Tracy M.A. Webb

Galaxy Formation and Evolution
from the Big Bang to today

I am an observational astronomer working in the field of galaxy evolution. I use the world's best telescopes to look deep into space, and back in time, to an epoch when galaxies were younger, and different, than they are today. Although I gather data at many wavelengths I focus primarily on what we can learn from infrared observations. At these frequencies we, in general, are sampling dust heated by the energetic processes of star formation and active galactic nuclei, that would otherwise be hidden from view. These are the processes responsible for growing galaxies at early times.