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 Faculty
Post-Doctoral Researchers
Doctoral Students
Masters Students
QUARG Alumni
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 | | Stéphane Courteau |
Formation, Structure and Evolution of Galaxies
Along with my students and colleagues, I study the formation, evolution, structure, and distribution of galaxies.
Research topics involve our own Milky Way, stellar populations in external galaxies, galaxy dynamics,
properties of field and cluster galaxies, distribution of visible and dark matter in the Universe,
numerical simulations of galaxies, and testing cosmologically-motivated structure formation models.
Central to my research efforts is the development of original tests to elucidate fundamental
theoretical and/or empirical puzzles in extragalactic astronomy. My research also involves
compiling extensive data bases for structural parameters of nearby galaxies. Through
observing programs that I lead, or via collaborations, my students have access to some of the best
observational research facilities worldwide.
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 | | Martin Duncan |
Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems
Martin Duncan, with students and colleagues, is incorporating a variety of methods
to more efficiently model planet formation processes such as the interaction of
large bodies ("protoplanets") amongst themselves and with a population of smaller
bodies. We are now poised to tackle pressing problems which have been hitherto
computationally intractable. These include extensive simulations of the mid- to
late stages of the formation of Earth-like and giant planets and the influence of
the planet-building process (e.g. planet migration) and the Sun's early presence in
a star cluster on the structure of the outer solar system.
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 | | David Hanes |
Globular Star Clusters; Observational Cosmology
We are analyzing the globular cluster systems associated with external galaxies and elucidating their photometric and spatial properties. Globular clusters are the earliest-formed components of galaxies, and their nature and distribution will provide clues into the complex subject of galaxy formation and enrichment. Because the great intrinsic luminosity of globular clusters allows them to be readily seen in remote external galaxies, they are ideal cosmic distance indicators. We are developing refinements in this application as part of a comprehensive review of the extragalactic distance scale.
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 | | Richard Henriksen |
Formation processes of Dark Matter Haloes; Star Formation
I study the dynamical structure of cosmological dark matter halos from
a theoretical point of view. Dark matter can only be detected indirectly
through its gravitational effects, but it consistently appears as the most
massive component of the Universe. The more recently discovered dark energy
is the dominant energy component of the Universe but it does not
gravitate, and models for it are in their infancy. I use a combination
of theoretical analysis and numerical simulation to study the relaxation
of dark matter dominated systems. This work is currently being done in
conjunction with colleagues in Denmark and Spain, in addition to my team
at Queen's.
I am trying to understand star formation and dark matter sub-halo
structure in terms of what might be called `ballistic turbulence'.
This is an N-body ensemble comprised of tidally interacting hierarchically
organized clumps of matter. Finally the magnetic-hydrodynamic interaction
between a central star and a surrounding disc is a major unsolved problem
for which I construct simple models. This also has application to star
formation.
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 | | Judith Irwin |
Interstellar Medium in Galaxies; Disk-Halo Connection, Galaxy Outflows
Judith Irwin's research focusses on studies of the interstellar
medium (ISM) in our own and other nearby galaxies. Of particular
interest are the relationships between a galaxy's ISM and the surrounding
intergalactic environment. Many spiral galaxies, for example, show
extensive gas and dust in discrete features and halos around the
stellar disk. This research attempts to determine the origin
of the observed features, provide physical parameters for them,
and determine the outcome of the activity.
This research primarily uses the world's radio telescopes. Graduate
students have gone to, or used data from, the Very Large Array in the
USA, the Giant Metre-Wave Radio Telescope in India, the James Clerk
Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii, the Nobeyama mm-Wave array in Japan,
the Arecibo Telescope in Puerto Rico, and the space-based
Infra-Red Satellite Observatory and XMM Newton.
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 | | Kayll Lake |
General Relativity; Computer Algebra
Prof. Lake's works in general relativity and the application of general relativity to
astrophysics. He is best known for his development of GRTensor, an abstract
computer system for doing calculations in general relativity and string theory.
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 | | Kristine Spekkens (RMC) |
Structure and Evolution of Nearby Galaxies
Kristine Spekkens' research focuses on an understanding of the structure and evolution of nearby galaxies in a cosmological
context. She is spearheading a variety of projects to help reconcile long-standing discrepancies between the
observed properties of spiral galaxies and predictions from galaxy formation theory, and is particularly interested
in developing robust techniques for inferring the distribution of dark matter in these systems. Dr. Spekkens is
also involved in a large survey effort to map the distribution and kinematics of atomic hydrogen in the local
Universe, which enables studies of galaxy evolution in diverse environments and searches for the "starless halos"
predicted by cosmology. Dr. Spekkens' program thus affords graduate students the opportunity to carry out research
with the world's largest radio and optical telescopes, and to develop new tools for interpreting the high-quality
data obtained from these facilities.
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|
 | | Gregg Wade (RMC) |
Stellar Structure and Magnetic Fields, Spectro-Polarimetry
Gregg Wade's research is aimed mainly at understanding magnetic fields in stars: how
they are structured, how they influence the stellar plasma in which they are embedded,
how they evolve, and where they came from in the first place. His approach is primarily
observational, exploiting powerful telescopes and spectropolarimetric instrumentation
at observatories around the world.
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 | | Larry Widrow |
Dark Matter, Galaxy Models, Extragalactic Magnetic Fields
Larry Widrow works in the field of theoretical astrophysics and cosmology
and has focused on problems related to the nature of dark matter, the
formation of structure in the Universe, and cosmic magnetic fields. His
research interests also include the structure and dynamics of disk
galaxies such as the Milky Way and M31 as studied through theoretical
modelling and numerical simulation. Why do some galaxies have bars? What
happens when galaxies collide? What is the energy distribution of dark
matter passing through a terrestrial detector? These are just some of
the problems explored by Widrow and his students.
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Pascal Elahi
Works with Larry Widrow and Rob Thacker (SMU) on the effects of neglect large scale power and steep power spectra
in cosmological simulations, especially for small scale clustering.
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Majd Abdelqader
Works with Kayll Lake
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Chris Capobianco
Works with Martin Duncan
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Nathan Deg
Works with Larry Widrow
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Cédric Grenon
Works with Kayll Lake
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Jason Grunhut
Works with Gregg Wade
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Joel Roediger
Works with Stéphane Courteau on the Stellar Populations of Virgo Galaxies
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James Silvester
Works with Gregg Wade.
James' PhD project focuses on observational studies of magnetic
and abundance structure in the atmospheres of A and B type stars.
In particular, he is performing Magnetic Doppler Imaging of
a sample of Ap/Bp stars using data acquired with both the ESPaDOnS
instrument at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), and the
new NARVAL instrument at the Pic du Midi observatory.
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David Puglielli
Works with Larry Widrow on the stability and evolution of disk galaxies using numerical models.
Future developments will include dissipative gas dynamics.
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Cameron Arsenault
Works with Kristine Spekkens
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Bill Ballick
Works with Kayll Lake
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Ainsley Campbell
Works with David Hanes
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Jeremy Durelle
Works with Dick Henriksen and Judith Irwin
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Daniel Foreman-Mackey
Works with David Hanes and Larry Widrow
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Melanie Hall
Works with Stéphane Courteau
on the Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relation of Spiral Galaxies
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Dmitri Lebedev
Works with Kayll Lake
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Karen Lee-Waddell
Works with Kristine Spekkens
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Katherine Likuski
Works with Gregg Wade
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Amanda Schembri
Works with David Hanes
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Matt Shultz
Works with Gregg Wade
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Jonathan Sick
Works with Stéphane Courteau on the Stellar Populations of the Andromeda Galaxy
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Colin Folsom (MSc 2007) [PhD candidate Armagh Observatory, NI]
Guillaume Rivest (MSc 2007) [PhD candidate at Univ. of Toronto]
David Kirsh (MSc 2007) [PhD candidate at McMaster Univ.]
Andrew Calzavara (MSc 2007) [...]
Michael McDonald (MSc 2007) [PhD candidate at Univ. of Maryland]
Kelly Foyle (MSc 2007) [PhD candidate at MPIA/Heidelberg]
Jenny Power (MSc 2007) [Tutor in Kingston]
Cynthia Whaley (MSc 2007) [now in Toronto]
Sarbari Guha (PDF 2006) [Physicist in India]
Rupinder Brar (PhD 2005) [Lecturer at University of Massachusetts]
Joseph MacMillan (MSc 2006) [Lecturer at UOIT]
Douglas McNeil (PhD 2006) [PDF Queen Mary College, London]
Matthew Crosby [...]
Justin Rae (MSc 2006) [Metrologist, Govt of Canada]
Ben Tippett (MSc 2006) [PhD candidate UNB]
Ian Lepage (MSc 2004)
Nicos Pelavas (PhD 2003) [PDF Dalhousie]
David Stiff (PhD 2003)
Paul Wiegert (PDF) [Assistant Professor at Western Ontario]
Steven Bickerton (MSc 2002) [PhD candidate at McMaster]
George Davies (PhD 2002)
Mustapha Ishak (PhD 2002) [Assistant Professor at University of Texas at Dallas]
Tom Merrall (PhD 2002) [Financial Industry]
Nick Neary (MSc 2002)
Andrew Billyard (PDF 2001) [Operational Research Scientist, Ottawa]
Jayanne English (PDF 2002) [Assistant Professor at UManitoba]
Morgan LeDelliou (PhD 2001) [Research Scientist at Durham]
Kathy Perrett (PhD 2001, MSc 1995) [NSERC Fellow at UT]
Edward Thommes (PhD 2001) [CITA Fellow]
Mike Seymour (MSc 2000)
JJ Kavelaars (PhD 1997) [Astronomer at CADC]
Siow Wang Lee (PhD 1997) [PDF at Univ. of Toronto]
Man Hoi Lee (CITA National Fellow) [Research Associate at UCSB]
Xiangdong Shi (PDF)
Jeroen Stil (PDF) [PDF at Univ. of Calgary]
L. Jonathan Dursi (MSc 1996) [CITA Fellow]
Gil Holder (MSc 1996) [Assistant Professor at McGill]
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