About

I am a Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Victoria. My main research interests are chemical and dynamical analyses of stars in clusters, stellar streams, and Local Group dwarf galaxies.   Currently, my main research projects are within the GHOULS and Pristine surveys, both using the new Gemini GHOST spectrograph to measure high precision kinematics and chemistries of metal-poor stars in Milky Way star clusters, stellar streams, and Local Group dwarf galaxies.

We are also preparing for the large spectroscopic survey WEAVE-Pristine, where my group will be providing one of the machine learning data analysis tools.   We are also looking forward to working with the data from the Rubin Observatory to explore binary fractions and transient events (like supernova) in the nearby dwarf galaxies.

Previously, I was the Director for the NSERC CREATE program on New Technologies for Canadian Observatories (2017-2024).   This was a highly successful program that provided advanced training and internships in both Canadian industry and at International Observatories for 70 students across Canada.   For more information, see this SPIE article.

Research Interests

Here are some of my research interests. Click to read more and see highlights of my main results and any press release related to it.

Dwarf Galaxies

Low-mass, faint galaxies in the Local Group; dark matter dominated and hard to find.

Galactic Archaeology

The history of the formation of our Milky Way that is written in the stars.

Data Analysis

Our advanced data analysis and machine learning tools.

Instrumentation

Astronomical instrumentation makes it possible to explore the cosmos.