Sandro Tacchella: an international journey through extragalactic astrophysics

People doing Physics

Help us get better by taking our quick survey! Your feedback will help us understand how we can improve in the future. Thank you for your time.

Joining us this month is Dr Sandro Tacchella, Assistant Professor in Extragalactic Astrophysics at the Cavendish and the nearby Kavli Institute for Cosmology. Inspired by astronomy at a young age, Sandro pursued a degree in Physics and threaded a line between the “small” scale of planetary astrophysics and the statistical world of pure cosmology. He looks at the physics underpinning the formation of galaxies and black holes, hoping to understand how these cosmic structures came to be using data from some of the most advanced telescopes on, and above, Earth. His experience of using analytical and cosmological models to determine the physical properties of galaxies is being brought to bear on data from the recently activated James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam instrument, and he plays a key role in projects aimed at characterising the earliest galaxies.

His research has taken him around the world, from Switzerland to Korea and the US, but he has still found time to start a family and maintain a healthy work-life balance. Today, we’ll talk to him about the benefits and unique problems he faces working in astrophysics, what it has been like to do cutting-edge research on three continents, and where he sees extragalactic astrophysics going in the near future.

[00:36] – Guest’s intro

[01:50] – Dreaming of space through a telescope

[03:57] – Physics degree and outreach events to become a budding astronomer

[05:03] – It's not so easy to do Astrophysics in Switzerland

[06:00] – From broad astrophysics to extragalactic observations

[08:17] – The exquisite images from the Hubble Space Telescope

[10:00] – Why do galaxies look like what they do today? Look at them back in time!

[12:17] – Live podcast announcement with special guest Professor Dame Athene Donald

[13:42] - Starting a family while doing a PhD

[16:35] – What counts when you try to succeed during a PhD are you don't get the support you need from your group?

[20:05] – There is work, and there is family...

[21:05] - Restarting a career at Harvard and working on the James Webb Telescope

[23:15] – From Harvard to Korea to the UK- two kids, a partner, a postdoc, and a pandemic

[26:35] - Analising the date from James Webb Telescope and understanding when the very first galaxies and black holes formed and how they evolved

[31:25] Astrophysics is famous for finding things that nobody was expecting

[33:46] – Outro

Book ahead

• Join us for a LIVE recording of the Poeple Doing Physics with special guest Professor Dame Athene Donald on Saturday 18th March at 3.30pm. Part of Cambridge event is part of the Cambridge Festival from the University of Cambridge.

Reserve your free spot now!

Useful links

• Learn more about Sandro Tacchella and his work in the Galaxy Formation and Evolution Group at Kavli Institute for Cosmology, Cambridge
• To learn more about the Cavendish Laboratory, or if you are interested in joining us or studying with us, go to www.phy.cam.ac.uk

Share and join the conversation

• If you like this episode don’t forget to rate it and leave a review on your favourite podcast app. It really helps others to find us.
• Any comment about the podcast or question you would like to ask our physicists, email us at [e-mail] or join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #PeopleDoingPhysics.

Episode credits

• Hosts: Simone Eizagirre Barker and Jacob Butler
• Recording and Editing: Chris Brock

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy