My research lies at the intersection of astronomical instrumentation and observational astrophysics. I develop new instruments and observational techniques that enable new and/or improved measurements of astrophysical systems. These instruments are then applied to address fundamental questions in astrophysics, particularly the physics of the interstellar medium, magnetic fields, and, more recently, the direct detection and characterisation of exoplanets.
My research philosophy is broadly captured below:
Develop new techniques and instruments ↔ validate them on the sky ↔ use them to answer exciting scientific questions.
Research Themes
Astronomical Instrumentation
Modern astronomy advances because of advances in instrumentation and observational techniques. My work spans the complete life cycle of astronomical instruments—from scientific motivation and instrument design and building to commissioning and scientific exploitation.
Current projects include:
- WALOP – Wide-field Linear Optical Polarimeter
- FiberPol – A Fiber-fed Spectropolarimeter
- ELT Planetary Camera & Spectrograph (PCS)
Precision Polarimetry
Polarimetry is one of the most powerful yet technically demanding techniques in observational astronomy. My research focuses on developing instruments and calibration methods that improve both the precision and accuracy of polarimetric observations.
Research areas include
- End to end instrument development
- Instrument characterisation
- Polarimetric calibration techniques
Science with Polarimetry
New instruments are ultimately valuable because of the science they enable. I use optical and near-infrared polarimetry to study
- Interstellar dust
- Galactic magnetic fields
- Dust grain alignment
- Circumstellar environments
- Active galactic nuclei
These studies combine observations from facilities including SALT, IRSF, the SAAO 1.9 m Telescope, and future Extremely Large Telescope instrumentation. Recently, I have also become heavily involved with the upcoming NASA Mission to measure the polarisation of stellar sightlines in the UV.
Current Projects
| Project | Description |
|---|---|
| WALOP | Four-camera wide-field imaging polarimeter for the PASIPHAE survey |
| FiberPol | High-precision fiber-fed spectropolarimeter developed at SAAO |
| ELT PCS | Instrument concept development for the 39-m Extremely Large Telescope |
| PUFFINS | NASA Mission for UV Spectropolarimetry of dust |