Dr Elizabeth Stanway of the University of Bristol has been awarded The Winton Capital prize in astronomy for her work on distant star-forming galaxies.
Dr Stanway discovered that these galaxies are young, largely without dust and less numerous than expected. She also pioneered the detection of otherwise dark galaxies through their radio and sub-millimeter emission, extending the number of galaxies available for study.
A spokesperson for the Society said: “Dr Stanway is a truly worthy recipient of the prize, having built up an impressive record of achievement in her chosen field in the short time since she obtained her PhD.”
Dr Stanway responded: “I am both delighted and flattered to have my work recognised by the Royal Astronomical Society and am certain that this will add additional impetus to my research in the future.”
The question of how our universe and the galaxies within it evolved is one that captures the public imagination and addresses fundamental questions about our origins. Exploration of these big issues is a key factor in attracting students to study the physical sciences.
Using the world’s largest and most sensitive telescopes, Dr Stanway and colleagues have now identified galaxies so distant that the light has taken more than 13 billion years to reach us. The light was first emitted less than a billion years after the Big Bang, when the universe was a younger and simpler place: galaxies were fewer, smaller and less well developed than they are today.
Dr Stanway explains: “My work has involved both identifying and analysing galaxies on this distant frontier of the observed universe. The study of distant galaxies is one of the fastest moving and most exhilarating areas of astronomy to work in. Continual innovations in instrumentation and research methods provide exciting opportunities for improving our understanding of these galaxies and the universe around them.”
These snapshots of early times give us a direct insight into the complexities of the present universe and provide a starting point for theoretical models of how its structure in general, and galaxies in particular, developed as the universe aged.