St. Louis MO.

Local Staff

Johan Peter Uldall Fynbo

Section Leader | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

I am an astronomy professor based at the Cosmic Dawn Center at the Niels Bohr Institute. I received my master’s degree in 1998 and PhD degree in 2000 from the University of Aarhus advised by Bjarne Thomsen and Palle Møller. Before taking up my current position at the Niels Bohr Institute I worked at the European Southern Observatory headquarters in Germany. My research focuses on the assembly and evolution of galaxies across the history of the Universe, through direct observation with optical and infrared telescopes from both space and the ground. My particular interests are chemical evolution, quasar absorption line systems, and transient sources like gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, gravitational wave sources and fast radio bursts. I am also involved in the development of new instrumentation.

I teach a range of courses in astronomy ranging from introductory astronomy courses to master level courses. In collaboration with colleagues from the University of Aarhus, I also teach a summer course in astronomical observations at the Nordic Optical Observatory on La Palma.

Beyond academia, I am a frequent contributor to public outreach, I am vice chairman of the Danish Astronomical Society and I give many public talks on science.

Helena Baungaard-Sørensen

Secretary| The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

Helena Baungaard-Sørensen My main tasks are to provide with administrative assistance to the DAWN team. I enjoy working with passionate people and dedicated scientists and to be able to support with my administrative skills in order for them to thrive in their important research.

Before onboarding DAWN, I studied and achieved a MSc in Global Marketing & Innovation Management. Afterwards I have worked as a financial assistant in the NGO’s of the Danish Refugee Council of Youth and the National Lung Association.

One of my favorite quotes is: “Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground".

Peter Daniel Johannsen

Student Helper| The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

Peter Daniel Johannsen I am a Master's Student of Physics at the University of Copenhagen, with specialisation in Quantum Mechanics. I am interested in Condensed Matter Physics; specifically the technology and theory required to make the future's Quantum Computers.

Since March 2021 I have been the student helper at DAWN; my role is primarily overseeing the websites, but I will also be helping Guarn and Helena as much as I can, with different administrative tasks.

In my free time I play disc golf and dedicate many hours to bouldering. I’ve played the piano for about 15 years and enjoy travelling through Europe on my bicycle.

Professors

Charles Steinhardt

Associate Professor | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

I am an associate professor at the Cosmic Dawn Center working on several topics in galaxy evolution and related problems in computer science. I am currently PI of the BUFFALO HST survey, a large program awarded in Cycle 25 expanding Hubble coverage of the Frontier Fields. I have also recently been exploring the tension between observations of high-redshift luminous galaxies and theoretical predictions of galactic assembly (arXiv link) and developing models for cosmic ray-dominated evolution. In addition, develop novel machine learning and astrostatistical methods for working with large datasets.
Previously, I was a postdoc at Caltech working with Peter Capak and Kavli IPMU working with John Silverman, after getting my PhD from Harvard with Martin Elvis.

Charlotte Mason

Associate Professor | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

Charlotte Mason I obtained my PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, in 2018, after which I moved to the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian as a NASA Hubble Fellow and CfA Fellow.

I work at the intersection of theory and observations, focusing on galaxy formation and evolution, and the galaxy - dark matter connection, in the early Universe. My research combines theoretical models and simulations with statistical analysis to interpret observations of galaxies. In particular, I have focused on finding new ways to measure the process of hydrogen reionization - the Universe’s final phase transition, which ended approximately one billion years after the Big Bang and was likely caused by the very first stars and galaxies. By understanding how reionization occurred we can infer the properties of the universe’s first galaxies, which are probably too rare and faint to detect directly.

I am involved with (mostly near-IR) observations from our largest telescopes in space and on the ground: Hubble, VLT, Keck, and MMT, and I am excited to be among the first users of the James Webb Space Telescope in a Early Release Science program to observe the earliest galaxies.

Darach Jafar Watson

Associate Professor | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

I am an associate professor based at the Cosmic Dawn Center at the Niels Bohr Institute. I received my PhD degree in 2000 from the UCD in Dublin advised by professor Brian McBreen. Before moving to the Niels Bohr Institute, I worked at the University of Leicester as a post.doc. My research interest span a broad range of topics from interstellar dust, gamma-ray bursts, the first galaxies, and sources of gravitational waves. I am mainly observationally oriented and have of the course of my career applied a wide range of techniques and wavelengths ranging from X-rays (using satellites) to the infrared (using ALMA).

I teach a range of courses in physics and astronomy ranging from experimental quantum mechanics to observational astrophysics. I have supervised a large number of students at all levels from BSc to PhDs.
I am also a keen advocate for increased diversity in academia and have published several papers, including in Nature, on this issue.

Georgios Magdis

Professor | Danish Technical University (DTU)
Associate Professor | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{DTU Space
Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

I am an Associate Professor of astrophysics at National Space Institute of Denmark (DTU Space) and NBI/KU, a core member of the Cosmic DAWN Center of Excellence, and serve as a chair for the Cosmic DAWN post-doctoral Fellowships. I received my DPhil in astrophysics from the University of Oxford and I have been a post-doctoral researcher at CEA/Saclay, a Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, and a DARK/Carlsberg Fellow and Assistant Professor at the DARK Cosmology Center, NBI/KU (2015-2018).
As of 2016 I am also the leader of the ISM/Galaxy-Evolution group, funded by a research grant (Gas to stars, stars to dust – Tracing the evolution of star formation activity across Cosmic time) that I was awarded by the Velux Foundation.
My group and I, focus on the study of distant galaxies aiming to shed light on their formation, their growth (mass build-up), and evolution of their interstellar medium throughout cosmic time. For my research, I use multi-wavelength datasets and I specialise in infrared/submm/radio space as well as ground-based observations. You can find more about me and my research here.

Gabriel Brammer

Associate Professor | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

I am an Associate Professor at the Cosmic Dawn Center. I received my PhD degree from Yale University in 2010, and prior to coming to DAWN I was a postdoctoral Fellow at the European Southern Observatory (Chile) then an ESA/AURA Astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland (USA).

My research involves studying the formation and evolution of galaxies across much of cosmic time, from relatively nearby massive, evolved objects to infant galaxies at the current limit of the observable Universe. I discover and characterize these objects by and exploiting large imaging and spectroscopic surveys with the Hubble Space Telescope, and I am helping to develop next-generation projects with the Guaranteed Time Observer and Early Release Science programs on the James Webb Space Telescope, due to be launched in 2021.

I also enjoy photography with much smaller glass, including night-sky astrophotography and analog film.

Peter Jakobsen

Affiliated Professor | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

I received my Masters degree from the University of Copenhagen in 1979 and my PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in 1983. I was with the European Space Agency (ESA) from 1984 to my retirement from ESA at the end of 2011.

While at ESA I served as the Project Scientist for Europe's participation in the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) until 1995. From 1997 to 2011 I held the same position for Europe's contributions to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). In the latter capacity I oversaw the design and development of the NIRSpec multi-object spectrograph onboard JWST, an instrument that I am still actively involved in.

My scientific interests include astronomical space instrumentation, applied statistics, and the physics of the early universe with emphasis on quasar absorption lines and reionization. I also engage in scientific evangelism, and periodically give public lectures at high schools and other venues across Denmark.

Francesco Valentino

Assistant professor | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

I am an assistant professor based at the Cosmic Dawn Center. I study the evolution of massive galaxies from their initial formation to the last stages of their lives, exploiting the capabilities of powerful telescopes covering the whole electromagnetic spectrum. I am particularly interested in how gas is transformed into stars and how galaxies die, ceasing the formation of new stars. This is the core of my “Galaxies: Rise And Death” (GRAD) project supported by the Carlsberg Foundation for the coming years 2019-2021.

I moved to Copenhagen as a DARK fellow at the Dark Cosmology Centre and then I joined the Cosmic Dawn Center as a DAWN fellow, working in close collaboration with Prof. Georgios Magdis on the project “Gas to Stars - Stars to Dust: Tracing star formation across cosmic time” supported by a Velux Foundation Grant.

I obtained my PhD in 2016 from the Université Paris Diderot (Paris 7) under the supervision of Dr. Emanuele Daddi at the Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique (CEA) in Saclay.

Allan Hornstrup

Associate professor | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{DTU - Space}

My interests are focused on cosmology, including the large scale structure of the universe; on space instrumentation and space research in general. I also fancy exoplanetary studies, including the search for extraterrestrial life. I enjoy physics, teaching, public outreach and management.

In cosmology, I have studied clusters of galaxies in general (the content) and in particular worked on using clusters of galaxies for cosmological purposes e.g. through the cluster development with time.

Since 2007, I have been head of astrophysics at DTU Space and later included atmospheric physics. The group has grown from about a dozen to now almost 60 scientists and technicians. I hold a MSc in astrophysics, a PhD in technical physics and an executive MBA.

Lise Bech Christensen

Associate professor | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

Lise Bech Christensen I am an associate professor based at the Niels Bohr Institute. I received my PhD degree from the Potsdam University in Germany in 2005. Since then I have worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the European Southern Observatory in Chile and at the headquarters in Germany, as well as the Excellence Cluster Universe at the Technical University in Munich. In 2011 I moved to Denmark with a Marie Curie Fellowship and a Carlsberg Fellowship. I have lead a research group with a Freia fellowship grant and an YDUN grant obtained from the Danish Council for Independent Research.

My research topics focus on the nature of gas and stars in and around distant galaxies with observations from the largest telescopes. Specifically, I investigate galaxy chemical evolution through quasar- or gamma-ray burst absorption lines, and via strong gravitational lensing. On the technical side, I work to facilitate Danish participation in instrumentation projects for the next generation of large astronomical telescopes.

I teach courses in extragalactic astrophysics and data handing at Bachelor and Masters levels at the University, and supervise a number of students at all levels.

DAWN Fellows

DAWN Fellows:

Francesca Rizzo

DAWN Fellow | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

Francesca Rizzo I am a Dawn fellow at the Cosmic Dawn Center. I received my BSc (2013) and MSc (2016) at the University of Pisa and Bologna, respectively. In 2020, I received my PhD from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich (Germany) under the supervision of Dr. Simona Vegetti and Prof. Simon White at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching (Germany). During my PhD, I developed a tool that allows to use gravitational lensing for studying distant galaxies.

I am interested in the ways in which galaxies form and evolve across cosmic time. In particular, my research focuses on galactic dynamics, which is the analysis of the motion of gas and/or stars within galaxies. Through this kind of study, I learn how different physical processes shaped the variety of galaxies that we observe today. You can find more about my research here.

I have long been committed to diversity and acted to create an academic environment, which is more inclusive and inviting towards different gender, sexual orientation, ethnic, and socioeconomically underprivileged groups. For this reason, I enjoy giving my contribution to public outreach events.

Iary Davidzon

DAWN Fellow | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

I am a DAWN fellow at the Cosmic Dawn Center, working with Sune Toft and his group on several projects based on ultra-deep extragalactic observations collected under the name of Cosmic Dawn Survey.

My main goal is to leverage this exquisite data in the exploration of the first 2-3 billion years of universe’s life, investigating star formation mechanisms in primeval galaxies, especially the most massive ones. I am also interested in the connection of these baryonic processes to the underlying dark matter structure. I study galaxy environment also in large-scale surveys (VIPERS) and galaxy clusters (BUFFALO).

Before moving to Copenhagen I joined Peter Capak’s group at the California Institute of Technology, contributing to introduce novel machine learning methods in the research field of galaxy evolution. Previously I worked in Marseille (France) within the COSMOS collaboration, and before that I was a graduate student in Bologna, where I obtained my PhD in 2014 under the supervision of Micol Bolzonella and Lauro Moscardini.

In the spare time I like playing ukulele and tinkering with my bikes, which is a quite appropriate hobby now that I live in (probably) the best cycling city in the world.

Seiji Fujimoto

DAWN Fellow | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

I am a DAWN fellow based at the Cosmic Dawn Center at the Niels Bohr Institute. I received my BCs (2014), MSc (2016), and PhD (2019) degrees from the University of Tokyo, under the supervision of Prof. Masami Ouchi. The thesis title was “Demographics of Cold Universe with ALMA: From Inter-stellar and Circum-galactic Media to Cosmic Structures”, where I carried out a large statistical study for the rest-frame far-infrared properties in high-redshift galaxies. After my PhD, I worked at the University of Waseda with Prof. Akio Inoue as an ALMA project researcher. I am living in Copenhagen as of December 2019.

My research interest is the early Universe, including the topics of the formation and evolution of massive galaxies and black holes, the structure formation, and the interplay between a galaxy and its environment. I’m working in international projects of e.g., “The ALMA Large Program to Investigate CII at Early Times (ALPINE)”, “ALMA Lensing Cluster Survey (ALCS)”, and “Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP)”. I also work as one of the external collaborators in the cosmology group in Scuola Normale Superiore headed by Prof. Andrea Ferrara.

You will find more details on my personal website.

Victoria Strait

DAWN Fellow | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

I am a DAWN Fellow at the Cosmic Dawn Center. I was previously a PhD student working with Maruša Bradač at the University of California, Davis until August 2021. During my PhD studies, I developed lens models of Hubble Frontier clusters, and did stellar population fitting for the Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey (RELICS).

I am interested in all properties of galaxies at cosmic dawn, including (but not limited to) ionization and escape, age, dust, and size. You can read more about my previous research on my website.

Aswin P Vijayan

DAWN Fellow | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{DTU Space, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet}

I am a DAWN fellow at the Cosmic Dawn Center based at DTU Space. I recently finished my PhD (September 2021) at the University of Sussex, UK working with Prof. Peter Thomas and Dr. Stephen Wilkins. I work mainly on simulations of galaxy formation and evolution to understand the impact dust has on various galaxy observables in the early Universe.

During my PhD I have worked on developing a self-consistent dust production and destruction model in the L-Galaxies Semi-Analytical Model. I have also done extensive work in the development of FLARES, a suite of zoom resimulations using the EAGLE simulation physics targeting a range of overdensities in the Epoch of Reionisation. I implemented a line-of-sight dust extinction model to obtain the UV to near-IR SEDs of these galaxies as well as the full SEDs using the radiative transfer code SKIRT. You can find more details about it on my personal website.

I wouldn’t say no to a session of squash or badminton and enjoy watching football and making random foods.

Postdocs

Nina Bonaventura

Postdoc | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

I am an astrophysics post-doctoral researcher at the Cosmic Dawn Center working with Dr. Peter Jakobsen on the Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) onboard the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a joint mission of NASA and the European and Canadian Space Agencies. In preparation for the March 2021 launch of JWST, I design algorithms to optimize observations taken in the NIRSpec Multi-object Spectroscopy (MOS) mode, alongside my international collaborators on the NIRSpec Guaranteed-Time Observer (GTO) Team. I am also involved in various studies of galaxy formation and evolution with members of the Dawn team, as well as the Spitzer Adaptation of the Red-sequence Cluster Survey (SpARCS) collaboration.

I received my PhD degree in Physics in 2017 from McGill University under the supervision of Dr. Tracy Webb (McGill Space Institute), for my contribution to the unexpected discovery of significant star formation activity occurring within a special class of galaxies previously known to be ‘dead’ and inactive.

Previously, I held a NASA Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) Data Specialist position at the Chandra X-ray Center, working on a variety of scientific and technical projects as a member of the Science Data Systems team. I have also worked as a telescope support scientist at Lowell Observatory while a graduate Master’s student at Boston University, personally utilizing and assisting others in the operation of infrared and optical imaging and spectroscopic instruments.

Steven R. Gillman

Postdoc | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{DTU Space}

I recently received my PhD from Durham University, England in which I worked on integral field observations of high-redshift (z=1-2) star-forming galaxies obtained using a number of spectrographs including KMOS and SINFONI. Using rest-frame optical emission lines , I was able to use these observations to trace the dynamical motions of the ionised interstellar medium on ~kpc scales in high-redshift galaxies. By studying the kinematic properties of the galaxies and their correlation with other properties, such as galaxy morphology, the aim of my PhD was to understand how star-forming galaxies have evolved from z=1-2 into what we observe in the local Universe.

Here at DTU Space, and as part of the Cosmic DAWN Center, my work will focus on preparation for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) MIRI GTO observations and the subsequent reduction and analysis of this data in years to come.

Lijie Liu

Postdoc | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{DTU Space}

Specialised in observational radio/(sub)mm astronomy, interstellar medium, star formation and galaxy evolution. My research focuses on understanding the galaxy-scale and cloud-scale ISM properties and how these properties regulate the star formation in different galactic environments. Specifically, my research fields include the physical properties and dynamics of the ISM in nearby and high-z galaxies, the resolved properties of giant molecular clouds in different types of galaxies, and the SF-law from GMC-scale to galaxy-scale over cosmic time.

Kasper Elm Heintz

Postdoc | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{University of Iceland}

I am a post-doctoral researcher affiliated with the Cosmic Dawn Center and the University of Iceland, specialized in observational extragalactic astronomy. I received my PhD from the University of Iceland in 2019, with my thesis project mainly focusing on using gamma-ray bursts and quasars as cosmic probes to study the interstellar medium in high-redshift galaxies.

Now, I mainly work on the optical counterparts and host galaxies of astronomical transients such as fast radio bursts and gravitational wave events, to better understand these extreme sources. Additionally, I develop new techniques to identity quasars based on the astrometric measurements of the Gaia satellite, to provide a more unbiased census of the quasar population and foreground absorption-line systems. The overarching goal of these projects is to study and track the chemical enrichment of galaxies through cosmic time. I am also involved in the development of a new instrument for the Nordic Optical Telescope as instrument scientist.

Anton Norup Sørensen

Researcher | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

I work with instrument design for astronomy. Development is made in close contact with both astronomers and workshops. Projects include characterisation of in-house built cameras, development, integration and test of the X-Shooter backbone, pre-slit unit for the SONG and test equipment for the Euclid mission. Current project is the NOT Transient Explorer, where I develop the cryogenics, slit viewer and calibration system and help with integration and test.

I received my Masters degree in 1996 from the University of Aarhus, advised by Bjarne Thomsen.

Bo Milvang-Jensen

Researcher | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

I am a researcher based at the Cosmic Dawn Center. I received my master's degree from the University of Copenhagen, having carried out the research for my thesis at the University of Texas at Austin. I received my PhD from the University of Nottingham, where my PhD advisor was Alfonso Aragón-Salamanca. Subsequently, I was a postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, followed by a number of years at the Dark Cosmology Centre in Copenhagen, and now at DAWN.

I work on observational extragalactic astrophysics, using optical and infrared spectroscopy and imaging (including narrow-band imaging). In particular I have contributed to the EDisCS project studying cluster galaxies, and the UltraVISTA project studying high-redshift galaxies. I also work on gamma-ray bursts, including their host galaxies, and follow-up of gravitational-wave events. Additionally I am instrument scientist for the NTE (NOT Transient Explorer) instrument being designed and built by the Niels Bohr Institute (PI Johan Fynbo).

Peter Laursen

Senior Scientific and Communication Coordinator
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

I am an astrophysicist and science communicator.

At DAWN, my tasks include arranging workshops, maintaining our website, communicating our science to the public, as well as conducting my own research.

My research focuses on galaxies, in particular the light coming from processes that have to do with galaxy formation. I use computer simulations to predict and interpret "real" observations. More specifically, I use hydrodynamical simulations with (Monte Carlo) Lyman α radiative transfer.

After my PhD I was a postdoc at the Oskar Klein Centre (Stockholm), the Dark Cosmology Centre (Copenhagen), and the University of Oslo.

You can find out more about me, my research, and my outreach activities on my personal website.

DAWN Associates

DAWN Associates:

Trity Pourbahrami

Communications Consultant| The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

I am a science communications practitioner and educator with the ultimate goal of supporting scientists to communicate more effectively and to have greater impact. As a natural boundary spanner I decided to obtain my undergraduate degrees in Physics and Physiology and my graduate degrees in Social Welfare and Public Administration. I am a strategic thinker, and community builder with over 15 years of experience in strategic communications, public relations, marketing, and advocacy spanning the non-profit, government, higher education, and corporate sectors. I have a proven track record of effectively engaging diverse groups and organizations in transforming strategy into operational goals, objectives, and measurable outcomes.

In addition to being a practitioner of communications I am an educator and have designed and delivered a variety of customized trainings as well as a new graduate course on effective oral, written, and media communications.

I also enjoy building community through serving on various local, national, and international community groups including the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America and Leadership Pasadena.

Claudia Lagos

International Associate | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, University of Western Australia}

I am a Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research at the University of Western Australia and I am an international Associate at the Cosmic Dawn Center. I received my PhD degree from Durham University in 2013, and prior to coming to my current position I was a Research Fellow at the European Southern Observatory (Germany) and then a Discovery Early Career Researcher at ICRAR/UWA (Australia).

My research involves studying galaxy formation and evolution using state-of-the-art cosmological simulations of galaxy formation and large galaxy surveys. I am the main developer of the new Shark semi-analytic model of galaxy formation and one of the members of the EAGLE Simulations collaboration. I am also a member of several galaxy surveys including several being carried out with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, the Anglo-Australian Telescope and the future 4MOST instrument at Paranal, Chile.

Kate Whitaker

International Associate | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{University of Massachusetts}

I am an Assistant Professor at the of University of Massachusetts, and Associate Faculty at the Cosmic Dawn Center. I received my PhD degree from Yale University in 2012, after which point I was awarded a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellowship at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland (USA), then a Hubble Fellowship at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (USA).

As an observational extragalactic astronomer, I study galaxy formation and evolution over the past twelve billion years of cosmic time. My students and I actively collaborate with DAWN, working towards pushing our detection quiescent “read and dead” galaxies even earlier in time (within a billion years of the Big Bang itself!). We would like to understand the detailed physics of the structures and underlying stellar populations of these early massive galaxies. With exquisite Hubble Space Telescope imaging and spectroscopy, we explore the rich uncharted territory of the distant universe and continually piece together an intriguing timeline of the cosmos.

I also enjoy dancing, photography, crafting, and spending time with my family.

Karina Caputi

International Associate | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{University of Groningen}

I am an Associate Professor at the University of Groningen (Netherlands) and Associate Staff (zero appointment) at the Cosmic Dawn Center. I received my PhD degree from the University of Edinburgh in 2005, and then worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the IAS, Orsay, France and the ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Between 2009 and 2011 I was a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, just before I joined the University of Groningen in 2012.

My research involves studying the formation and evolution of galaxies in the first half of cosmic time. I mainly work with space infrared telescopes (e.g. Spitzer) and ground-based telescopes (e.g. VLT). In addition, I am part of the European Guaranteed-Time Science Consortium for the MidInfrared Instrument (MIRI) that will be on board the James Webb Space Telescope, due to be launched in 2021.

Kristian Finlator

International Associate | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{New Mexico State University}

I received my PhD from the University of Arizona in 2009. After this, I held a Hubble Fellowship at UC Santa Barbara from 2009-2012 and a DARK fellowship at the Dark Centre for Cosmology from 2013-2015. Since fall 2015, I have been an Assistant Professor at NMSU.

I am interested in the processes that couple galaxies with their environments. Although I have previously studied the relationship between galactic outflows and the mass-metallicity relation, the research that I lead nowadays is anchored in detailed comparisons between predictions from cosmological simulations and observations of galaxies, the circumgalactic medium, and the intergalactic medium. My goal is always to learn how observations constrain the feedback processes that regulate galaxy growth and reionization.

I enjoy learning Danish, jogging, and playing with my two young children. Long ago (z~10^-9) I also played in orchestras; I’m sure I will get back to that at some point.

Peter Capak

International Associate | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_IPAC/Caltech

Until February 2020 I was a Senior Research Scientist with the Euclid NASA Science Center at the California Institute of Technology where I studied the formation and evolution of structure in the universe. I have since joined the Oculus team at Facebook as Architect of Perception Systems for Augmented and Virtual reality. I received my BSc (1999) from the University of British Columbia, and my MSc (2002) and PhD (2004) from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

My research interests focused in two areas: the physical processes that govern the formation and evolution of the most massive galaxies in the early universe (z>2) and large area surveys to measure galaxy properties and probe Dark Energy and Dark Matter. I am a founding member of the Euclid consortia, developed the redshift estimation pipeline and simulations for the NASA SPHEREx mission, and was a member of the WFIRST cosmology science definition teams. I was also principal investigator of the Spitzer Legacy Survey and the SPLASH Spitzer Exploration Science programs which were two of the largest ever carried out on the Spitzer Space Telescope using a year of time. Previously I was lead of the COSMOS project, lead of the CCAT high-z science working group, and leading to effort to produce enhanced imaging products and a source list for the Spitzer archive. I have also been co-organizer of the PHAT project aimed at developing a set of best practices for photometric redshifts and made significant contributions to the GOODS Legacy project including deep imaging of The Hawaii Hubble Deep Field North.

Desika Narayannan

International Associate | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{University of Florida}

I’m currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Florida in the US. Prior to this, I was an Assistant Professor at Haverford College in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. I grew up in Florida, went to undergrad school at the University of Florida and grad school at the University of Arizona. I did postdocs at Harvard (CfA Fellowship) and Arizona (Bok Fellowship).

My research focuses on theoretical models primarily related to cosmological galaxy evolution, star formation, and the interstellar medium (ISM). I principally develop and utilize large scale numerical simulations to simulate the interplay between small scale star formation, ISM physics, and global galaxy evolution.

I love (American) college football, surfing, snowboarding, jam bands, hiking, and hockey.

Fabian Walter

International Associate | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Max Planck Institute for Astronomy}

I am a Senior Scientist and Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in Heidelberg, Germany. I received my Master Degree at the University of New Mexico (USA) in 1995, and my PhD in astronomy at Bonn University (Germany). I held a postdoctoral appointment at Caltech (Pasadena, USA) from 1999-2002 in the Owens Valley Radio Observatory group. After that, I received the Jansky Fellowship of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), which I took to the VLA headquarters in Socorro, New Mexico (USA). Since 2004 I am a staff member at the MPIA (tenured in 2008), and am still an Adjunct Associate Astronomer at NRAO. I am also a Scientific Editor for the AAS Journals (American Astronomical Society).

My research focuses on studies of the evolution of galaxies and quasars, from the end of cosmic reionization to today. My particular focus is on the studies of the interstellar medium that is a requirement for star formation to proceed. In my research, I intensively use the ALMA, IRAM NOEMA, and VLA radio/millimeter interferometers. In this context I have led a number of large initiatives, such as the THINGS survey of HI emission in nearby galaxies, the HERACLES survey to map the distribution of molecular gas in nearby galaxies, surveys to characterize the interstellar medium in the most distant quasars, and a large ALMA program that studies the molecular gas and dust content in the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field (ASPECS).

Luis Colina

International Associate | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
Spanish Research Council CSIC

I am a senior research scientist of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) at the Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) in Madrid (Spain), and International Associate at the Cosmic Dawn Center. I received my Master Degree at the University Complutense of Madrid (Spain) in 1982, and my PhD in Natural Sciences at the University of Goettingen (Germany) in 1987. I have worked as an ESA postdoctoral fellow (1989-1990), and ESA staff astronomer (1993-1998) at the Space Telescope Science Institute (Baltimore, USA). I was Associate Professor at the University of Valencia before joining the Spanish National Research Council in 2000. I have been involved with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) as MIRI European coPI and Spanish PI since 2000. I am co-chair of the European MIRI High-redshift GTO team, and coI of the MIRI Nearby Galaxies GTO team since 2010. My research interests focus mostly on the study of the formation and evolution of dusty star-forming galaxies and AGNs at both low- and high redshifts using different multi-wavelength imaging and integral field spectroscopy techniques from the ground (ALMA, VLT), and space (HST, Spitzer, JWST)

Pascal Oesch

International Associate | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
Department of Astronomy | University of Geneva

I am currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Geneva, where I lead a research group “Galaxy Build-up at Cosmic Dawn”. Additionally, I am an International Associate of the Cosmic DAWN Centre. I obtained my PhD in 2010 at ETH Zurich, after which I moved to UC Santa Cruz as a Hubble Fellow (2010-2013) and then to Yale as a YCAA Fellow (2013-2016). Already starting from my PhD studies, my research has focused on understanding the build-up and assembly of the first generations of galaxies based on panchromatic observations. In particular, I use very deep imaging and spectroscopy from the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes, in addition to ground-based follow-up with Keck, VLT, ALMA, and NOEMA. This allows us to trace the galaxy mass build-up out to z~11, when the Universe was only ~400 Myr old, where we have found the most distant galaxy known so far: GN-z11.

Emeritus

Birgitta Nordstrom

Associate Professor Emeritus | The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

Birgitta Nordström was born in Sweden and studied physics and astronomy at Stockholm University until she was awarded her PhD in 1970. After postdoc positions in Switzerland and Canada, she came to the Niels Bohr Institute in 1972, where she has worked since then as a scientist and in the administration. Her Danish affiliation has been interrupted by several guest professorships in the USA (Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge) and in Europe (Lund in Sweden, Paris in France, Kiel in Germany and Vienna in Austria). Birgitta’s research has been centered around the chemical and dynamical evolution of galaxies, using the Milky Way as a prototype. Her most-cited paper is the Geneva-Copenhagen Survey of the Solar Neighbourhood (Nordström et al. A&A, 2004), which revealed that the structure of the Milky Way disk is much more complex than previously believed. Other large research projects focus on studying probable remnants of minor dwarfs galaxy mergers in the disk and on the oldest and most metal poor stars in the Milky Way halo (Cayrel et al. 2004, Bonifacio et al. 2009) and the formation of the chemical elements in the early Universe (Hansen et al. 2015). Birgitta has also devoted part of her career to work in international organisations such as the European Southern Observatory, the European Space Agency, the International Astronomical Union, and the Journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. She is member and ex-Chair of the Board of Directors of A&A. She represents Denmark in European Astronomical Society and the COST actions ChETEC (ChemicalElements as Tracers of the Evolution of the Cosmos, http://www.chetec.eu/) and MW-Gaia ( https://www.mw-gaia.org/).

Phd Students

John R. Weaver

PhD Student| The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

I am a PhD student based at the Cosmic Dawn Center advised by Sune Toft, with Peter Capak (IPAC), Henry McCracken (IAP), and Dave Sanders (IfA). I received my Masters degree in 2018 from the University of St Andrews advised by Vivienne Wild. My research focuses on the assembly and evolution of galaxies across the 1.37 billion year history of our Universe, through direct observation with optical and infrared telescopes from both space and from the ground.

Previously, I have interned as a summer researcher at the Max-Planck Institute for Astronomy, Leiden Observatory, and the Maria Mitchell Observatory. I am also the project director of the spectroscopy database at the American Association of Variable Star Observers.

Beyond academia, I am a frequent contributor to popular science publications, and have been a long-time volunteer at public observatories.

Meghana Killi

PhD Student| The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

I am a student in the integrated MSc+PhD programme at the Cosmic DAWN Center, advised by Dr. Darach Watson.

Beginning in eighth grade, I underwent intensive training for the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) entrance exam. I was accepted into the Mechanical Engineering programme at IIT Kharagpur, but after graduating in 2015, I decided to switch tracks and follow my childhood passion for Astronomy.

In 2016, I moved to the US, and began a second Bachelor’s degree in Astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin, where I worked with Dr. Caitlin Casey on submillimeter galaxy observations, and with Dr. Volker Bromm on dark matter theory. Two intense and transformative years later, I graduated with highest honors, and was accepted to DAWN.

I am currently studying the origin of various elements in the universe. More broadly, my research interests lie in our cosmic origins, first stars and galaxies, and events in the very early universe just after the Big Bang.

Vasily Kokorev

PhD Student| The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

Vasily Kokorev I am a PhD student at the Cosmic Dawn Centre working under the supervision of Georgios Magdis. My current research focuses on the evolution of molecular gas in galaxies with redshift. My other research interests include the formation of first galaxies and the epoch of reionisation.

I received my master’s degree in Physics with Astrophysics at the University of Sussex in 2018, where I have carried out work related to the 21 cm radio astronomy, while being advised by Mark Sargent.

Clara Giménez Arteaga

PhD student| The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

I am a PhD student at the Cosmic Dawn Center, advised by Gabriel Brammer. I am currently working on the effects of having spatial resolution observations when deriving the physical properties of galaxies, using recently obtained photometry from the Hubble Space Telescope. With high-resolution line emission maps of nearby galaxies, we can probe sites of ongoing star formation activity and dust reddening. In the coming future, we expect to extend this study to galaxies at high redshift with JWST.

I obtained my Master's degree from DAWN in 2020, and my Bachelor's degree in Physics in 2018 at the University of Barcelona, where I am originally from.

Malte Brinch

PhD Student| The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{DTU Space}

I am a PhD student at the DAWN DTU who formerly defended my MSc at KU, DAWN NBI. My thesis focuses on reverberation mapping of AGN, so as to use them as Distance measurements. As part of my PhD at DAWN, I will be working with Thomas Greve on characterizing the dense molecular gas content in gravitationally lensed starburst and normal galaxies and relate these results to surveys of the dense interstellar medium in local galaxies. I will also work on GISMO 2mm surveys with the Greenland Telescope. I plan to travel to the Thule air base in the fall of 2020 to observe with the GLT.

Vadim Rusakov

PhD student| The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

My degree at the Cosmic Dawn Center is centered around topics in galaxy evolution, where I am advised by Charles Steinhardt. I am part of research into mechanisms driving the active and quiescent stages of high-redshift galaxies, which is motivated by a mismatch in theoretical predictions and observations of galaxy assembly in the early universe. I am also keen to work on computational problems in research.

I received a Masters degree from the University of Surrey in 2019 studying galaxy evolution in the Local Group with Carme Gallart & Matteo Monelli, while spending part of my degree at the IAC (Tenerife), and a Masters degree from University College London in 2020 doing a project in computational astrophysics with Thomas Greve.e I am advised by Charles Steinhardt. I am part of research into mechanisms driving the active and quiescent stages of high-redshift galaxies, which is motivated by a mismatch in theoretical predictions and observations of galaxy assembly in the early universe. I am also keen to work on computational problems in research.

Katriona (Kate) Mai Landau Gould

PhD student| The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen}

I am a PhD student working at the Cosmic Dawn Center advised by Gabriel Brammer. I currently study the formation and evolution of the most massive galaxies in the universe, using a combination of data from ground and space based telescopes across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. I received my Master’s in Astrophysics in 2020 from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where I worked with Vivienne Wild on post-starburst galaxies

Before deciding to study galaxies, I was interested in particle and astroparticle physics, and had fantastic opportunities to work on experimental projects relating to both cosmic rays and neutrinos at Jodrell Bank Center for Astrophysics and later CERN. I’ve also been lucky enough to do both cosmology and galaxy summer research projects at the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation and the University of Oxford.

When I’m not doing research I enjoy powerlifting, astronomy outreach, pursuing creative projects and exploring the wonderful city of Copenhagen.

David Blánquez

PhD student| The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
_{DTU Space, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet}

I am a PhD student at the Cosmic Dawn Centre working under the supervision of Georgios Magdis. I am currently studying the interstellar medium of galaxies across cosmic time using data from the ALMA telescope. The main goal is to measure the amount of gas left on quiescent/dead galaxies in order to place constraints on the mechanisms that prevent them from forming new stars.

I received my master’s degree in Earth and Space Physics and Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark in 2021, after having completed my Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering (2019) at Tecnun - Universidad de Navarra in San Sebastian (Spain), where I am originally from.